Brigaders at #BristolCon Part Two

Last week I talked about preparations for SFF convention BristolCon and what we took for our dealers table HERE. This week I'm going to tell you how it all went.

Pluses
It wasn't as traumatic experience as my nightmares had led me to believe. For one thing I'll direct you to a review of BristolCon by Cheryl Morgan. Of particular note is one concern that hovered at the back of my mind after reading about US conventions and the harassment female SF authors and cosplayers can get.

"Given current debate on the less than welcoming nature of some SF&F conventions, it is worth spending a bit of time asking how we did. There were certainly plenty of women in evidence. To my knowledge, no one was harassed or made to feel unwelcome. There was a good balance of genders on panels, if not perfect panel parity (which is hard to do if you have 5 people per panel)."

http://www.cheryl-morgan.com/?page_id=19921

This was definitely my view of the convention, and I even felt secure enough to let my 12 year old daughter attend a panel and a signing without the need to hover at her side, and to let her 'man' our table while I attended another panel (Sex and Death - not of interest to her nor in my view entirely suitable for her age) and Misa attended a workshop. My daughter enjoyed the convention so much that I've already committed to going in 2015 and taking her along again.

The two panels I attended were interesting and well moderated, to the point I'm actually hoping to be part of one (quite a thing for someone like me). I also got a book signed by my favourite author and had a short chat (though my own fangirling embarrassed me enough that I didn't try to hang on after >.< ). Eldest, however, chatted to both Janet Edwards and Jaine Fenn for a whole HOUR!

Minuses
I didn't sell any download cards, raffle tickets, have anyone take a BP bracelet or the free samples (though I did have a few people pick up and read the samples). I don't think being opposite a double, completely book orientated Forbidden Planet table helped. Visitors gravitated to their colourful display of big name authors which put their backs toward us (I will note that they didn't make an awful lot of sales that I saw either and they packed up a couple of hours before the rest of us) and another author commented that it had been quiet. There was also a second hand book table, plus a table of free books (which eldest and I helped ourselves to), plus three other author tables, and a selection of books by the guests of honour set out at the convention entrance. That's an awful lot of books on sale. Also I still feel the UK is a bit behind in embracing the ebook phenomenon, and I doubt the concept of download cards is well known.

After the event, I learned I made ONE sale due to the convention (I'm inordinately pleased and flattered that it was to one of the guests of honour - my daughter's favourite author). I will also say that, while I can't be sure, I have had a little jump in sales since the event - after three months of steady sales, I actually sold NOTHING the first week of October (going only by NovelRank, a not 100% accurate way to track Amazon sales when the book is via a publisher, and by my KDP, Smashwords and ARe dashboards for my self pubbed works), and the following two weeks were lower than the previous three months. So the spike was noticeable. I have absolutely no way to know if the convention appearance caused this, but it seems too much of a coincidence.

Also of interest in relation to this is a link a friend sent me on Twitter.

Is cosplaying killing sales at conventions?

This certainly wasn't the case at BristolCon, which focusses more on books, authors, artists and panels rather than costumes.

So what did I learn?

1. I probably need to be a bit more pro-active.
2. I was inordinately surprised and impressed by my daughter's behaviour and enthusiasm, and at the welcoming nature of the convention.
3. The panels were well worth going for alone.
4. I got to meet Misa for realz!
5. I need my print books! Both Keir (my first and one remaining copy) and the print edition of the anthology were picked up, but both were for display only, and I think if I'd had them for sale I might actually have sold a few. Le sigh.
6. My spiked hair made me memorable, as did my red jacket. Hats seem to be very much a part of an author's badge, but I'll stick with the spikes. :P
7. I need a banner of my own.

I wish I'd had better news to share in terms of promotion, but on a personal level I found it useful and worthwhile. There's always next year! And to finish, here's a pretty I treated myself to.

Brigaders at #BristolCon Part One

Having missed out on the awesomeness of LonCon 3 (WorldCon) due to various disasters, I jumped at the chance of doing BristolCon. While I will always regret the missed opportunity of LonCon, perhaps it's better to start with something like BristolCon with it being just one day and hopefully less overwhelming to an author appearance virgin like me.

