Clare C. Marshall's Blog, page 7

Wingtorn: Arrival – Chapter 1

A violet wing unfurled from the girl, nearly twice the width of her body, with fringed ends and a translucent white center. Then another, on the other side: her left wing was torn and only half there.

Chapter One, Book One: Arrival

CHAPTER ONE
CONNOR
A noise in the kitchen below lifted Connor Donmagh from his studies.The candlelight on his desk flickered as he stood, listening again for the noise. There it was. Creaking floorboards and the muffled murmurers of two voices—Mother and Da—as they crossed the kitchen. To Connor’s knowledge, they were not expecting a midnight delivery. The paper never came this hour, neither did the ink supplier, nor the poets—not even the most eccentric poets would disturb a printer so late. At least, that was the reputation his parents had established in their many years of operation.

Perhaps they were restless. Or they’d forgotten to dim the lanterns in the library.

Squinting through his exhaustion, he peered down at the history book laid flat on his desk. He had an early shift in the library in the morning, yet he couldn’t resist staying up to read just one more book. Especially one about the Order of the Scia Cresent. The print was small and faded. The ancient order of the protector warriors and wielders of the fae court had accomplished much before they were eliminated in the war a decade and a half ago, and any of it could come up in the Tower entrance exam. The book itself was a first edition, but not from his parents’ press. They refused to print tomes about magic. Too dangerous, they thought. Magical words, made permanent on the page with the science of ink?

Connor sighed and closed the book. His parents were not as forward-thinking as he was. The sigh turned into a yawn as he blew out the candle on his desk. Just another few weeks, and then he’d be in the capital, and he would have access to all the magical tomes he could carry.

The crunching of wheels on gravel outside stayed his desires for rest. Leaving his desk, he crawled onto the bed to the window, where he could make out the outline of a carriage in front of the house, and the beginnings of rain.

Beneath him, the hushed voices of his parents became more urgent.

A delivery? Really?

Perhaps, Connor thought optimistically as he tip-toed across his bedroom, it was a magistrate here to tell his family that his request for aid had been received, and he wouldn’t have to pay to take the entrance exam at the Tower. Wouldn’t that be something? He barely had enough airgid saved as it was from working in the library – his parents paid him a pittance for sorting the tomes and dealing with the poets, scholars, and other patrons – and if he didn’t get an extra fifty airgid within the fortnight, he’d have to wait until next year to take that the exam. That wasn’t an option. He had to get out of Ashdown.

He grinned as he coaxed the creaky door to be quiet as he left his room. His smile faded. If he were a skilled wielder, he wouldn’t have to sneak. He’d just cast a silence spell on his feet. Except that silence spells were for second-year Tower students and he’d barely managed to master the entry level spells required for the exam.

The hallway stretched before him, bathed in the lamplight from the kitchen below. To Connor’s right was the landing and the stairs, and a railing that overlooked the kitchen and the front entrance of their modest wooden abode. He knelt before the railing like a prisoner who’d broken free from his cell.

A torrent of rain beat down on the two windows on either side of the door as his parents crowded the entrance. He’d thought they’d long retired for the night. Perhaps it was a delivery after all. Both were fully dressed in the day’s clothes: his petite mother’s fair hair neatly brushed behind her ears and cropped as haphazardly short as it was nearly two decades ago in the war, though she’d given up her greaves and worn leather armour for a long black dress and an ink-stained apron. Connor’s father, Donnoch, stood sentry by the door with his rolled-up white sleeves and pressed pants.

“We shouldn’t let them in,” Mother said. She parted the thick curtains and peered into the night, more worried than Connor had ever seen her before.

“That’s preposterous, Nora, he’s our—”

“Shh. Not another word.” She let the curtain fall back into place as if it had burned her. “We could pretend we didn’t get the message.”

“He knows we’re standing here, and if he doesn’t, she will. And with the rain—”

“Fine.” Mother pulled open the door. The shadow of a large man darkened the doorway and Connor made a fist, trying to remember the incantation for the basic fire spell. Mother sighed. “What are you—?”

“There’s little time,” said the mysterious man. His voice was deep and gruff, but not unfriendly. “May we…?”

The hesitant pause frightened Connor. His parents never turned away strangers, not even Hamlinda, the nosy shopkeeper, always wanting the next installment of war stories while the ink was fresh and still wet from the press. The door creaked, however, and the late night stranger stepped into the warm house.

Strangers, plural, Connor discovered as a smaller, but just as tall, robed person followed the large man inside. The man drew back his hood; neither Mother nor Da seemed pleased with his presence. But the second stranger, Mother fixed a stare so hostile that Connor barely recognized her. Although the second stranger was drenched, she didn’t remove her hood. She kept her delicate, pale hands clasped in front of her and her eyes cast down to the floor where puddles and muddy footprints ruined Connor’s hard work from earlier today.

“Were you followed?” Mother asked. She crossed the kitchen to the stove to put on some tea, ever hospitable, no matter the hour or the scowl that beset her face.

The man was about his parents’ age, perhaps a year or two younger. He had the look of a man who had been travelling and living in the forests, which excited Connor. The man had a full beard and so many twigs in his hair it was almost a nest. Perhaps he was a peddler. “I ensured we weren’t followed. Again, I’m sorry—”

“Stop apologizing, Fingal,” Da said. He clasped the man—Fingal’s—shoulder. “We’re just glad you’re safe.”

Fingal nodded and looked to the tall female stranger. “It’s all right.”

She shifted her weight, but didn’t speak.

Fingal cleared his throat. “Nora, Donnoch, I’m sure you—”

“We do,” Mother said shortly. “Why she’s still with you, after all this time—”

Da cut her off. “Shh, Connor is sleeping, we mustn’t disturb the lad with the past.”

Connor drew back quietly behind the corner. The past. Mother and Da rarely brought up their service in the human-fae war against the Evil Fae Queen. Since the war ended fifteen years ago, veterans and civilians alike had tales to tell, and going directly to scribes was no longer the most efficient way to spread them. They’d tell them to the poets, who would come to Connor’s parents there in Ashdown with their handwritten notebooks, where Mother and Da would set the type on the press. Copies would be printed and shipped by carriage to shops and vendors all over the realm. There were few working presses in the realm—Connor was lucky that his Mother and Da held such a prestigious, honorable profession—and that Da had a knack for fixing and maintaining the machine.

“What do you need?” Da asked. “Money? I can give you ten. Twenty, perhaps.”

The smell of lavender tea wafted up from below. Cups clinked and chairs drew across the floor as they settled in. Connor risked another peek. Mother remained standing at the stove—not unusual, as she was always the hostess—but Connor suspected it gave her a better vantage point, as she was of smaller stature. She looked less than pleased with Fingal, who was drinking the tea as if it was the only water he’d had in days. Da had sat next to Fingal. He hadn’t touched his tea.

The stranger in the hood remained at the door.

“I’ll take what you can spare, not a bill more,” Fingal replied finally. “I wouldn’t be here unless it was urgent, though airgid isn’t the issue.”

“You mean you wouldn’t put us in danger unless your life was on the line.”

Fingal set his cup down with a clank in the saucer. “Not my life.”

The girl’s hands unclasped and balled into fists.

Mother sighed. “You can sit down. You must be cold. If you get cold.”

The girl nodded, seemingly grateful.

“Well? Take off your things, I’ll see that they’re dry.”

Another awkward pause. Mother tried to help her, but the stranger held up her hands, afraid. As if expecting to be attacked, Mother yelped and recoiled, nearly hitting her backside on the hot stove.

“Donnoch!” she cried.

Fingal leapt to his feet, not to aid Mother, but the strange hooded girl. “It’s all right. She won’t hurt you. We talked about this.”

She raised her head to Fingal, and with encouragement, she removed the heavy cloak and passed it to Mother.

Her black hair, half-soaked, fell down her chest. Her oversized white dress, muddied at the hem from travel, appeared to have been sewn from a bedsheet.

That was not all she had hidden beneath her heavy cloak. Fingal stepped back. A violet wing unfurled from the girl, nearly twice the width of her body, with fringed ends and a translucent white center. Then another, on the other side: her left wing was torn and only half there.

She was fae.

Yet she couldn’t be fae. That was impossible. No fae was that tall. She appeared to be Connor’s age, perhaps a year older. With fae, age was difficult to pinpoint. Her ears were small and rounded, like a human’s, yet her pale skin, tinted lavender, had that flawless quality that humans coveted. Her cheekbones were high and sharp, similar to the fae though, not as pronounced. She seemed too human to be fae.

A half-breed, then. Connor’s heart pounded fiercely. Half-breeds rarely survived to adulthood, if they survived at all. No half-breed had physical symmetry and all their mental faculties. Most human-fae couples he’d heard and read about refused to bear children because of the risks.

And yet, here she was. Seemingly fine.

Mother gripped the curtains and violently pulled them shut. The fae were not welcome in Ashdown. Too many veterans from the war lived here. Too many sour memories. Many belonging to the Imperial Guard had relatives who had fought and died at the Evil Queen Caetriona’s hand. “I thought you’d removed the wings,” she said to Fingal.

Removed. Connor’s stomach did flip-flops. He hadn’t interacted with the fae before–there was so little opportunity in Ashdown to do so–and he certainly had no idea who this one was, but only the worst of the fae had their wings removed. Besides death, it was the most extreme punishment inflicted in the fae lands. Or so Connor had read. They would have done it to the Evil Queen Caetriona, if the human forces hadn’t burned her castle to the ground with her in it to end the war.

