Konn Lavery's Blog: Posts from konnlavery.com, page 38
June 28, 2018
Gears Are Turning
June is on its way out! Another month completed and truthfully not a lot of writing has been done in this month. Gears are turning though. The month has been spent working on networking, scoping out the next year and researching. If you are itching for something to read, this month’s Flash Fiction did come out earlier. The flash fictions continue to evolve with each new one that is released which makes them an exciting part of the writing process.
Welcome to another edition of Unprocessed Thoughts
June’s Unprocessed Thoughts is more about general updates because there have been some shifts in how I am going forward with the writing career. This was mentioned in the previous Unprocessed Thoughts so we won’t get into that. Instead, we will focus on what is on the horizon – all exciting stuff!
The journey of an indie author is pretty exciting because it complements the entrepreneurial mindset. In other words, when opportunity knocks you jump on it. Late 2016 up to the launch of YEGman in April 2018 has been a pretty ridged existence. It worked well and glad I went through the process. Now that I am on the other end of the tunnel, there are plenty of new things that are in the loop. Of course, like with any entrepreneurial endeavor, not all of the projects and plans pan out. This is okay, it is like sales leads, it is a process of illumination. On the flip side you also have to be prepared for everything to go through and be sure you can handle the workload.
Yes, I am being pretty vague on what all these exciting things are, but they are way too early in the development phase to even know if they’ll sprout into anything. Time will tell.
Other Gears Are Turning
The untitled slasher novel is entering the revisions phase. After finishing the first draft, I took some time away to let it simmer in my mind. The time away you spend from your story is just as important as the actual writing you do. It lets you digest what you put down on the page.
The events page of the site has also been updated to keep you in the loop where I will be next up to September. It doesn’t include the Edmonton Expo, yet. I will be there though. The promo poster has been held off to include…
Mental Damnation Vol III
The third installment of my dark fantasy series been announced with a teaser poem on social media. More on this to come.
A post shared by Konn Lavery (@_konnartist) on Jun 26, 2018 at 9:45am PDT
Beer Note: Whistler Brewing Lost Lake IPA
For this month, I tried Whistler Brewing Lost Lake IPA. I don’t know much about the company or the beer itself. I suppose I could have read the label. The liquor store by my home has been experimenting with new brews since they went to the town’s beer fest. Their experimentation means many more new beers to be tried! With my hoppy taste buds in mind, I’d give this a 4/5.
The post Gears Are Turning appeared first on Konn Lavery.
June 26, 2018
Simon Rose – Parallel Destiny
My guest today is Simon Rose, author of many novels and nonfiction books for children and young adults. His latest novel, Parallel Destiny, has just been released.
So tell us about the new book Parallel Destiny
Parallel Destiny is the third part of the paranormal Flashback trilogy. The first instalment, entitled Flashback, was published in 2015 and the second, Twisted Fate, was published in 2017.
The trilogy features ghosts, psychics, alternate timelines, parallel universes, and Project Mindstorm, a secret operation involving deadly mind control experiments, as Max and Julia investigate events concealed for over twenty years.
Parallel Destiny takes place immediately after the events depicted in Twisted Fate. Project Mindstorm no longer exists and Kane and his associates no longer represent a danger. However, Max and Julia now have to contend with the sinister Alastair Hammond and his experiments into the existence of parallel universes and alternate realities. Marooned within a bewildering series of multiple universes, Max and Julia are forced to fight for their own survival and to save the very fabric of reality from Hammond’s deadly scheme.
Will there be any more books in the series?
I’m not sure. Right now I’m not planning on any more since the story has reached a logical conclusion. However, Flashback was originally going to be a single novel and I didn’t consider sequels until later, so you never know. I think there’s certainly some potential to write something else in this genre featuring the two main characters, but I guess time will tell.
You don’t seem to have any shortage of ideas. Where do you get them all from?