I'll admit - I was petrified. I am not a people person. Online, with the safety of a computer screen between me and the rest of the world, I can be pretty chatty and sociable. Face to face? *runs and hides in a corner* But with visibility being the biggest hurdle most authors have to get past, making a physical appearance somewhere, sometime, seems necessary. And I miss going to conventions - hubs isn't a fan, and once the kids came along even the odd trip to London to the Comic and Film Fairs became nonexistent. So I was eager to get back into conventions.

First, a bit about the venue. BristolCon "...is a one-day convention organized by the BristolCon Foundation, a charitable foundation set up to support and promote speculative fiction writing, art and related activities in the South West." It takes place in the Doubletrees Hotel in Bristol town centre, just yards from the Temple Meads Station. A huge part of the attraction for me was my favourite SF author Jaine Fenn was going to be attending and doing some panels, plus my eldest's new favourite author Janet Edwards (YA SF), which meant I easily persuaded eldest to come along (we met both authors at the Women In Scifi panel in London, which coincidentally also covered the subject of lack of visibility). Being included on the guest list alongside them, plus the likes of Mark Lawrence and Gareth Powell certainly isn't too shabby either. ^-^ But if you're curious about the rest of the guests and events, please check out the BristolCon website HERE. 

What I took:

1. Download cards. Now, I got a few questions about these before the convention while I posted images of my convention gear as I prepared my kit, so I'm going to go through making them. Firstly, I do have one publisher (Champagne Books) who will issue us with ready made download cards for ebooks, but these have to be ordered in bulk, then shipped. I'm always nervous about having valuable items like that sent through the post and across the sea to boot. My other publisher (Breathless Press) does gift cards via codes, so I asked about the possibility of codes for specific titles ie mine. This was apparently a viable option, and I bought ten codes for each of my two ebooks. These are one use only just for the title they relate to, so no need to worry about multiple downloads. But what to put them on? The codes were printed onto a sheet of stickers. Then for each title I printed off postcard sized cards with the book cover and blurb on the front, and the download instructions on the back, with a space for the code sticker.

This meant I didn't have to print out individual cards for each code, so if I use a couple of unsold codes for giveaways after the convention, I can just take the sticker off and reuse the card (this really saves on costs). So once printed, I put on my stickers, then put the cards onto a display unit with the price and a note of Buy Now Download Later.

And if you can't get codes from your publisher or you're indie? Well, for an indie author, there's the ability to produce codes via Smashwords for a specific title. This would mean you could use the download card idea with a coupon for free download, but the buyer has to purchase the card from you first. Unfortunately I don't think there's any way to make the coupon valid for just one download, so there is the risk of the buyer using it multiple times for that title. This would need more investigation. As for publishers - well, if they do gift card codes, that's an option which would at least guarantee the buyer going to their website, but not necessarily for YOUR title. My philosophy is - if you don't ask, you don't get. Maybe it's something they'd be interested in doing if it means more business for you and for them.

2. Free samples/goodie bags. Breathless/Lycaon Press send us sample PDFs of our books to give away or print off, usually the first chapter. Using the booklet facility in Word 2010, I printed these off for my two titles currently published through them, with the cover and blurb included, plus a link to my publisher's website. I had to invest in an extra long stapler to finish the booklets off properly (there are an awful lot of costs for a first time conventioneer, sigh), but I'm rather proud of the results.

These went into clear resealable bags. For my two YA titles, they got a YA sticker on the front. My scifi romance has a SFR Brigade sticker. I also put a pencil and sharpener from Breathless Press into each bag, and related swag. For example, my SFR has postcards from Sabine Priestley and Rachel Leigh Smith for their SFR titles, a promo card for the SFR Brigade, and a small card for Tales from the SFR Brigade, our free anthology. I bought some high quality silk finish photography paper for the Brigade promo, intending to print both sides, but unfortunately it didn't work out for that paper, and I had to resort to a one-sided card (3x5.5 inches).

The YA titles are paranormal and scifi respectively, so they each had cards/swag related to their genre. I've left the bags unsealed so that anyone interested in taking them but who expresses interest in anything else on the table can have extras added in. The Brigade stickers were bought from Zazzle, while I made and printed the YA stickers myself.

3. Goodie basket. Thanks to the generosity of my fellow BP author Mia Epsilon, I had a hardback edition of BP's Wonderland Tales, an anthology of stories based on Alice in Wonderland. I also ordered a print edition of Tales from the SFR Brigade, a copy of Ghost Planet by my fellow Spacefreighters buddy Sharon Lynn Fisher (a scifi romance published by TOR), and a notebook with the cover of my recent release - Hallow's Eve - on the front. This was to be raffled off at the event, with ticket money paying for postage.