The fae didn’t seem surprised or angry by Mother’s comment. Fingal was outraged. “I would never do that to her.”

“It would save you from sneaking around,” Da said, taking a sip of his tea.

“Has she become mute?” Mother asked.

“I can speak,” she said. Her voice was high and melodic, and gripped Connor’s guts, as if she was talking to him and not his mother. He hadn’t expected her to sound so young. She nodded at Fingal—they seemed to exchange a private conversation with merely a look—and he returned to his seat. “Riklar Dheediannil is gathering forces in the west and the south, making his way around the shorelines.”

“Are ye certain?” Donnoch asked.

“Saw them with our own eyes,” Fingal said.

“We couldn’t stay in Catterborough anymore,” the fae continued.

“Couldn’t you take her to the capital? Or any other town where fae and human cohabitation is more accepted?” Da said.

“The capital isn’t safe for anyone,” Fingal said. “And the level of cohabitation in the capital has been greatly exaggerated. Her forces, they are strong there.”

Something in the way Fingal said her made Connor’s stomach knot. He stared at his hands. His magic wasn’t strong enough to defend his family against whatever forces Fingal was talking about. In two weeks, after he took his entrance exam in the capital, he’d have access to classes at the Tower. Then perhaps Connor would be more prepared.

“This does not leave this room,” Mother said. “All it would take is one curious Imperial Guard…”

Her bright violet gaze locked with Connor’s as she pointed at the upper landing. “And what about him?”

Mother, Da, and Fingal looked up at Connor, stunned.

“Connor Donnochnora Donmagh!” Da roared. “What in the gods’ names are ye doing playing spy at this hour?”

Connor scrambled to his feet as Mother ran up the stairs to shoo him to bed. He sputtered, his tongue and mouth trying to form words, but nothing intelligible came. All he could think of was why a fae with a torn wing was cause for such secrecy.

And why, when she stared at him with her piercing violet eyes, he felt as though his soul was beached on the sand, lain dry for her to read.

Con-ventional Wisdom – a 2016-2018 Post-Mortem Retrospective

To follow my sales journey and to see how I did at past conventions, click here for the full list of articles.
I talk conventions with my BFF on my new podcast, BUSINESS BFFs. Listen here.

Since 2013, I’ve been attending conventions to sell my books. But in 2016, I doubled down on this strategy, and I’ve spent the last three years doing constant conventions, festivals, and craft markets. “Constant” is a word here that means, 10+ shows a year. That’s nearly a show a month for three years, averaged, but usually shows clump together in the spring and fall months, with a break in the winter. I also give myself a month in the summer where I don’t do shows. I do have to write at some point, you know!

Turner’s Christmas at the Coliseum 2018 Post Mortem

Last show of the year! PHEW! Time to “relax”…I mean, create more books for next year. Everything is fine!

To follow my sales journey and to see how I did at past conventions, click here for the full list of articles.
I talk conventions with my BFF on my new podcast, BUSINESS BFFs. Listen here.
General Impressions

I flew into Halifax on the Wednesday and Mom and I drove up to Moncton early Friday morning. We heard iffy things about the weather. Blowing snow on the Cobequid Pass. A woman from the show actually called me TWICE to ensure I was still coming! The roads were fine, though, so nothing to worry about for us.

Check-in was upstairs in an office overlooking the coliseum floor. The woman said, “Cutting it close, aren’t you?”

Was I? We arrived at 11:30am; load-in was from 8am to 12pm on the Friday. The show started at 2pm. Actual load-in might take twenty minutes or less, but then set up is about an hour or so – plenty of time before the show opens.

Again, I had been called twice – and both times I told them where I was on the road, and assured them I was coming. Why was I being chastised for being within the load-in window?

After check-in, when Mom and I were walking out to start load-in, one of the volunteers guarding a large dolly called to me, “Where are you parked?”

A little startled, I said, “Up on the hill there.”

He said, “Well I’m not going up there. Come down here, bring your car down.”

Uhh…I didn’t ask for your help, buddy – why do you assume I want it?

They were persistent, though. Bring your car down, park in front of the doors, unload.

It later became clear that these volunteers are at the entrance to HELP with load-in (not just stand there with dollies and give directions). This is a service the show provides. Drive up, and they’ll load stuff onto their large dollies and drive it to your booth. A good idea for a service, yes! BUT this was not clear to me in any way in the little documentation I had (there were no emails to vendors before the event), so how am I supposed to know this? I bring a dolly when I can, or I roll things in in suitcases, because I’m usually just one person. Also if you get volunteers involved, who is liable if they hurt themselves handling my product? Especially if they’ve forced their help upon me?

This is a thirty-year-old show. Many of the volunteers (and many of the vendors too) seem to be old-timers who have been there since the beginning. So I think the procedures might be clear to people who do this show year in and year out, but I only did this show once two years ago. I’m used to a very hands-off (comic conventions) or extremely strict (Festival of Crafts) load-in and set-up procedure – one that is communicated in advance.

Other than this off-putting behaviour and unclear communication, the rest of the show was fine.

Display

I wish I had a second table (and a third…) to replicate my Festival of Crafts set-up, but as I didn’t have time to coordinate that, I went with a front-facing display. My East Coast banner has a lot of impact. I also brought my horizontal banner and my table runner with me – critical pieces of a complete display!

And because I’m in the East, I have access to my wings!

With any display element, I find it takes several shows to figure out its full potential. The wings work best when you can see them. I think I need another box set that’s level, so I can place them on top, giving them maximum impact. Here you can see they just disappear behind my shelves and stacks.

Sales

Moncton – you showed up in a BIG WAY for me this year!!! Sales from Turner’s was just $35 shy of beating my Festival of Crafts sales. Imagine – a three-day show in a Maritime city competing with my big four-day craft show in Calgary, where I pay twice the price for the same space.

I did this show two years ago, but I’ve grown a lot since then so I wasn’t sure what to expect. Would people remember me? Would I get the return customers, even though I skipped a year?

Well, people did remember me! I had people return to get The Emerald Cloth and Hunger In Her Bones. I think I would have had more return customers if I hadn’t skipped a year – but oh well!

My price adjustments seem to be working out well. I sold many, many individual copies of The Violet Fox. I sold about equal amounts of The Violet Fox Series and the Sparkstone Saga. My 2 for 30 deal continues to perform well. I sold out of Within and I was pretty close to running out of The Silver Spear and The Emerald Cloth as well.

It was about a sixty-forty split between cash and card. Many people seemed to be on a cash budget. Because I took insert-debit (and not just tap), I made a couple of sales I wouldn’t have otherwise. I had no issues with my Moneris reader.

I guess there was a radio and/or TV interview about a girl who self-publishes in Moncton (or New Brunswick, at least) – but because of that, I had a lot of people ask me if I was that person. Nope! No one seemed to be able to remember their name. Regardless, though, this interview primed them to be interested in my offerings.

A lot of grandmothers (or older women, be they grandmothers or great aunts or guardians) did not know what would be the best purchase and relied on me to tell them what would be suitable. Not just in content appropriateness, but in what their younger relative would like based on their age and their interests. Usually I’d ask what their relative was reading. The issue here is they either didn’t know, or they couldn’t remember. This leads to them leaving without completing the sale (but still very interested) or debating for a long time, which makes them a more expensive customer. I’m wondering if some of this can be alleviated by introducing a gift card option. I think I’ve gathered enough brand awareness – or at least, brand goodwill – to give this a shot. There are some logistics to implementing it well but I think it’s a consideration for 2019.

Interactions

My mom was with me for this show! She noted that when she tried to engage people, they were polite, but they mostly wanted to talk to me, especially when they realized I was the author.

A consistent trend at this show was people’s attitude shift upon realizing I wrote everything on the table. It was like I was an instant celebrity. And the fact that I sign everything I sell – that was a big bonus. On Sunday, passersby would stop to watch me sign and I could hear them whispering, “Oh wow, she’s signing it, she’s the author…”

I think out west, authors doing shows is a more common – there are more of us doing it out there! So there’s a novelty to me being there, promoting and selling my books myself.

On top of that, every single person wanted to know if I was local – or at least, if I was from the Maritimes. To be a Maritimer, born and raised, even though I don’t live there anymore – that was really important to them. They liked knowing that one of their own had succeeded at following their dreams. It’s a big reason I succeed at these shows.

New Brunswick is a bilingual province (and the only official bilingual province at that)! Maybe half the attendees were French, but they spoke English with me. A few who only spoke French spoke to me in French and I was able to get by with “Oui, les livres sont en anglais!” and “No, c’est l’anglais” and “Oui, j’ai écrit!” Again, this just makes me want to get bilingual and facilitate some translations! I understand far more than I can speak, so I know that the French people who didn’t want to buy an English book were impressed with the covers and the branding.

Other interactions:

• A woman teared up when I offered to sign her book.

• Someone said, “Oh, if you’re published you must be good!” If only that’s how it worked.

• A LOT of people wanted to know how old I was. “I thought you were 15!” “I thought you were 21!” was a common refrain. I am a thirty-year-old BABY BIRD with some good Maritime genes.