Ideas come from anywhere and everywhere really. Books, movies, TV, online research, out walking the dog, dreams, an overheard conversation, friends and family, history, mythology, and so many other sources. I have a few ideas that may never come to anything, but I still keep them anyway. It’s always a good plan to save them because you never know if, or when, an idea might fit into a story. My first four novels were all very early story ideas and were the first books to be published. However, more recently published novels, such as The Sphere of Septimus and the Flashback series, were also very early ideas for novels. They just took longer to develop as novels. Flashback was also one of my earliest ideas but again it took a while for me to develop the initial story, and consequently the rest of the series. Even if the ideas don’t work right away, they might in the future and you just never know when you’ll get another piece of the puzzle.
What other novels have you written?
I’ve written fifteen novels so far, since the first one came out in 2003. The Sorcerer’s Letterbox and The Heretic’s Tomb are historical fiction adventures set in medieval England, – The Alchemist’s Portrait is a time travel story, The Emerald Curse is all about superheroes and comic books, The Doomsday Mask is all about the legend of Atlantis, and The Sphere of Septimus involves the characters traveling into another world and is in the same vein as the Harry Potter series, The Chronicles of Narnia, or Lord of the Rings. Future Imperfect is a technology-driven story featuring mysterious messages from the future and The Time Camera about a myserious device that captures images of different historical periods, and The Clone Conspiracy features secret experiments into human cloning. The Shadowzone series featuring Shadowzone, Into The Web, and Black Dawn, was published last year. The series involves the discovery of a grim dystopian version of Earth that’s ruled by a totalitarian dictatorship, the threat of a deadly virus, and a race against time to save the lives of millions.
I’ve also written seven nonfiction guides for writers, including The Children’s Writer’s Guide, The Time Traveler’s Guide, and The Working Writer’s Guide.
Are these your favourite genres in which to write?
Yes, there are certain genres that I like. When I first read the Harry Potter books, I knew that they were written for the age range, style, and had the level of danger and excitement for young readers that I was aiming for with the many story ideas that I had at the time.
However, as much as I enjoyed all the Harry Potter books, I wasn’t interested in writing my own story ideas on themes like folklore, mythology, magic wands, witches and wizards, or mythological creatures and monsters. Instead, I wanted my stories to be about the sort of things that I enjoyed reading about. These included time travel, fantasy, history, science fiction, lost cities, superheroes, other worlds, parallel universes, and the paranormal, and those are the types of stories I’ve been writing ever since.
So is it true that authors should write what they know?
In some ways yes, although this might sound a little odd because no one actually knows how to travel in time, attend a wizard school, visit other dimensions, have super powers, or go to the edge of the universe, at least as far as we know anyway. But what this term actually means is that it’s much easier to write about what you know or about what you’re interested in. You’ll have far more ideas about your own favorite topics and you’ll also decide exactly what you want to write about and not just try to do the same as everyone else or follow a hot new trend, whether it’s teenage wizards, vampires, zombies, or something else. If you write about unfamiliar topics, you’ll have to do more research for a story or perhaps plan out the story a lot more, rather than letting the ideas from your imagination flow into the computer or onto the paper as the story keeps coming to you. Writing about things that you’re not passionate about will seem much more like work, when writing is supposed to be fun. Write about what you know and love and it’s going to be a much more enjoyable experience.
Have you worked with lots of other authors?
Yes quite a lot over the last few years, in many different genres. This has involved both substantive and copy editing of completed novels, but I also work as a coach for writers with works in progress. Some of the projects I’ve worked on that have subsequently been published are here on my website. You can also see some of the references and recommendations from other clients that I’ve worked with.
What are you currently working on?
I’m always working on something but currently I’m writing a number of nonfiction books and doing quite a lot of editing and coaching work with other authors, helping them with their novels, short stories, or works in progress. I’m also working on a historical fiction novel set in the turbulent era of the English Civil War in the 1640s and I hope to be able to focus on that a little more in the coming months.
Where can a reader purchase Parallel Destiny?
