Convention Recap: HuntsvilleCon 2024
TRANSPARENCYEVENT RECAP
General Thoughts
I made way back to Huntsville for my second ever event there. And it went...not as good as the first haha. This was a one day event on a Sunday, that was really mostly geared towards anime fans from the guests that they had on site doing signings. I knew who none of them were, but a lot of folks seemed really, really excited! And props to the organizer: it was a really well attended and ran event. I have zero complaints there.
Big picture: this was not a good event for me, and from what I gather, most of the other authors who were in attendance. My rough guess is all authors combined to sell maybe 50 books. Which I think there were at least 10 of us there. Oof. I am open to doing other events with this organizer, for sure, just not this particular one.
Small Thoughts
I brought back out my older book rack, and it's going to be absolutely perfect for my zines. I will be able to do three wide, and four deep. So yeah, I need to whip up more zines. At least three more, sooner rather than later. When I do that, I will really lean into signage for it, something to clip on and stand over the back that spells out that they are rpgs.
There are always a good number of folks selling dice, dice trays, dice towers, etc. And they all seem to sell pretty well. So there is a definite RPG market at these events. I just have to do better at promoting my rpg zines.
The booth next to me made crochet items, and they gave me a tiny crochet Horace the Possum! I love it!
I got to see a bunch of old author friends like George and Kim Conrey, Jared Millet, and Matthew Quinn, and make some new ones like Rich Partain, Alfred Mueller (who I had met once before and will be sharing a table with soon at Fanboy Knoxville), and JB Mangold.
This super nice older woman gave me a unicorn pin. She said she'd had it for several years, and had been waiting on the right person to give it to, and she felt that was me! How rad is that!
I wonder how sustainable 3d printed items will be over the long term as a booth at a convention. For sure, they are a big hit right now. But as the technology gets more accessible and cheaper, I just wonder if its a sustainable business path.
There was a guy there, an older gentleman, who cosplayed as at least 5 different people over the course of the day, all stars of the radio era like Zorro and Green Hornet. I really admire his dedication, even though I had no idea who any of them were on site, except Zorro. I hope I'm that cool when I get his age.
I need to figure out a better way to display my art cards.
The booth on the other side of me, one of the booth folks was an academic who was the editor on a book called "Space, the Feminist Frontier: Essays on Sex and Gender in Star Trek." She was lamenting it was a great book, but with the political climate around sex and gender currently, it wasn't a great time for it to launch. So maybe go give it a look.
I want to come up with a better cheap something for my table than my stickers. I don't know if I will be able to, but the thoughts have begun.
Panels
There were no panels, so I just had to sit at my booth and sell. Ugh.
Sales
Sales were not great, as I stated in the opening. I sold 8 book's and a sticker. Not a single omnibus. Not a single sticker bundle. But it makes sense: the crowd skewed waaaaaay young, and the bulk were heavily into anime. I have come to learn that most folks who attend events for anime rarely go for my books. So not moving many books tracks, since the bulk of attendees were heavey anime fans (or parents nice enough to bring their kids). While my table was only 100 bucks, once I factor in the gas I spent getting there (I stayed with family to save me a hotel room), the event was a wash financially.
Daily Sales Numbers:
Sunday - 121.00
Total Sales Numbers By Item:
7 Bringing Home The Rain - 105.00
0 Books 2 or 3
0 Omnibus 1
0 Omnibus 2
0 Omnibus Bundles
1 Southern Saudade - 15.00
1 Stickers - 1.00
0 Sticker Bundles
0 Zines
0 Ultimate Bundle
Total: 121.00
Fixed Expenses:
Badge: 0.00
Booth Fee - 100.00
Hotel - 0.00
Grand Total Profit - 21.00