A young woman who bought The Violet Fox returned the next day to say she was enjoying the book. She also told me about her aspirations to be a published writer, and the difficult time she’s had attracting a publisher. She asked me if I considered publishing other people. I told her what I’ve told others: not at this time, as I have no traditional distribution. I don’t want to be on the hook for selling another person’s book when I’m just one person travelling around the country with my wares. She then asked if I could publish her book, and then she would do the trade shows to help sell it.

I mention this for those who may have the same question (because this isn’t the first time someone has asked me this). The answer is always going to be no.

If you want to get into publishing books the way I have, it’s a hustle. You have to invest time (YEARS) and money (LOTS) in building an audience. It’s never one thing that grows an audience – it’s many things, done over time. Like any traditional publisher, I’m not going to invest in something unless I can see it making me money, and I’m going to choose the least risky investment. The least risky investment is always the author who has already done some of the groundwork (aka, they have a build-in audience). That’s not to say I wouldn’t ever publish a new author – but that’s not where I’d start, if/when the time comes for me to make that leap.

Will I Go Back?

I’d really like to! I think this is a situation where I can potentially work my way out East if I can line my shows up neatly.

It seems like from the renewal papers I got, Turner’s is stepping up their game in the future. They’re putting in a new section that allows for vendor lighting and they’re rearranging the vendors so things are less crowded (honestly, I thought it was fine?). I think this is a good sign. I am happy to attend and I hope to establish a regular appearance there year after year.

2018 Wrap Up!

As with the last two years, I’m including in this, the last show of the year, a wrap-up of the entire year.

Here are the shows I did in 2018, ranked from highest sales to lowest:

1. Festival of Crafts

2. Turner’s Christmas at the Coliseum

3. Calgary Expo

4. Fan Expo Canada

5. Edmonton Expo

6. Anime North

7. Ottawa

8. Animethon

9. Montreal

10. Hal-Con

11. Saskatoon

12. Christmas at the Forum

13. Make It Calgary Spring

And here’s the rank by per-day average sales, highest to lowest:

1. Turner’s Christmas at the Coliseum

2. Festival of Crafts

3. Edmonton

4. Saskatoon

5. Calgary

6. Anime North

7. Ottawa

8. Fan Expo Canada

9. Animethon

10. Montreal

11. Hal-Con

12. Christmas at the Forum

13. Make It Spring

The second list is important for determining which shows I book for the following year, as it evens the playing field between two-, three-, and four-day shows.

Between all of these shows, I met an ambitious sales goal for this year. I doubled my sales from 2017!

Notes about the list:

1. I made a rule at the end of last year: no more small shows. The two “small” comic cons I still did were Hal-Con and Saskatoon. As you can see, this reflects in the total sales list – bigger show (for the most part) means bigger sales. The exception to the rule would be Christmas craft shows.

2. I increased my average sales per-day number by 63% since 2017. This number is influenced by the product I have on the table (which increases each year) as well as sales at the show – helped by the fact I only did large shows.

3. Saskatoon was a two-day show. I set a per-day record sales figure here, only to be broken by Edmonton and Festival of Crafts and then Turner’s.

4. Make It Spring Calgary was a big outlier on both lists. We had a really cold winter this year that lasted nearly until the end of April. Because Make It Spring Calgary was the beginning of April, in -20 C weather, I feel like people just weren’t in the spring mood. I’d like to give it another try some other year.

5. I ended up trying a lot of new markets this year! I nixed half of last year’s markets in favour of larger, more established shows. I think Montreal, while low on the total sales list, has a lot of potential – don’t forget, a lot of the attendees there are French! Fan Expo Canada is a staple con that I’m willing to try one or two more times as well before passing any kind of final judgment on it.

6. I also had way more website sales this year than any other – from all across the country. The year isn’t up yet, but so far, my website sales in 2018 are the equivalent of my sales at Fan Expo Regina 2017.

7. Growing pains – I had a lot of expenses this year. I had to reprint pretty much my entire catalogue! My print runs were pretty modest (300 or 400 at a time) because I lived in a small basement, among the books. Those runs don’t stand a chance against the frequency at which I’m doing larger shows. Now, I have a real house and proper storage, so when I reprinted I went for larger runs (500 or 1,000 depending on the title). I also had the printer send a percentage of the run out east so I have to ship less across the country when I’m doing Eastern shows. Printing more now costs more, but it saves me from shelling out each year for each title, and brings down my unit cost significantly.

8. My sister proxied Hal-Con and Christmas at the Forum. Hal-Con I’m keeping for the foreseeable future as it’s my window into the Nova Scotia audiences, but I’ll give Christmas at the Forum a pass until I can do it myself to assess its viability.

Going Forward:

• I have to produce more/faster. I keep saying this, I know – but next year I’ll actually have an opportunity to test that out. I’ll have a minimum of two new books FOR SURE!

• I’m continuing to test the craft show and Christmas markets. There is no shortage of them, that’s for sure! It’s just a matter of getting in and holding on to the biggest and best ones.

• While small shows are out, I think it might be worthwhile to test local, sustained markets – weekly craft or farmers markets.

• Create and improve my eBook strategy. If you look me up on Amazon, you’ll notice my sales there are squat. That’s because I haven’t turned my eye to it. Yet.

• Improve in-person to online sales conversions. With the organic growth of my website sales, I want to ensure I’m making it easy and convenient to order from me directly after meeting me or seeing me at a show. Thank you to everyone who orders from me directly – you are directly contributing to my growth!

Festival of Crafts 2018 Post Mortem

Phew – most important show of the year, done and dusted. Christmas already? Yeah, I know. It’s not even Remembrance Day yet. At least they didn’t play Christmas music all weekend – that would have been intolerable.

I’m happy to say that following ’s trend, this was my best show of the year!

To follow my sales journey and to see how I did at past conventions, click here for the full list of articles.
I talk conventions with my BFF on my new podcast, BUSINESS BFFs. Listen here.
General Impressions

My application for this show was successful, and I’m so happy that they allowed me to come back. Signatures has a variety of shows across the West – Spring and Fall – and I’m determined to do more of them.

My lead up to the show was pretty busy as I did a lot of prep for the show itself, as well as squaring away all the client work I’d be missing out on during the four days. Fortunately all of my reprints arrived in time (phew!). Won’t need to do any of those for a while (I mean…unless I do extremely well next year!).

Part of the show prep was making meals. I took a page from Brianne’s book and made myself lunches for each of the four days. Rice, chickpeas, avocado, and tofu, mixed with some oil and cumin. Nom!

Display

After last year’s performance, and remembering the tough time I had in a 10×10 at Calgary Expo 2017, I went back to the drawing table with my display. Craft shows aren’t comic cons. You can’t just put stuff on a table. That’s the case regardless. But you really can’t throw product on a table and expect the customers to be interested at a show with Festival of Crafts’ calibre. The typical customer at a craft show is a grandparent or parent looking for a gift – not a nerd/geek searching for something different to read or their favourite merch. That unique, crafty touch is expected. I had to bring my A-game.

About two months before the show, I sketched the ideal layout. My space was 10×10 – the typical space you can get. There are smaller spots available (5×5) but boy, are they tiny.

Here’s my sketch:

Then I made a list of items I need to fill out the space. In their rules, Festival of Crafts says you have to have a floor if you have a walk-in space. Now, this rule didn’t seem to be enforced at the show, but it is a nice touch. Last year, my experienced craft-show veteran neighbour recommended I drape some fabric over the provided drape. At the time, I thought that would be “too much” – but upon sketching it out, I realized it might be worth a try.

Pro tip: take advice from the pros.

I challenged myself to spend $100 on display improvements for the show. So here’s what I ended up buying.

Curtain drapes – Got these on Amazon – ~$28. Two panels. I specifically wanted curtains with large rings that could be S-hooked to the top of existing pipe and drape. I had a lot of fun shopping for the “right” curtain. Something not too patterned and not too bold. The drape should enhance the existing product and not distract the customer.

Cheap rug – IKEA – ~$18. Dave and I had already been shopping for house things for the past few months, and I remembered that IKEA had a low-pile, grey, small-ish, cheap rug that would do the trick.

Carpet tape – Amazon – ~$18. So, at trade shows, you can’t just put down a floor. It has to adhere to the existing floor. You don’t want people tripping inside your booth. So I bought the highest rated non-stick tape.

Fold up stool chair – IKEA – ~$49. This craft show doesn’t provide tables or chairs. You have to bring your own. But besides that, getting my own TALL chair has been on my list for a while. My displays have been getting taller and taller and I need to give my poor feet a break from constantly standing. The Franklin chair was the perfect choice.

Extra fold-up table – Canadian tire – $48 (on sale – normally ~$68). This 5ft table happened to be on sale when I was looking, so I scooped it up. I already have one just like it. Now I have two. Yay me.

Yes, the above totals more than $100. But all of those items I can use for future shows (especially the chair!!) as I grow from a six to eight foot artist alley space to something bigger.

I even practiced the set up in our basement to ensure that everything fit in the prescribed space before taking it to the BMO.

The result?

BAM!

Yes, the curtains are wrinkly. After I fireproofed the curtains and hung them out to dry, I thought, this is great. Then I folded them up and put them in my boxies for transport. Annnnd when we hung them up….they were wrinkly. So, so wrinkly. They were fine, but now I know next time to ROLL the curtains, don’t fold them, and that will help.

The carpet tape worked great. It went down easily and it came up easily – exactly as promised. The carpet fit perfectly in the space and the colours went well.

I was worried that one stand-up banner wouldn’t be enough, but it worked out fine, especially with the curtains.