Parallel Destiny is available in paperback and as an ebook worldwide on Amazon, Kobo, Barnes & Noble, iBooks, and Indigo Chapters in Canada, and at many other locations online. Your local bookstore should also be able to order a copy.
You can learn more about Simon and his work on his website at www.simon-rose.com or online at the following social media sites:
YouTube
Google +
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June 19, 2018
Literary Titan YEGman Interview: Feral and Gritty
Literary Titan interviewed me about the making of YEGman to accompany their review of the novel. We cover behind the scenes and how the novel came to be.
YEGman is a thrilling crime novel taking place in the underworld of Edmonton, Canada. Why did you want to set your story in this location?
This story takes a uniquely gritty look at the Edmonton crime scene. What were some ideas you wanted to capture when developing this underworld?
Where did the idea for YEGman come from and what were some book titles you considered?
What is the next book that you are working on and when will it be available?
The post Literary Titan YEGman Interview: Feral and Gritty appeared first on Konn Lavery.
Edmonton Chapters Southpoint Book Signing
I’ll now be heading over to Chapters Southpoint for a signing of YEGman September 15. Drop in for a meet & greet the author, artwork, and of course, the books themselves.
When and Where:
Saturday, September 15th from 12:00pm – 5:00pm
Chapters Southpoint
3227 Calgary Trail NW
Edmonton
T6J 5X8
The post Edmonton Chapters Southpoint Book Signing appeared first on Konn Lavery.
Calgary Indigo Signal Hill Book Signing
I’ll now be heading over to the one and only Indigo Signal Hill for a signing of Reality. Drop in for a meet & greet the author, artwork, and of course, the books themselves.
When and Where:
Sunday, August 12th from 11:00am – 4:00pm
Indigo 5570 Signal Hill Centre SW,
Calgary,
AB T3H 3P8
Mark your calendars.
The post Calgary Indigo Signal Hill Book Signing appeared first on Konn Lavery.
When Words Collide
I am pleased to say I will be participating at When Words Collide this year. I will be offering: A presentation DIY Graphic Design for Authors. A panel for introduction to self publishing. I will also be participating in the signing session.
Review the program guide for exact times.
When and Where:
August 10-12, 2018
Delta Calgary South,
Calgary, Alberta
Learn the full program at the When Words Collide website.
The post When Words Collide appeared first on Konn Lavery.
YEGman at Red Deer Chapters
I’ll now be heading over to Chapters Southpoint for a signing of YEGman July 21. Drop in for a meet & greet the author, artwork, and of course, the books themselves.
When and Where:
Saturday, July 21st from 11:00am – 4:00pm
Chapters
10, 5250 22
St, Red Deer, AB T4R 2T4
The post YEGman at Red Deer Chapters appeared first on Konn Lavery.
Red Then White
A cruise on the highway to Jasper is a pretty regular thing for Canadians to do. Vehicles stopped dead on the highway are not normal. Neither is your radio spontaneously turning on then playing distorted chanting. What’s with the random lighting too? Red Then White is this month’s flash fiction explores the paranormal. Experience the story either through audio or through reading.
Red Then White
By Konn Lavery
The sound of tapping glass accompanied the constant humming of the SUV that glided down the pitch-black roads below the star-filled sky. Thin, elegant fingers moved rapidly against the lit glass, showcasing a keyboard interface. The fingers were carefully angled so the long, monster-green finger nails didn’t hit the screen.
The driver kept both hands on the wheel, keeping focused on what little could be seen in the darkness. The vehicle’s high beams provided some visuals of the road, but truthfully if something were to jump out on the side of the road, the vehicle couldn’t stop in time, not at these speeds.
“I hate night time driving,” the driver said as he used one hand to stroke his neck as a flash of lightning briefly lit up the night view.
The passenger to his right stopped typing and brushed her blonde hair aside. “Yeah Craig, I know. We don’t have that much longer.”