4. Breathless Press giveaway. As well as providing pencils and sharpeners as swag, BP also sent me some wristbands, with a giveaway attached. Entrants need to post a picture on social media of them wearing the band and tag Breathless Press in the post, to be entered to win gift cards, books etc. I felt having some no obligation stuff on offer would hopefully draw people over rather than just blatant 'we are here to sell you stuff'.

5. Sweets and more freebies. I am not above bribery myself. I bought some star shaped sweets (to fit our SF theme) to help tempt people over, plus we had plenty of free bookmarks and business cards (obviously promoting our books, but heck, we *are* authors trying to promote our works). I also have two clipboards, one for contact details for the goodie basket raffle, and the other for my newsletter.

6. Myself, Misa and my eldest. Eldest and I both wore t-shirts for two of my titles - she had my YA paranormal Restless In Peaceville, while I had my upcoming superhero romance, When Dark Falls. I also dressed up in a bright red highwayman jacket, and wore my lightsaber earrings and sonic screwdriver necklace. Misa had an author banner, something I'll now consider investing in since I plan to do more conventions.

7. What Misa had. Misa also brought download codes for her titles, a print collection of three of her novellas, and bookmarks. She also had a banner (something I need to invest in, though possibly not from Vistaprint after the two of us failed to get the darn thing together, and another author had to help her set it up).

And how did it go?

Come back next week on Wednesday 5th November to find out! In the meantime, if you have any questions at all just give me a shout.

Hailing On All Frequencies!

I'm posting a little earlier this week as a couple of our members are in a reader's poll that closes midnight, October 10th (see Contest News section for details) and I'd like to give you time to check out the entries.


NEW RELEASES
FROM THE ASHES is an erotic sci-fi romance from new Brigader, Maree Anderson. The book will be coming out with Red Sage Pubishling in December 2010. 









REDEEMING CHARACTERS by Jennifer L. Hart was released in ebook format on October 9 by Passion In Print.  A release in paperback format will follow the first week in December.









D. L. Jackson has a two-story SFR/erotica anthology called BLOWN AWAY featuring Detonate and Happy Trails also to be released by Passion in Print  (release date TBA).

BLOGGING
Jody Wallace has been interviewed by Meankitty over at Scribbling Ninjas. They're talking about Jody's fantasy romance novel, SURVIVAL OF THE FAIREST.

Erica Hayes was a guest blogger over at the SciFiGuy.ca this week. She tackled the topic of Urban Fantasy vs. Paranormal Romance - What's Your Fancy?.

MEMBERS NEWS
Laurie Green placed 2nd in the Toronto Gold/Original Golden Opportunity contest sponsored by Toronto Romance Writers RWA chapter with her SFR THE OUTER PLANETS. Congratulations, Laurie!!!

Lisa Lane has entered her trailer video for PANDORA'S HOPE in the You Gotta Read Videos contest. It's Entry #6 this month. She'd appreciate any members dropping by between October 26th-30th to leave their vote of support.

NEW MEMBERS
Welcome to our newest members:

• Maree Anderson
• Mel Teshco
• Jess Anastasi

CONTEST NEWS
Frances Pauli's SFR short, COMPLICATED CARGO, has made it to round two in the Just One Bite contest. Reading and voting continues until the 14th. Congratulations, go Frances!

Blackraven's Reviews is running a weekly readers' poll from Oct.1st-Oct.8th you can vote for your favourite read. Barbara Elsborg's book TREUBLOOD 5: FIGHT TO REMEMBER is one of Blackraven's Reviews Top Picks for the Week and new Brigader Mel Teshco's book ICE COLD LOVER is also in the list. So go along, take a look and cast your vote by midnight Oct.10th! 

The 2011 Pikes Peak Writers Fiction Contest
The Pikes Peak Writers and Pikes Peak Writers Conference are pleased to sponsor the PPWC's 19th annual contest for unpublished writers.
The contest officially begins September 15, 2010. E-entries only.
Entries must be received by 11:59 PM (MST) November 15, 2010. Winners will be notified in early April 2011.