So you see, all of the above items I listed and bought on their own seem banal, but when paired, they work in harmony to enhance the space.

Improvements for next time – lighting. I was right under a ceiling light this year, which was fine. But the BMO lighting is very cold. Nearly everyone had clamp lights and/or little bead lights integrated into their display, creating a very warm, cozy effect.

Sales

This show broke all previous sales records – both for per day sales and total show sales. I can attribute this to these factors:

• Improved display. As stated above, I put a lot of thought into how I was going to show up this year, made a plan, and followed through.

• Raised Prices. I devised a new pricing strategy for my later shows this year. Not a huge increase – a couple of my bundles are now $5 more. So far this has not deterred any customers. In fact, people keep telling me my books are cheap!

• Second Year. Many people either remembered me from last year and returned to buy sequels, or had repeated interaction with the brand previously and bought on this go-round.

• More Books. Last year, I took Within off the table because I felt it didn’t jive with the rest of my stuff. I put it back this year because people kept asking for it. So, I went from five books last year to seven, increasing selection.

• Bundle buying. People bought individual books, yes. But most people bought a series bundle, or went for my 2 for 30 deal.

• Ahead of the pack. This show is usually the first week of December. This year it was the first week in November, ahead of all the other Christmas shows and Black Friday. People still haven’t done their shopping and they have a little more disposable income.

This is a four-day show, so it’s a marathon. Thursday’s hours were extremely long (10am-9pm) and there were a lot of dead periods, but I performed about as expected. Friday, though – it was an outlier for me. I had my best sales day EVER. I sold many, many bundles that day. It was still a long (10am-9pm). Saturday was good (10am-6pm) and Sunday was fine (10am-5pm).

As for what sold: The Violet Fox bundle sold slightly more than the Sparkstone Saga bundle – though people kept asking me what was more popular, so of course I’d tell them The Violet Fox, so that’s what they’d buy. So…yeah. I also had a lot of people returning for The Emerald Cloth – yay! Within quietly sold a handful of copies, as expected, but it filled out the table and caught the eye of many a passerby. I sold slightly more individual copies of The Violet Fox than Stars In Her Eyes, but people mostly bought bundles or I upsold them to a two for $30 deal.

Most people paid with credit or debit. I had some trouble with my Moneris. I got a new, better phone, but it kept unpairing with the machine. I’m even more worried that the Moneris machine itself is getting old. If it stops working, they’ll send me a new one since I pay monthly for the service, but my biggest fear was it failing during THIS crucial show.

Ultimately, I met and passed my ideal sales goal, but fell short of my ambitious, pie-in-the-sky sales goal….which is fine, obviously! There’s always next year for that.

FIREPROOFING

My friend Sam makes fun of me for obsessing over this, but my biggest fear is a fire marshal coming to my display, torch in hand, and lighting all of my items on fire—books included.

Only your display needs to be fireproofed. Not the actual product. Yes, I know. My product is a bonfire waiting to happen. If there is a fire, I can rest easy knowing that the LEAST VALUABLE items in the booth have been protected.

Yes, yes, and that I did my part in preventing the fire from spreading.

I had fireproofing spray from my last fireproofing spree, but now that I had new drapes, and my new table runner, and new wooden boxies, I knew I didn’t have enough spray to cover it all. And have you ever tried buying fireproofing spray in this city? It’s basically impossible. You have to really look for it. And then go on an adventure to buy it.

In the packet, they provided a recipe for homemade fireproofing solution, which sounds like a chemical meltdown waiting to happen. It’s easier, however, to make the solution and soak everything in it rather than me standing over the tablecloths inhaling toxic fumes.

The primary ingredients in the recipe were borax and boric acid. The borax was easy enough. You can get that at any grocery store. The boric acid though? No, no. No. That is apparently dangerous enough that it must be special-ordered into the pharmacy. I felt awkward asking for it, worrying they’d think I’m Walter White. But it was fine, it came the next day, and I picked it up.

I paid about $15 for a couple hundred grams. It’s a white powder, just like the borax. I brought it back to the house, followed the recipe, and voila, homemade fireproofing. I soaked the fabrics and the carpet and hung them out to dry. Then I sprayed my wood boxies with the can. I even documented the process as proof.

I dunno. To my understanding, this has to be done YEARLY, or at the very least, before this show in particular. It’s not something you can really lie easily about either – one quick burn test settles that. It’s so much work, either to track down the spray or track down the ingredients to make the solution. Is there an easier way? I spent a WHOLE DAY on this, when I could have been making stuff or selling my time to the highest bidder.

People Interactions

As stated, this isn’t a comic convention, so I’m running into the general public shopping for their relative who is into science fiction and fantasy.

“Is this for girls or boys?” This came up so. Many. Times. Mostly it was the concerned grandparent, worried they’d “accidentally” buy a “girl book” for their thirteen-year-old grandson. Oh no, what a shame it would be to expose a boy to strong female characters, castle intrigue and hijinks, and superheroes fighting aliens. Yes, that would be no good at all.

In any case, one cannot answer the customer sarcastically – this is a legit question for them. So I would say that the protagonists are female, but I have had people of all ages and genders buy my work and enjoy it. They would promptly say, “No, better not chance it” and thank me for my time.

Yes, those are the words they used. Better not chance it.

Eventually, later on, when a woman I judged to be a good candidate for the conversation came along, I laid it on her honestly. I said, I don’t know if a boy would like this, because rarely if at all does a parent or a grandparent buy the book as a gift and report back to me. And even if they did report back that their boy didn’t like it, I can’t say for certain whether or not your boy would like my work. But I don’t see why they wouldn’t want to read it, assuming the book itself appealed to them.

Also, as a young girl, I read books with boy protagonists all the time. Why wouldn’t you allow your boy to do the same with girl protagonists?

My sister, who did two shows for me back to back in Halifax in the last few weeks, reported she saw an older man with (presumably) his grandson at Hal-Con. The grandson saw the Faery Ink Press table, and was immediately interested. He started walking towards it. The grandfather noticed, and pulled his grandson away. Jessie couldn’t really hear the exchange, but it seemed to her that he was pulling him away from a sparkly, purple table because he believed that wouldn’t suit him.

Oh, but best interaction happened the last day. An elderly man walked past the booth, taking in all of my display. I said hello. He said hello. Then he looked at my banner, and back to me, and declared, “I’ve never read fiction, and I never will.”

Ummm…okay, whatever you say! But like…

…never?

Thank you to all my friends who came by and said hello!!!!

Edmonton Expo 2018 Post Mortem

Phew, where has September gone? Just a few more days and I move into my new house—and new office!!

To follow my sales journey and to see how I did at past conventions, click here for the full list of articles.
I talk conventions with my BFF on my new podcast, BUSINESS BFFs. Listen here.
General Impressions

With the Greyhound putting the brakes on its service in the West, I chose the Red Arrow to take me up to Edmonton. On Friday morning—the day of the show—I arrived downtown at 7:30am to catch the 8am bus. Everything went smoothly! It’s almost like going on a plane. Comfy seats, in-bus movie, and there was even free drinks (hot and cold!) and snacks. Glad to know that the Red Arrow is an option for me.

I ubered from the Red Arrow to the Expo grounds. It was a little tough getting to the right entrance, but eventually with some help from someone named Storm, we got my four suitcases inside and I got settled in. The boxes I’d put on the pallet were also at my table (thanks Sam!). I’ve got my set-up down to about 45 minutes now—I finished just in time for the earlybird show opening!

Display

Same set up as the previous two shows! Except the tables are 6ft here, not 8ft like in Saskatoon, so things were a little crowded. Still working on that second banner. I’m also looking into branded bags, clear and solid – this is an area I desperately need to improve. Don’t get me wrong, the bags from Crystal Clear Bags are just fine, as are the purple & blue ones I bought from Amazon. I think it completes the customer experience to hand them their signed books in a branded bag. A cherry on top! Hopefully I can get those in time for my Christmas shows.

My table runner continues to attract attention and inform people exactly what kind of author-publisher I am! The only problem is keeping it CLEAN – since it’s mostly white!

Sales

I had the best Edmonton Expo yet! As I had predicted (and hoped), my fourth year at the show brought me to a new level. I’m an established presence now—people recognize me and regulars return for sequels and new product.

Many of my fellow artist alley vendors noticed a decline in their sales this year. That’s why I’m going to go into detail here about why I think mine went way up, and how you, the artist alley vendor, can weather the tumultuous storms of low or uninterested traffic.

Why My Sales Were Strong:

This is my fourth year doing the show. I firmly believe you have to do a show at least three times to grow your audience in a particular city. This is the case for book vendors/authors. The first year, you establish a base line and you connect with the audience. The second year, you get a few return customers, but your sales will still be mostly to new people. Third year, you’ll see more return customers. Fourth—at least for me—that’s where you get a strong 30-40% repeat customer base who are buying your new product or your sequels. If you don’t have anything new—or if you don’t have enough new product—the model stagnates.

This of course, doesn’t take into account changes from the show itself or changes in city climate, politically, economically, or otherwise. It also assumes that you have a product people want to buy.

I have built a repeat customer base. You can do a show multiple times and not see return customers. If that’s the case—if people aren’t returning for Book 2 and Book 3, then maybe your product isn’t converting and you need to re-evaluate your display, your look, and/or your selling strategy. In a convention setting, you’re fighting visual noise. You have to have an eye-catching, memorable look, or no-one will notice you. What changes are you willing to make to your display to make it more eye-catching?