The man let out a sigh. “I can’t believe your boss didn’t give you the day off. We’ll be driving most of the night.”
“No, really it will be fine. We only have a few more hours left. We’ll be in Jasper in no time.”
“The welcome party will be long over by the time we get there. You know that.”
The girl continued tapping away on her phone. “I’m just making a post on the event page right now. Besides, we’ll have all day tomorrow to catch up with everyone.”
“I get that, it’s just that these reunions don’t happen every year, you know?”
The girl finished typing on her smartphone and pressed the send button. She looked up to the road ahead, it was filled with upward hills leading straight west. Two red lights were viewable further up the road.
“You sure we’re still on highway sixteen?” the girl asked.
The man nodded. “Yeah, it is the main road leading to Jasper. Driving in a straight line is pretty simple when you think about it.”
“Just checking.” The girl folded her arms. “No need to get snarky.”
The SUV was going about five kilometers over the speed limit. This late at night, the highway was crawling with Peace Officers just looking for someone to misbehave. Even five over was living on the edge. Plus, it was dark, and it was better to be safe than sorry.
The radio lit up as a fuzzy, noise came through the speakers sounding, “YUK-YUK-YUK-ACH-ACH-UCK.” What sounded like screams shortly followed. Truthfully it all sounded like noise from the distortion.
“What are you playing?” the girl asked while reaching for the radio.
“I didn’t turn on anything,” Craig said. “Probably picking up a bad signal. It’s a cheap radio.”
The girl pressed the power button, causing the sound to shut off. “It’s super annoying,” she said.
The two remained in silence for what seemed like ten minutes, when in actuality it was only a few. Time had a funny way of doing that on road trips. As they drove, the red rear lights of the vehicle ahead rapidly grew lager.
“That car is going pretty damn slow,” Craig said.
The girl looked up from her phone and squinted. “How fast are you going?”
The man double checked the speedometer, it was still hovering at 115. “Five over.”
“Who knows. Maybe the night has him more spooked than it does you.”
Before the man could reply, the distance between them and the car diminished drastically.
“Christ!” Craig shouted while swerving into the opposite lane, missing the parked car by a few meters.
“Holy shit.” The girl put her hand on her chest. “What was he doing, stopped right in lane? He should pull to the side.”
“I don’t know,” Craig said.
“Should we call it in? Maybe they’re having a heart attack.”
“No, they’re just stupid. Let’s keep driving.”
A flash of light burst from the sky, lighting up the roadway. Craig pointed over to the right side of the road where a white sign was now in view from the car’s high beams, it stated: ALBERTA 16 with the numbers inside a shield
“See Hannah, we’re still on the right road.” Craig said.
Hannah folded her arms. “It just doesn’t look familiar this late at night.”
“Yeah, nothing does at this hour,” the man said while adjusting the wheel as they came up on a slight turn. A second vehicle came into view. The red rear lights increased in size at an accelerating rate.
“Another one?” Hannah asked.
“I guess?” The man said as he brought the wheel back to the middle, congruent with the now straight road.
The radio flickered on with a distorted, “YUK-ACH-ACH-UCK… No!”.
Hannah reached for the radio, shutting it off. “What is wrong with this?” she asked.
Craig didn’t reply, he was focused on the lights of the new vehicle that continually grew larger – the vehicle wasn’t moving.
“Craig, move over, we’re going to hit him.” Hannah said.
“I am.” Craig squinted, seeing that the red lights were perfectly in line with the middle of the road. “He’s…”
“He’s what, Craig?”
“He’s in the middle of the road.” Craig said while pressing his big toe on the breaks of the vehicle.
“Move into the shoulder lane and get around him. This is beginning to creep me out.”
“Yeah me too.” Craig gradually moved the vehicle off to the right, continually pressing on the breaks to bring the vehicle down to fifty kilometers. “See if you can take a look.” Craig said while he moved half-way onto the shoulder lane. The vehicle vibrated as the right-side tires drove on the rippled pavement of the shoulder lane.