Contest Categories:
• Short Stories (fiction only; all genres included in same category) Book Length:
• Children’s(for ages 8-12)
• Historical Fiction
• Mainstream
• Mystery/Suspense/Intrigue
• Romance
• Science Fiction/Fantasy/Horror
• Young Adult(for ages 12-18)

FINAL ROUND JUDGES

• Children's VIP Judge: Danielle Chiotti (Upstart Crow Literary)   
• Historical Fiction VIP Judge:  Rachelle Gardner (Word Serve Literary Agent)
• Mainstream VIP Judge:  Kathleen Gilligan (Thomas Dunne Books/St. Martins)
• Mystery/Suspense/Intrige VIP Judge: Denise Little (Ethan Ellenberg Agency) 
• Romance VIP Judge: Allison Lyons (Harlequin Intrigue)
• Young Adult VIP Judge: Amy Boggs (Donald Maass Agency)
• Science Fiction/Fantasy/Horror VIP Judge: Deb Dixon (President of Belle Books)  
• Short Story VIP Judge: Angela James (Executive Editor, Carina Press) 

For more details download the brochure from this link. 

BOOK REVIEWS, SIGNINGS & GIVE-AWAYS. 
An October Blog Anniversary Party! Kylie Griffin celebrates a year of blogging this month and she's doing it in style with a Give-away-fest. A smorgas-library of free books with every post.
Look what's going on this week...
9th October - Have you read a good sci-fi romance lately? This is a blatant plug to get people to visit the SFRB website and blog! To give-away to a lucky visitor - three of Elizabeth Amber's Lords of Satyr series. To be in the draw complete the sci-fi challenge, it closes October 13th (midnight Aussie EST).
12th October - What are you reading and enjoying? Don't forget to recharge the creative well with a good book. If you leave a comment about a book you've read lately you may win an autographed copy of COLTER'S WOMAN by Maya Banks. Contest closes midnight (Aussie EST) 16th October.
So, put on your party hats, you're all invited to share in the fun! Get on over to her blog!

INDUSTRY NEWS
Editor Debra Dixon (author of Goal, Motivation, Conflict) and BelleBooks are actively looking for submissions in the following genres:

• sci-fi
• fantasy
• urban fantasy
• YA
• romance
• strong general fiction
• women's fiction
• literary fiction

They produce print and e-book releases and are interested in published and unpublished authors.

Hachette Australia (2nd largest publisher in Australia & largest in fiction) and editor Bernadette Foley are also actively looking for manuscripts (agented only). They are looking for submissions in these genres:

• fantasy (Orbit imprint)
• sci-fi (Orbit imprint)
• commercial fiction
• non-fiction

Check their website for details.
INFORMATION OF INTEREST
Steampunk Prosthetics made for an intriguing read over at The Galaxy Express earlier this week. SFRBrigader Sheryl Nantus and her book, WILD CARDS AND IRON HORSES featured in the post.

The Blood-Red Pencil has a great post on Tips for Writing Effective Dialogue. Listed are some practical ways to improve your dialogue.

REMINDER: HOAF news

If you would like your new release, blog news, book reviews, book covers, contest results or other good info posted this coming week send it to me.

Email it to - kyliegriffin@clearmail.com.au

SFRBrigaders invade RWA® 2010

The Literacy Signing was awesome - and guess who I managed to find? Some of our Brigaders busily signing their monikers on their books!!!

It was great to meet so many of you who attended, and put names to faces. I'm just sad I didn't get a picture of every SFRBrigader I met! Oh, JC, how goes your elevator/escalator pitch???

Ella Drake & Laurel Wanrow

Karin Shah

Erica Hayes, Kylie Griffin, Sharon Lynn Fisher, Laurie Green.

Kylie Griffin, Sharon Lynn Fisher & Laurie Green at the Awards dinner.

Spocon Ambassador

Last weekend I enjoyed a blissful escape to Eastern Washington's favorite science fiction convention. Spocon might be a small con in the grand scale of things, but the guest list reads like a who's who of speculative fiction.
This year we had Tanya Huff, Seanan McGuire and Patty Briggs. Let that sink in for a minute.
Now add C. J. Cherryh and artist Michael Whelan and let the swooning begin.
:-)

Thanks to our fearless leader, I had SFR Brigade badges to sport, cards to hand out and a great flier for the promo rack. We had at least three brigade members present, and I think, were a formidable force for the great name of Science Fiction Romance. . . at least, we didn't get laughed out of the room.