Good location. I got really lucky this year. I was in a high-trafficked area. Many attendees stuck to the outer rims of the artist alley – and only some went into the aisles. This tracks with a trend I noticed in Toronto, at Fan Expo Canada. Sam, who secured a space with Greg at his endcap, noted attendees saying they refused to go down the aisles because it was too busy or too cramped.

But even if I wasn’t in that spot—I feel I still would have done last year’s sales numbers, if not slightly more. Location is important at a show, yes. As you get bigger, as your brand evolves, you can weather a bad location better—assuming the show itself is large enough. Sometimes you have to work with what you’re given.

New, in-demand product. People came specifically to buy The Emerald Cloth! Yay! I even had people asking for Darkness In Her Reach….soon, soon!

Appropriate content. Nowadays, going to the local comic expo is a family affair. If your product is family-friendly, great – I think you’ll do well. Appropriate in this instance also means accessible. Does your product require a lot of explanation? Is it clear what you’re selling? If not—how can you clarify it, and bridge the gap between you and the customer?

****

It’s easy to blame the show if you don’t reach your goals. And yes—Informa doesn’t have the best reputation when it comes to organization and execution. The panel rooms were too small to accommodate the audience for David Tennant and the lines were too close to the artists, obscuring view and traffic. That was on them, for sure.

Otherwise, you sell to the traffic you DO have. You hustle assertively, confidently, and with respect. Not everyone wants to read your books, or buy your art. Not everyone has the money or the time or the interest. But someone does. And where there is one, there is another, and another and another. And if there’s enough of your target audience in one place, you can make money.

Maybe you think that’s easy for me to say, because I did well. But I was small once too, I was in bad locations, less-than-stellar shows, I sold books even though I didn’t have any, and I’ve had people look at my booth, wrinkle their nose, and keep going. I’ve even had a woman say to my face they prefer another author’s books (who was at the show). And that’s okay. I’m there for the people who like my stuff and for the future customers who are yet to discover me.

It’s not the audience’s fault if they don’t buy, and the show itself is often only one factor of many in why you didn’t reach your goals. As long as I can diagnose the problem and fix it, I continue on. If you’re asking me whether you should do the show again—only you can answer that. It’s your business, your dollar, your responsibility. You ultimately know the answer – you have to do what’s best for you.

Onto my actual sales statistics! I had a 42% increase in sales this year. Since The Emerald Cloth is my new book, I brought far more of the Violet Fox Series, and “just enough” of the Sparkstone Saga. Well, just enough was barely enough! I sold out of Stars In Her Eyes on Sunday afternoon, and had three copies of Dreams In Her Head and Hunger In Her Bones left. The Stars In Her Eyes reprints will arrive within the next two weeks—just in time for Hal-Con and my Christmas shows! I think people already have The Violet Fox and The Silver Spear as well, which is why I didn’t see my expected numbers for those titles. I’ve also altered my pitch a bit for the Sparkstone Saga—and as soon as I mention it’s set in Alberta, and they read the punchy backcover copy—they’re basically sold.

That’s all that was left of the Sparkstone Saga stock by early Sunday afternoon.

Edmonton now sits at third for overall sales for the year and first in average per-day sales.

The Cosplayer Returns!

At Animethon, I had my very first cosplayer! She returned here to show me the progress on her Violet Fox costume!

So exciting!!!!!!! I can’t wait to see the finished cloak! ^_^

Good People

I stayed in an Airbnb once again with my friends! It was cramped quarters, but we made it work. I love staying with my friends!

On Saturday evening, we went out to The Moth Café, a vegetarian/vegan restaurant with tons of gluten-free options. I had a purple risotto—very fitting—with caramelized mushrooms. I don’t even like mushrooms, but I liked these! Finished it off with a slice of raw GF vegan blueberry cheesecake—which was like eating creamed blueberries. I saved it for my breakfast on Sunday morning.

One of my neighbours was Infinitea – three friends who make geek/nerd-inspired herbal teas! They were consistently busy the whole weekend, and boy was it great to be next to some nice smells. I loved their branding and their positive attitude. They only sell at conventions right now but they could easily scale it. I bought some of their teas and their reusable teabags. Allons-y!

Thanks to everyone who stopped by the table for a chat! ^_^

The Weird

Everyone kept complaining about the “stick guy” – the person going around artist alley with an 8 ft pole, telling artists to lower their displays.

This isn’t a problem I have because my display is less than 8 ft tall, but Informa has been cracking down on all artists this year in Toronto and now in Edmonton (and probably their other shows too?), forcing the artists to lower their display heights. For the uninitiated: it’s common for artists to build tall print walls at shows. A print wall is a gridded display of all the artist’s prints for sale. This looks great and allows the customer choose what they like. Artists usually use photography backdrop frames and lots of tape to make this work. So when they are told to lower this display, they have to spend more time adjusting the height of the frame—an already finicky process!

I was talking to one of my friends at their table when the stick guy came over and requested the display be lowered to conform with the regulations. I looked, and the display was maybe an inch too high. There was no leeway. Is this a fire safety issue? No one seemed to have a clear answer. Someone overheard that it’s this one staff member who wants artist alley to “look cleaner” – even though vendor booths can build as high as they want.

Sam was a creator guest at the con, and she put her 7 ft banner up on a chair, effectively making it at least 9 ft tall. Did the stick guy enforce the rules with her? Nope!

So yeah. That’s just one peek into the wonderful world of selling your art. Conforming to and breaking seemingly arbitrary rules is part of the business. But break those rules at your own risk.

Will I Go Back?

I’ve already renewed!

Saskatoon Expo 2018 Post Mortem

Ahhh Saskatoon! At the beginning of the year, I was fairly convinced I wouldn’t return to Sask Expo. Not because it became independent once more after Informa bought out the Calgary and Edmonton shows—because of personal superstitions.

To follow my sales journey and to see how I did at past conventions, click here for the full list of articles.
I talk conventions with my BFF on my new podcast, BUSINESS BFFs. Listen here.
General Impressions

In 2016, the day before I left for Saskatoon Expo, I fell and rolled my ankle pretty badly. I went to the con on the bus anyway but it took a while for me to heal.

In 2017, the day before Saskatoon Expo, I sprained my hand. There was no way I’d be able to handle travel, luggage, and set-up by myself, so I had to cancel the whole trip—forfeiting hundreds of dollars in table and travel costs.

I thought, maybe I’m cursed? Maybe I’m not “meant” to do this show? Superstitions and “signs” have a way of burrowing deep in the mind, creating irrational fears.

In January 2018, Chris Bernhard, the showrunner, emailed and offered me a discounted table rate.

I thought about it and said yes—wondering if this was me flying in the face of a Warning from the Universe.

But I’m happy to report that the third time’s the charm and I was not injured before, during, or after (knock on wood!) the show. It helped that, despite my busy schedule, I didn’t rush and gave myself lots of breaks in the week leading up to the event – so I wasn’t too tired or stressed! So yes, by being cognizant of my body and my limits, I “broke” a “curse.” How about that?

When I got off the plane, I noticed a woman with a Saskatoon Expo sign—definitely there to pick up some creator guests. I felt emboldened—they’re probably going to the convention center. I could probably get a ride.

Once I grabbed my bags from the carousel, I approached the woman and asked if it would be possible for me to hitch a ride—even though I’m a vendor, not a guest. She looked at my many bags and said, “We might be able to make room.”

We went outside, and turns out, they had two SUVs—room for me, my things, as well as the other guests. So thank you Crystal for accommodating me and driving me to the convention center! It saved me a $30 cab ride.

Fan Expo Canada 2018 Post Mortem

My biggest show of the year, done! But was it worth it? Mostly I’m itching to work on Darkness In Her Reach, but this is the first of three shows in September, so it’s show time.

To follow my sales journey and to see how I did at past conventions, click here for the full list of articles.
I talk conventions with my BFF on my new podcast, BUSINESS BFFs. Listen here.
General Impressions

The logistics of this show are a bit of a nightmare, unhelped by the fact that downtown Toronto and the convention centre itself is a maze! Thanks to the woman whose name I don’t know if I got, who saw me struggling to get three suitcases through the front doors, ran up to me, and not only showed me where to go but helped me roll my bags right to my table. Turns out – she’s a Nova Scotian too! Makes sense, we’re always rushing in to help those in need.

Also I met my friends Brianne and Jake, and they helped me load in the stock I’d shipped ahead. It was nice to visit, even if briefly! THANK YOU so much for your help!!

Once me and my things were in the convention centre, and I’d grabbed my badges, set-up was a breeze.

Display

I got my new table runner the day before I left for Toronto! It looks great, and so much lighter than the white tablecloth. My logo will either print too red or too blue—it depends on the printer—but it’s fine, still purple. My eBook sign, prominently displayed, helped me sell a bunch of eBook bundles, though it hasn’t fared well with all the frequent travel. I need to make a new one.

My new banner ALSO arrived! I’d lost it at Anime North. Now I’ve remade it. Now the tiger is MORE POWERFUL than EVER BEFORE. Scott Henderson made me a map of Marlenia, which I’ve put into the reprints of The Silver Spear and The Emerald Cloth – you can see that within the tiger itself. I’m going to make another banner for the Sparkstone Saga so I have a better “backdrop.”