The girl sat straight up and looked out through Craig’s window.
“What do you see?” Craig said, glancing at the stopped car as they drove by. He wasn’t able to take a good look and returned to the road, tightly gripping the wheel.
“Nothing,” she said.
“What?”
“No one, the vehicle was empty.”
“It can’t be. It was probably just too dark.”
“No, I am telling you, there was no one in that car.”
Craig looked directly into Hannah’s hazelnut eyes for just over a second before returning to the road. She kept her gaze on him.
She’s serious, he thought. She never kept her gaze for long unless she was certain.
“Can we stop? just pull over for a moment.”
“Why?” Craig asked.
“Craig! There’s two cars stopped in the road, one of which I know no one was in. How can that be? I just need a damn smoke.”
Craig was about to reply but stopped himself. His first instinct was to tell her that they weren’t sure that someone wasn’t in the vehicle. Someone had to be, right? It didn’t matter though. Hannah did not enjoy being challenged when she was convinced she was right. He would never hear the end of it.
“Fine,” Craig groaned while slowing the vehicle down, causing the vibrations to lessen. “Call the cops. Or have a smoke. Whatever it is.” He pressed the flashers button as he slowed it down to a stop. He put the vehicle into park and leaned back into the driver’s seat.
“Well?” Craig asked. “Let’s hurry, I’d like to make it to Jasper and call it a day.”
“Just a quick dart, okay?” Hannah said, reaching into her purse with one hand.
“Yeah cool. I’ll wait here.” He folded his arms. I wish she’d stop smoking. He wanted to argue with her but there really wasn’t much of a point. Smoking was the same as any situation, when she was set on something, it didn’t change.
“Great.” Hannah undid her seatbelt and opened the door with one hand. With her free hand she flicked the lighter and brought it to the cigarette that was now in her mouth. She closed the door to the SUV and stepped out of view.
Craig fiddled with his thumbs and looked out the side view mirror, then the rear mirror to see if he could spot Hannah – she was out of view. He let out a sigh and looked down at his shoes, then to the clock on the dashboard, stating it was 11:15 P.M. Basically anything that would pass the time while Hannah inhaled a mouth full of cancer.
Craig looked at the clock again, it was now 11:19 P.M.
Okay, that’s enough. Craig unbuckled his seatbelt and opened his door, stepping out into the cool spring air. He rubbed his arms, causing the windbreaker to make squeaky noises.
Damn Gore-Tex, always sounds like a kid’s jumpsuit. Craig thought while closing the door shut. “Hannah?” He said while walking around the front of the vehicle. She wasn’t anywhere in the front, she had to be by the rear passenger side if he couldn’t see her from inside.
Craig put his hands in his pocket and walked around the vehicle to the passenger side. “Hannah?”
A thumping noise caused the vehicle to shake as a sudden flash of light flickered directly above the vehicle. The whole scene lit up bright white momentarily and vanished, causing Craig to jump back.
“Hannah?” He called out again.
Craig ran around the vehicle to the back, no sign of Hannah.
Where did she go? He glanced back to the side of the road, leading into the forestry, it was pitch black, impossible to see.
“Hannah?” Craig shouted.
He ran around the driver’s side of the vehicle, only to find nothing. The blonde was nowhere to be found. The subtle sound of “YUK-YUK-YUK-ACH-ACH-UCK,” came from inside the vehicle. Craig looked over to see that the radio lights were on as screams roared through the radio speaker.
“Hannah!” Craig shouted again while running to the back of the vehicle, looking into the forestry.
Did someone grab her? Did she run? What is with that radio? Craig thought. His internal chatter was running a million questions through his mind with no resolutions.
A burst of light flashed, causing Craig to grunt as an immense force pulled him off the ground. The pressure felt like a vacuum hose sucking him up, stretching his skin upward. His eyelids and lips were pulled upward. The light vanished, leaving him in pure darkness, skin reverting to normal. The light flashed again, revealing the road as a small line below, with acers of forestry around him.