I did get into some great discussions and when the genre came up, it was met with serious consideration and even one, "there's a good market to be in." I took heart from that, and from the great reception and fellowship that didn't look askance at me because I wrote the romantic side of things.

Aside from business, the con was also immensely fun. If you're not a con-goer yet, let me tell you, you're missing out. (I mean, there are stormtroopers for heaven's sake) If you do decide to give the con circuit a try, or if you're an old pro at it, I think we have an opportunity to chip away at some biases and spread the word about our genre and our Brigade.

And have a great time to boot.
I can't think of anything better.

~Frances Pauli

FEATURE - Tips for Attending Smaller Cons

(posted by Jaleta Clegg, in case you're wondering)

I spent the weekend at ConDuit, a general SF/F con in Salt Lake City, Utah. Good friends, old and new; great networking opportunities; lots of good information in panels and less formal venues; local cons can be an invaluable resource to the aspiring or newly published author.

I admit, I've only attended two cons outside of my area. One was specific to Terry Pratchett and his Discworld, the other one was World Fantasy last year. Both seemed a bit overwhelming and large. Can you say, "Intimidation?"

ConDuit, on the other hand, usually has an attendance of maybe 500 - 600. We bring in one big name author, one big name artist, and occasionally another guest deserving of honor from the science fiction/fantasy community. This year, I got to meet Barbara Hambly, one of my favorite all-time authors. We also had Brandon Sanderson, but he's local and usually comes if he can. We had at least 20 established authors, numerous artists, many lesser known authors, costumers, gamers, and other specialists and professionals at the con.

So why attend your local con? Why not aspire to the big leagues? Local cons tend to be less formal, less expensive, more accessible than the big ones. And if you're like me, you'd prefer a little less social face-time with huge crowds. For an aspiring or newly published author, it's easier to be a medium or small fish in a small pond than a tiny fish in an enormous pond. You have a better chance of being noticed, of connecting with future and current readers.

Some mistakes I've made:
1. Don't be part of the committee once you are attending as an author. I spent most of my weekend stressing over the hospitality suite, my job on the ConDuit committee, not socializing and networking. Being part of the volunteer staff is a great way to get to know the organizers and open doors to participation, but be smart about it. As an author, you should be spending time getting to know the other authors and readers at the con.

2. Don't be pushy. People come to the con to have fun, not to be badgered with sales pitches for books they really aren't interested in. I bring bookmarks and leave them on the freebie table. I make sure to carry a handful with me, just in case. If someone asks, I'm more than happy to promote my book. It's a balancing act.

3. Don't hide in your room. Be in the public spaces. Be social. Reach outside your comfort zone, if necessary. And be open to other points of view. Cons are a great place to learn your craft. The insights and advice are well worth the price of admission.

4. Costumes are not necessarily the best first impression. Business casual is a good choice if you want to be taken as a professional. But feel free to dress up for the evening entertainment. Local cons usually save the silly stuff for evenings.

And some Do's:
1. Do have fun, but keep in mind that people will associate your behavior with your writing.

2. Do come prepared for interviews, blog exchanges, signings, people asking questions, etc. etc. Bring a stack of business cards with your contact info. Bring something to promote your book, like bookmarks or sample chapters. I used badge ribbons this year. Everyone wanted them. I forgot to print the title of the book on the ribbon, though. Something to change next time I order ribbons. Carry a pen with you. When someone hands you a business card, jot a note on the back - who they are, why you talked to them and got their card, and what you agreed to do as a followup, even if it's only a thank you email.

3. Do follow through. If possible, take time every night to send some emails to those people you contacted. At least make sure you have a list of who to send what email to. If you get a request for a manuscript or a query, DON'T LOSE IT IN YOUR LUGGAGE! Write a note, then put it in a pocket or bag set aside for important contacts.

Check into your local SF/F groups to see if your area is hosting a con. Ask other authors on this board or others if they know of a good local con that you can attend. Some websites attempt to gather information on local cons, but it's mostly hit and miss. Besides, it's nice to know you'll find at least one friendly face at the con when you arrive.

And if any of you are in Utah, please let me know. ConDuit (http://conduit.sfcon.org/) happens every Memorial Day weekend in downtown Salt Lake City. LTUE (http://ltue.org/LTUE_2011.html) happens every February near President's Day at BYU in Provo. Both are great opportunities to make some connections. And I'd love to meet you in person.