With the way I arranged the stacks, I think it was a little clearer to people what book belonged to what series, and their ordering.

I like how Sam and Greg had little cards sticking out of display copies that showed price and gave a description of the product. I think going forward, I need to make little laminated signs for each book that describe book order and series, and colour code them by series.

Sales

I went in with high expectations, thinking I was going to burst through all my sales goals. But as far as shows this year…this one was just fine. Not terrible–I was really close to making Calgary Expo numbers–but not really the sales I was expecting for a show with 120,000 people. Just goes to show that the biggest shows aren’t necessarily better—and that if you let your hopes and dreams get in the way with hard facts, you’re going to get unexpected, potentially disappointing results.

I have a predictable sales pattern for three and four-day shows. Fifteen to twenty percent of my sales on the Thursday/Friday, about forty percent on the Saturday, and the remaining twenty-five percent on the Sunday. Those numbers can fluctuate – sometimes forty percent of my sales are on the Sunday instead. But generally speaking, that’s the curve.

For Fan Expo Canada this year, I had twenty-five percent on each day. A flat line. Not only that, I had large windows of time with no sales. People would buy immediately in the morning, and then trickles throughout the day, and then a big chunk at the end. Now, I’m used to the afternoon lull, that’s to be expected. But a lull from 11am to 3pm? Not that I’m getting no people. On the contrary. I’m chatting up potential customers, people are taking my cards, people are interested.

Here’s why I think people weren’t buying:

1. Herd mentality. Especially on Saturday, you could barely move. People were shuffling by, looking, taking cards, but they didn’t want to stop. They just wanted to get through.

2. Overstimulation. There’s two buildings, so many artists, many large displays. I can compete with that, but I can’t compete with a headache.

3. Engagement on their terms. They didn’t want to have a conversation. They just wanted to get on ABC place to get XYZ item, and I’m an unexpected attraction. They’d take my card and look me up later.

4. Low Return. Many customers I was positive would return, didn’t. I have a pretty high return rate. This is because people want my product, but they don’t want to carry it around the show with them. I feel people didn’t return because they couldn’t physically get through the crowds on Saturday and Sunday. My customers on Thursday and Friday returned as normal, because it was less busy.

As for the actual sales! The Violet Fox Series wins, as usual. Sold nearly double as many sets as the Sparkstone Saga bundle, although I sold more single Stars In Her Eyes than single copies of The Violet Fox. Again, I think this is a pricing thing. I make it convenient for people to buy two books with The Violet Fox pricing, where it’s not as convenient with the Stars In Her Eyes pricing. I might re-jig some of my bundle prices to move more Sparkstone Sagas.

Another reason I sell more Violet Foxies is because when given the choice between fantasy and science fiction, most leaned towards fantasy. I ended up altering my pitch for the Sparkstone Saga as it’s a superpowered teens vs invading aliens story anyway. So I’ll lead with that in the future instead of just saying it’s straight-up science fiction.

I shipped a ton of boxes ahead of the show and sold through most of them and took remainders home in suitcases. I availed myself of Greg and Justin’s travelling pallet and put some boxes there—they will meet me in Saskatoon. This is something I’ll look into doing in the future. I have seven books now, and I need to bring at least a box of each to a show—two boxes when it comes to the Violet Fox Series. Having travelling stock that I can keep track of will save me so much stress, time, and money.

I have six more confirmed shows—still waiting to hear back about a few Christmas spots—and I’ve already surpassed my 2017 con sales numbers.

Thieves! Part II

If you remember from my Montreal post, thieves have been hitting the Quebec and Ontario conventions. Apparently a handful of large artist booths were hit at this convention as well. No one seems certain if these are the same thieves as in Montreal, but it’s unsettling all the same. I may have to upgrade my cash box to a fanny pack, as unappealing and unfashionable as they are.

The first two days of the convention, security was lax. On Wednesday evening, during vendor set-up, anyone could walk in there with confidence and snag unattended valuables. Literally anyone. There was a bag-check line for vendors each day…but Sam and I were able to waltz by without being detected. It was only on Saturday, after several artists had been hit by thieves, Informa beefed up its security, blocked entrances, enforced lines, and had volunteers at multiple checkpoints who would engage with you. A band-aid solution for an already gushing wound.

Loss prevention is hard, I get it. But taking action only after something becomes a problem…is a problem itself.

Good People

This is the first of three shows I’m doing with my group of friends! Sam, Greg, Drake, and Greg’s helper Jess and I rented a luxe condo for the long weekend (oh but shh, DO NOT TELL ANYONE ITS AN AIRBNB and DO NOT MAKE CONTACT WITH THE CONCIERGE was a huge theme of the weekend!). It was right around the corner from the convention centre—perfect location and great views! It’s generally worth it to pay a little extra to stay a little closer. Then you don’t have to worry about commuting or the cost of commuting. All of us were zonked after each day. We had a lot of low-key hangs to accompany the high-stress show, just what we all needed. We’re also going to be staying together at Saskatoon and Edmonton.

I also got to see Andrew, my Montreal neighbour, and Dustin from Jailbird Comics (Ottawa neighbour) once again! And I met Danny Zabbal at Saturday dinner. A wonderful storyteller, very funny, very down-to-earth.

Thanks to everyone who came to see me at the table!

The Weird

As always, I seem to attract the odd ones.

One man asked me where I was from. I told him.

“Calgary? Wait so that’s like, an hour’s drive from here?”

“Uh…it’s a four-hour flight.”

This did not compute. “So you took a bus? A train?”

“I flew. On a plane.”

He left after that.

Then I got a shy one who claimed he could read my aura. Apparently it is pleasant and business-like. Oh, and turns out I’m “quite beautiful” too. Do people think that I don’t know this? When has this line worked? C’mon.

A man on Sunday asked who I was cosplaying because I looked “amazing.” Okay, that’s not really weird, but it came out of left field after a string of other unrelated questions, and I was just wearing my purple dress. Sigh.

Hey guys, I own a mirror. I know what I’m about. There’s a difference between a compliment and a compliment hooked on a rod and string, and believe me, we know when you’re fishing.

Several people asked me for directions, or what table number I was. Not everyone got a map, I guess, and Informa only writes the table numbers on the floor. Sigh.

Will I Do It Again?

I’m not sure. I think I could do it cheaper. Expenses are high. And I do honestly believe that you have to do a show three times to build in that customer base. Doing Anime North helped. I had a little recognition. I’d have to do this show two more times to know for sure. Next year, it’s the weekend before Labour Day, so maybe that will make a difference in attendance numbers? Hard to say.

Two weeks of work, then it’s off to Saskatoon, then Edmonton, and then it’s NEW HOUSE TIME!!!

Here’s me and BFF SAM havin’ a GRAND time.

To follow my sales journey and to see how I did at past conventions, click here for the full list of articles.
I talk conventions with my BFF on my new podcast, BUSINESS BFFs. Listen here.

Animethon 2018 Post Mortem

I decided not to do WWC this year – and did this convention instead. I don’t regret this choice. WWC was one of my lowest performing conventions, sales-wise (granted, it’s not really a selling con), and while I enjoy hanging out with my fellow creatives, I promised myself this year I’d only do larger, sales-driven conventions. Looks like everyone who went had a lot of fun!

The day we drove up to Edmonton, my reprints arrived! On a large FedEx truck. On a skid. In the walkway up to the front. This is my life now.

It’s fine – in Big Life News, Dave and I just bought a HOUSE, so in a month’s time, FedEx can deliver things right into my basement storage. YEAH!! I can’t tell you how excited I am to finally have a REAL OFFICE and REAL STORAGE and not live AMONG THE STORAGE.

So along the THREE SHOWS I have coming up within the next month, we are also moving house. Oh and you know – doing work and writing books!

To follow my sales journey and to see how I did at past conventions, click here for the full list of articles.
I talk conventions with my BFF on my new podcast, BUSINESS BFFs. Listen here.
General Impressions

I had the smoothest load-in ever for a convention at Animethon. We drove into the loading dock, and GES staff were there with their own dollies, and asked if we needed help. I hesitantly said yes, fearing I’d get a bill from GES later for “handling” as they stacked my many boxes on their oversized dolly and wheeled it down to my table. He told us to return the dolly whenever we were done. But no bill, just kind service! Yeah! Normally load-in takes a few trips, but this worked out great!

Display

Similar to what I’ve done throughout the year! However, I FINALLY got batteries for these lights I bought two years ago and strung them around my boxes. I think it was a subtle, little thing that added a little more oomph to the display!

I’ll say though: I think having the three Violet Foxies in a row with my logo bookends REALLY helps the customer. It’s shorthand for “this is a series, and this is the order.” I might need more bookends to do that for the Sparkstone Saga as well.

My new banner arrived the day after Animethon, so it will debut at my next show. No pipe and drape in artist alley. I can see the benefit of a single-coloured backing with my books, however, though I am hesitant to invest in and lug around photographer backing. I also need a table runner – I’ve been using my poor white table cloth in that role long enough. Time to invest.

Even when you’ve been doing shows for a while, there are always things you can improve upon!

Sales

As with Otafest last year, Friday was a long slog. Sales were fine, but the day felt excruciating. Edmonton was buried in heat and post-apocalyptic smoke from BC wildfires—I didn’t believe the patrons when they said that it smelled like smoke outside. It was Silent Hill, except populated. Saturday was better—far more crowds and the rain finally came. Sunday was like Friday, but cooler, though the hours were shorter and I made essentially Saturday sales, even with the thinner crowds.