“Hannah!” Craig screamed as his skin stretched again. The light continually got brighter, blinding him as the haunting voices from the radio began to chant, “YUK-YUK…”
Want to save this for later?
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June 12, 2018
Book Event Promotion
Do you have an event coming up? A book reading, launch, or signing? Great! Now we need to discuss your book event promotion. How are you going to get people to know about it? We briefly chatted about this in two previous blog posts, What To Do at a Book Launch and The Do’s and Don’ts at a Book Signing. For this post, I want to dive in a little deeper into the topic. There is a lot more to discuss.
Starting Your Book Event Promotion
Alright, so let’s presume you have your date picked out for your event. The details have been sorted out, such as time, location and agenda. For a book signing these are pretty easy, you show up with books and sign them. For a book launch, they are more complex and have a more ridged agenda.
Let’s say that your event is fully booked (ideally two months in advanced), let’s review some ways that you can go about promoting it:
Book Event Poster
This is a highly versatile marketing piece. Usually a poster is sized to fit a 11”x17” paper, also known as portrait ratio. It can be printed and be distributed digitally. Whether you, or a graphic designer, are making the poster, you want the key points on the poster to be visible. This would include:
What type of an event? Example: Book Launch for…, Book Signing for…
What is the date?
What is the time and location?
These are probably your three key pieces of information you will want to have visible on your poster. Some primary graphical elements would be the book cover and possibly a portrait shot of the author (you).
Poster Sizes
Your poster should also be sized for various distribution methods. Social media usually works with a square size for posts (Twitter, Instagram). A landscape banner works well for Facebook. In short, you probably what three variations of the poster:
Portrait size (print poster/postcards)
Landscape size (Facebook or web banner)
Square size (Instagram post)
Physical Distribution
Got your poster design complete? Get some posters and postcards made! Hand deliver the postcards to key individuals who you know who will want to come to your event. Leave them on poster boards and at cafes that allow you to. Hand out as many as you can.
Take them to the event location itself and give them some of the posters, they want your event to be as much as a success as you do. That way everyone wins.
Hitting the streets to promote your book can also be done in casual conversation. If friends or acquaintances ask how you are, tell them about the event! It is an easy habit to say “things are good” or “things are busy”, no. Tell them exactly what you are doing. Keep some postcards on hand at all times so you can give them to people in discussion.
Leading Up to the Event – the Digital Event
We’re primarily focusing on free book event promotions. If you have a website, or Facebook account, you will want to make an event online about a month or so in advanced before the event itself. Do not be shy to send the invite to everyone. Invite them via social media or in email. This is when you want to make sure everyone is aware of it.
Prepping for the Event
It doesn’t hurt to post continually on social media before the event. Organizing the books? There’s a photo with a post saying: “Counting the books for the event!”. You will also want to post the day before and the day of the event before you head down to the location as an additional reminder to people. We all have busy lives and quite frankly, your event isn’t nearly as important to them as it is to you. Stay humble.
Alternative Methods
The methods mentioned above are pretty much free, minus the printing and design services of the poster. You can also look into alternative methods such as online paid ads allow you to target regions and interests. If you plan far enough ahead – again, in months – and have a press kit ready, you can approach the media or a local magazine to see if they would be interested in covering your event.
Book Event Promotion is Difficult to Track – Stay Humble
It can be a real challenge to tell who is going to show up to your event. Facebook or Eventbrite events can give you a rough estimate, but you really don’t know until the day of. Physical posters and social media posts also are difficult to track their usage. Pardon the language, but a lot of marketing tends to be throwing enough shit against the wall and see what sticks. Of course, you can target specific groups or communities that would have a higher interest in your event. For example, distributing posters to an arts district vs the suburb communities will probably do better.