I sold far more individual copies of Stars In Her Eyes than The Violet Fox, but The Violet Fox continues to win the battle of the bundles. Almost everyone wanted the three books in the series so far instead of just one. My pricing strategy continues to work perfectly, at least for the Violet Fox Series!

I also didn’t sell as many Sparkstone Saga bundles as expected – I think this continues the trend of anime fans preferring fantasy over science fiction. The Sparkstone Saga is a soft sci-fi – it has fantastical elements – so I should probably play that up at future anime conventions to move more of those units. A lot of people admired the art, however, and I did have fans ask if Darkness In Her Reach was available yet. Aghhhhhh next year?? I know, it needs to be now!

My 2-for-$30 deal continues to work well, an easy upsell that has singlehandedly generated record numbers for me this year. This kind of deal will become a cornerstone of my strategy going forward, especially as I generate more content.

I’m about halfway through my shows for the year. Looking at my averages, Animethon was very middle of the road, not bad, and not stellar. This isn’t a bad thing. I’ll take an average show that lines up with my expectations. I was a little short of my target goal, but I can’t complain. Less than Ottawa, but slightly more than Montreal Comiccon. Considering that Animethon has around 10,000 attendees and Montreal has around 60,000, this is pretty impressive – and one of the reasons I enjoy doing anime shows. Remember that I have a (fairly) established brand at this point, my books show well, and I have enough product to give the buyer some choice. That’s really the only reason I can make conventions work for me in the first place!

Interactions

Dave and I stayed at MacEwan University, a place that felt secure, though walking twenty minutes to the event downtown felt a little unsafe. I made the walk multiple times without incident. Usually Animethon is held at the university, but they upgraded to the new venue, and this was a point of contention for some, especially when it came to personal safety. Granted, I was there to go to a specific spot and work for eight to nine hours, so I can only speak to the safety of the specific path I took that weekend! There were multiple security guards, Animethon staff, and people with “SAFETY” vests walking around (not sure what made them different from venue security and event staff?), so once I was within the event itself, I felt perfectly safe. I also appreciated the Shaw staff standing on the landings, checking badges at multiple levels and directing people as well.

Justin Currie and I had a good chat at the water cooler (they had a whole station for FREE WATER, which is AWESOME! More conventions need to do this) about how every anime convention is kind of the same. I’ve only done three now – but I see his point. If going to conventions is going to a workplace, something like Otafest or Animethon is a normal nine-to-five office job. Fan Expos are more flashy, more crowded, and you’re not going for more than five minutes without engaging someone (in my case).

As for the attendees, I got a lot of “I don’t have any money,” which I noted at Otafest last year as well. As with Anime North, I had a number of people compulsively, anxiously explaining why they would like to buy my books, but can’t (not enough cash, already reading too many books, etc). I find this behaviour overwhelming, and I know it’s a defense mechanism for the customer, it’s just not one I enjoy being on the receiving end for.

I had a lot of interactions that I were 100% sure were going to turn into purchases – but didn’t. Usually my conversion is pretty high. The longer you speak to me – and you’re not an aspiring writer/publisher – the more likely it is you’re there to buy. Just an interesting observation that I think speaks to the demographics range of the attendees: a lot of younger folks who go to the convention with their friends to hang out.

A side note here: Dave and I have been doing a lot of furniture shopping in the past few weeks as we prepare to move into our new house, and being on the receiving end of an aggressive sales person is so overwhelming. I had no idea that this was what I was in for. It made me question my own sales experience. I hope I’ve never been so aggressive to make someone uncomfortable. I also never want to come off as desperate – because I’m not. I engage in enough conversation to see what kind of interaction you’re comfortable with – and then I leave you alone to make a decision (as much as a person trapped behind a table in a crowded, small space CAN leave you alone, that is!). With books, either you like what I’m offering, or you don’t! Although, I will say, if you’re interested in interacting and you are not annoying, I have no problem with that at all.

Interactions of note:

The young man who looked at all my books and, asked if I wrote them all, and then asked, “Can I have your autograph?”

“If you buy something, I’ll sign it,” I replied.

“You drive a hard bargain.” He did not buy.

I think me three years ago would have signed a bookmark and given it to him – but I like to think my time and signature is worth something!

Another young man fell into my cover vortex and had a hard time escaping. AKA: he could not stop staring at my books, and that’s not a euphemism. Just, literally, five minutes of staring. He said, “I don’t read, but these make me want to.” He did not buy, but I could have pushed a little harder. I treat these people delicately. I would not want to be responsible for turning them away from reading, so I guide them carefully towards things I think they might like.

Also, more people asking for advice – how do I become a writer, how do I do what you do. I should just write a blog post! But so many idealistic people do not realize the kind of commitment publishing can be, how success is really a ten- to twenty-year slog, and it’s me patiently but excitedly shoving ten years of advice into five minutes. I enjoy dispensing the advice, but I also get anxious because I don’t want people to have the wrong idea – AKA, “I can write a book and then people will buy it.” Nothing is guaranteed.

I also had my VERY FIRST COSPLAYER! Ahhhh! Yeah! A woman bought my books on the Saturday, and returned on Sunday with specific questions about the Violet Fox – what she wears, what kind of fabric do I mean on this specific page! It was very flattering but also a little intimidating! So nice to know that people love my characters that much!

Good People!

I met Sam Taylor, a chibi artist. She was behind me at Otafest as well, but this weekend we really got to know each other! Yay new friends. She drew me a Bastila chibi, because KOTOR rules. My other neighbour was Lisa. She’s so talented! I really enjoyed our chats about the business – we’re both in the same place in our career. It’s comforting when you see other people with similar obstacles!

Thank you to everyone who stopped at my table and said hi!

Birthday!

It was my 30th birthday on the 13th, and so Dave and I celebrated by upgrading to a nice hotel and shopping on the Monday. He showered me with presents – an RGB keyboard (it lights up!) and no birthday is complete without some Junji Ito collections! I think I have them all now. I also bought myself the TIME stories board game, which we’ve played sporadically with our friends and I LOVE.

2018 has flown by. A lot of life things are happening this year. My business is expanding, my drive to focus on my own art is growing stronger, we bought a house, and I travelled across the country and the continent. My twenties were my adult adolescence, and I feel “real” adulthood creeping on – I’m narrowing in on what I want to spend my time on, and less concerned about the things that won’t get me to where I want to be. I recognize I’m lucky and privileged. I’ve always known what I wanted and I’ve had the resources and support to achieve my goals. This year was one of the first where I’ve felt like I’m “finally” getting somewhere – like people are starting to recognize who I am and what I’m about.

Will I Go Back?

Unfortunately many artist tables at anime shows are by lottery. Including this one! This is a good idea for the artist tables (allows up-and-coming artists a chance to get in), though I wish that some of the tables were straight-up applications so I could establish a firm presence at this show! So yes, I’d like to return – if fortune is in my favour!

Next stop: Toronto, for Fan Expo Canada!

To follow my sales journey and to see how I did at past conventions, click here for the full list of articles.
I talk conventions with my BFF on my new podcast, BUSINESS BFFs. Listen here.

Montreal Comic Con 2018 Post Mortem

First time to Montreal! One of the reasons I was able to do this con without flying from Calgary to Montreal and back was to pair it with a brief visit (read: not a vacation, worked almost the entire time!) to Nova Scotia. Jessie decided she wanted to tag along and check out Montreal, so we arranged a little road trip.

I’m a little late getting this post mortem up! Since coming back to Calgary from Montreal (beginning of July), I’ve been to the mountains in BC and beared the heat of Mexico – for two different weddings! Yes, what a hard life to lead. I’m back now, feeling a lot more refreshed and ready to create more books.

To follow my sales journey and to see how I did at past conventions, click here for the full list of articles.
I talk conventions with my BFF on my new podcast, BUSINESS BFFs. Listen here.
General Impressions

We left on Wednesday morning. Jessie did a lot of the driving but I ALSO DID SOME TOO! Returning readers may remember that I have a driving anxiety.

The smile is a lie I was dying inside the whole time.

We had a two-hour detour to Fredericton and had a tasty GF lunch at a vegetarian/vegan-friendly cafe called Issac’s Way. It was nearly 40 degrees C outside. Heat wave!

After a night in Edmundston, we arrived in Quebec. The heat followed us. I was very concerned about the crows having a leisurely stroll across the pavement, especially once we crossed the New Brunswick-Quebec border. Why couldn’t they fly??

Jessie said, “Don’t slow down, don’t worry about that crow there, he’s just eating that dead bird!”

Otherwise, it was a real nice day! We are lucky to live in such a pretty country.

Jessie and I successfully navigated the highways and made it into downtown Montreal. We stayed across the road from the Palais de congres, in a swanky Airbnb adjacent to the hotel. We paid extra to park the car underground. FYI, it’s about $20 a day to park in downtown Montreal.

After a bite, Jessie and I pushed on and set up the display.

Display

The Banner Saga continues because I actually lost my banner at the end of Anime North. How? We think that during pack-up, I may have stupidly left it in the parking lot. I remember carrying it out of the convention centre at least. I’m more upset that I lost the carrying case, because I can always reprint the banner (even though it’s yet another expense). That hard case, I bought it from Staples as part of a set to repair my old banner, and it was almost as much as the actual new banner. SIGH EVERYTHING IS FINE.

I was a bit concerned that without a banner, my display would be lacking. I think it wasn’t terrible, especially since we had the new wings Jessie made last year!!

Little wings be like, “I’m just like my mom!”

Before we left, Jessie made some last minute repairs to my box set. I left behind the biggest box in favour of a second two-box set that we actually bought and painted from Michael’s. Jessie spray-painted the stenciled purple and white logo, so pretty!

We spent about 45 minutes rearranging the boxes and the wings to create something workable within the space. The wings are really challenging. They actually come with shelves but we forgot them (not that we REALLY needed them in this small space). It takes several shows to figure out how to use a piece successfully. So I put some books up there, some signs. We found the signs had the most impact on top of the shelves. One of my gripes with this set-up is it’s really confusing to layout books in a series. People can’t look at a row of books and tell which one is first–which makes them hesitant to pick them up. So extra nudging was required on my part. Ultimately, the wings are for showcasing and highlighting, so once I’m able to get them out here to Calgary, I’ll be able to put them to use in that way.

Late Saturday, the neighbours to my left—a Quebec Writer’s Union—ended up leaving, so I took over their space so as not to have an empty table! I’m not really satisfied with the look. If I’d had more stock (of course, I’m always at my lowest on the Sunday!) and banners, I could have rocked the double table more efficiently. Still, it was a good experience.

Sales

Honestly, expectations and reality for this convention were significantly different.

I sold a surprising number of Sparkstone Saga sets – I expected numbers more on par with Anime North, where the first books outshined the bundles, but that wasn’t the case here. The Violet Fox by itself outperformed Stars In Her Eyes significantly, and I only sold a few Violet Fox Series bundles. It was good I had Hunger In Her Bones on hand, leftover from Anime North, as I had expected to have my reprints ready by this time, but of course the stars don’t always align. Phew!

I had a lot of interest in my eBooks – they continue to be a good budget option and for those who are on the go!

Leftover stock went with Jessie for use at the Eastern shows (Hal-Con, Christmas at the Forum, and Turner’s Christmas at the Coliseum). I’ve ordered reprints for Dreams In Her Head and Hunger In Her Bones, and likely I’ll have to do the same for most of my other titles within the next six months. I’ve only done 5 shows this year and I’m close to breaking my con sales numbers for last year. Because I’m only doing large shows, I’m seeing a bigger return—and the true sales season hasn’t even begun yet.

Overall, this show was about $100 shy of my Ottawa numbers. I hadn’t realized the Montreal show was larger than the Ottawa show–but of course, Montreal is a city of nearly 2 million! I could have done better–my lack of good French being a chief obstacle.

Je Ne Parle Pas Francais or Do I?

Growing up, I didn’t take French Immersion, because that wasn’t even an option in school. We had “Extended Core” from grade 7 to grade 12 – aka, French class, and Social Studies in French…and that’s it. I went to a couple of French retreats across the province to round it out, sponsored by the Canadian Parents for French, and even participated in concours d’art oratoire (French public speaking competitions). When I compare my musical performing experiences—including the time we performed for nearly 8,000 people—none are quite so scary as the time I recited a mostly memorized speech about Joan of Arc in French and then answered questions from judges, in front of other high school students from schools with better French programs.

So if you ask me if I speak French: I can understand it okay, but responding is hard.

Friday was nerve-wracking for me. I thought my French wasn’t up to snuff, so when I’d say hello to the passersby, and I got a “bonjour” – I treated it like a wall. “Oh, this person is French – I guess I can’t sell to them.”

After a somewhat disappointing Friday (it was not great), I realized that I was going to have to step up my game, French or ne french pas. Even being around the language again for the first time in a while, I felt the words, phrases, and grammar returning, and I remembered my own advice: it’s not the customer’s fault if they’re not buying. I had to be willing to at least try some French, or push through the language barrier confidently.

The next day, I approached with a new attitude. Within the first hour, I made Friday’s sales, plus some—because I pushed through. Also, right after I have coffee, I’m at my most positive, so that helped as well.

A fair number of people asked me if the novels were only in English. These were the folks that I “lost” by not having French editions. “Lost” meaning, I may not have had them anyway, even with French editions. Doing this con has made me consider a French translation–though honestly, I think I’m a little ways off from that.

I’ve always wanted to be multilingual. One of the big takeaways from my weekend in Montreal is that we do not live in an English-only country. I know, that’s obvious! But when you live in English-only areas, consume English media, and conduct business in English, it’s easy to forget there are other spheres of people who think in a different language—living a hop, skip, and a jump away! This is a good reminder to me–since I have some other Canadian-set stories I’ve yet to publish.

THIEVES!

Despite the size of the vendor area, word travels quickly through the rows.

Thieves. Three of them, working together, taking cash boxes from the artist vendors.

This wasn’t just a grab-and-run. While one or two pretended to be interested in a product, a third would crawl underneath the booth, rummage through boxes, and take the cashbox.

At least four booths were affected. My friend, Peter Chiykowski, was one of these victims. He reportedly had at least $1,000 cash taken—essentially, his Friday cash earnings.

The story was picked up by CBC not long after the event–there was an initial article, and then a follow-up. I remember reading the initial article and seeing a comment: “They should have paid closer attention.” So it’s Peter’s fault that he got stolen from? Considering that he builds a literal tower of prints and t-shirts on all sides of his booth, and there were three people manning a small space, on the surface level it seems impossible that anything could get by them. But they did. If people want something badly enough, they’ll figure out a way.

Yes, we all have to be vigilant in the face of thievery. Yes, we have to step up our game. But I’m reminded of the Jean-Luc Picard quote: “We can do everything right and still lose.”

If you’re reading this and you’ve been struck with indifference, don’t assume that all convention artists are rolling in the dough and they should be punished for this success. Even if you’re selling $1,000+ a day, that doesn’t mean you’re making $1,000 a day. The cost of Peter’s booth for the weekend was near-on a grand—plus food and travel and shipping his product. And of course, the time and effort he put into creating product. We all work hard for our living, no matter if it’s in an office or a studio or on the convention floor. Sometimes an act of theft can ruin a person—you never know how close a person is living to poverty, even if it looks like they’re doing well.

The community banded together and donated over $1,000 to Peter to make up for his loss. He gave the excess to the other affected artists, and also created a t-shirt, again, donating the profits to the affected vendors. Peter is a full-time comic artist/creative entrepreneur. He is kind and selfless–qualities we could all use more of.

This story of thievery isn’t over–there is a police investigation going on and Peter has been distilling and disseminating updates via Facebook. If you are an artist/vendor and you’re interested in following the developments, I suggest you join the Artist Alley Canada Facebook group.

Good Food & Good Times

It’s not often I get to enjoy a city when I’m doing a show. But it’s Montreal, and Jessie was there, so why not?

Montreal is the city of Treat Yo’self! On Saturday night, Jessie and I went to Brasserie 701, an upscale restaurant just around the corner from where we stayed, in Old Montreal. We chose it because of its location but also because of the logo—gold lion’s gonna tell me where the light is! The food: very tasty. Jessie is on a rare beef kick and I do not pass up the opportunity for fish, so we got beef and salmon tar-tar respectively.

Then, of course, creme brulee. Yes, I still eat creme brulee, even though I nearly died that one time from too many creme brulees. Readers will be happy to know that we SHARED the dessert, and we did not overdo it! It isn’t very often that Jessie and I get to hang out together so it was great to have sister times in an intimate setting.

Our server Gavin was so nice! Jessie and I were so pleased with the whole experience that I ended up giving him an extra vendor pass I had so that he could enjoy comic con. The look on his face, he was floored! He came to visit me at my table with his young son. YAY.

Justin Currie was also in Montreal and the three of us ended up taking in the city together. We went to C’ChoColat, the most decadent dessert place I have EVER seen! Jessie and I had found it online when we were searching for things to do and obviously we had to check it out.

Then we went around the corner to a bar Justin recommended (which turned out to be completely renovated/different from a previous visit, much to his disappointment). We sat in a cozy corner and played Giant Jenga. First the normal way, then we invented a new way.

Some of the blocks had drinking game instructions written on them, many of them rude, so we came up with some fun/silly ones instead and wrote them on the blank blocks accordingly.

Justin, it was so fun to hang out with you! This is the best part of being a creative entrepreneur – connecting with others who are likeminded.

I was neighbours with animation artist Kurt Lehner and his friend Andrew, a mask-maker. Andrew and I became fast friends and we kept each other laughing throughout the long three days, eating dried mangoes and shouting “QUATRE-VINGT!” at each other. YAY!

As always, thank you to all friends old and new who came to visit me at my booth!! AND ALSO THANKS FOR ALL YOUR HELP JESSIE!!!!!

Will I Go Back?

I haven’t decided yet. On Friday, I was convinced I wouldn’t. After a great Saturday, I wavered. The thievery does make me pause – but I could get robbed anywhere.

Theoretically, I could make it work to go back. It is a LOT of work, and I do have to pay for accommodations—and really, it’s probably THE most expensive convention for me to do. This might be a good candidate for a proxy.

Stay tuned for my next show, which will be Animethon in Edmonton–just days before my 30th birthday!!

And now, proof that I was in Mexico!!

To follow my sales journey and to see how I did at past conventions, click here for the full list of articles.
I talk conventions with my BFF on my new podcast, BUSINESS BFFs. Listen here.