It is difficult to track who and how many will show up until you are facing the attendees the day of, so stay humble. Don’t be bummed out if it is a low turnout, instead, ask yourself why? What could have you done different?
Perhaps the weather was bad, the location was difficult to get to, the time was a challenge for people, or maybe the wrong time of the year/month. Take this information and plan better for your next event.
Any other thoughts?
Share your thoughts in the comments if you have had personal experiences planning for a book event.
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June 6, 2018
Planning Your First Con
You have your book completed, great. The launch is over and maybe you have tried some book signings. You’re interested in getting your book out into more people’s hands. Where do you go? You can always find your way online, what if this isn’t your strongpoint? What if you want to get your face out into the public and actually meet people who would be interested in your book? A great place for this is conventions. There are a lot of them out there, and finding the one that best fits you is always the challenge. Let us look into planning your first con.
Planning your first con – where do you go?
Research and planning ahead is key if you want to have a successful con. If you missed the previous post about book signing DO’s and DON’Ts, check out the blog post for some good examples on how to set up your table. The things you do at book signings also cross over to conventions. The challenge we will be looking at is knowing what convention you should go to.
Research
We have the internet, you can research into conventions in your area and elsewhere in the world. Depending on how far you want to travel, you can find many different types all over the globe. If you are starting off, careful about traveling far for your first time. Traveling takes a lot of careful planning and budgeting.
When researching, look for conventions based on some of the following points:
Location and length: This determines how far you will travel and how long you have to be in a location for. If it is more than a weekend, maybe you have to book some time away from work
Industry and genre: Is it a comic con? A horror con? A sci-fi con or maybe a literary convention? Find the convention that best suits your work. A horror con might not be best for a fantasy novel.
Convention size: Most conventions should have this type of information in their about section or vendor package. Seeing how many guests attend on average is a good indicator at the type of exposure you will get
Booth costs: This is a pretty important one and leads into the next section about budgeting.
Can you actually do the con?
So you’ve narrowed down one – or more – conventions that you want to go to, now you need to figure out if you can afford it and plan in time to attend.
Timing
As mentioned in some of the points, can you book the time off to attend the convention? Will you have enough time to organize all of the items you need? If you found a con that you want to attend, keep watch for it throughout the year. Maybe the con as filled up and you cannot attend this year but you can go for next year.
Budgeting
This is the fun part (not). Jot down all the variables that will go into the trip like: booth cost, gas, room & board, food, marketing materials, your product cost (ordering your books) and tally it all up to figure out what it will take to break even at the convention. That is really the minimum you should be making at the convention.
Some conventions you will make less, and can be more likely if you haven’t established a following. That is alright too because you can return the following year (ideally with a new book) and have a greater chance of success. If you strike out again, maybe the con isn’t right for you.
Preparation
This goes in line with the timing, can you get everything you need ready in time? Maybe you don’t have may books in stock, can you order them before the con begins? Will you be able to register for the convention and make the trip? This will vary depending on how many marketing materials and products you already have prior to planning for the convention.
Getting the most out of a con
Besides getting a booth, there are many other things that a convention can offer. A lot of them will offer panels/talks that you can either submit yourself or join others on. Some have art book submissions that attendees can purchase and find the artist throughout the convention. There are sponsorship opportunities, treasure hunt games and more. Normally these extra activities have additional charges, so use them sparingly.
Long term plans and tracking your cons
If you’ve followed the advice listed above, managed to get into your first con and you sold two books, don’t worry. This goes for if you didn’t even get in to begin with. Maybe the convention was full or you didn’t have enough expenses to afford the trip. Don’t get too let down from it, writing is a long term game and this applies to conventions as well. Success with cons is really measured by the overall average of your success. Keep track of your sales to determine how well you do throughout a year, then review each year as they come to a close.
Additional advice
There are many conventions out there and everyone has their own methods of approaching them. If you have your own ideas that you’d like to add, please share them in the comments.
The post Planning Your First Con appeared first on Konn Lavery.
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