This past weekend we attended our first convention to promote Portal Hunters. Wizard World was hosting its annual comic book convention in Texas, and Shannon and I decided it would be a good opportunity for us to promote our book, especially with the release of Portal Hunters: Dark Hour. When our friends and colleagues heard of our plans, they asked why we wanted to attend a comic book convention. Portal Hunters is a novel, after all, with no direct connections to the comic book market. The answer was simple. Have you ever met a comic book fan that didn’t like science fiction? There are probably a few, but I’ve yet to meet one.
It was a sound idea in theory, but truth be told, in all my years of visiting comic conventions, I’ve never seen anyone use one to promote a novel. I’m sure we’re not the first, but I had no frame of reference or authors I could ask to see if the idea would work. As such, the only way to find out was to go through with it. And now we have. For the purpose of this blog, I want to share my insight and experience at this year’s Wizard Con for the benefit of anyone else out there who might be thinking of trying the same.
The short answer is yes, this could be a good place to promote your book, depending on your goals, expectations, and approach. If you’re a new author and you plan is to sell hundreds of books, then setting up at a comic book convention probably wouldn’t be the best use of your time. If, however, you’re a new author and you want to use the convention to help get your name out there, make contacts, and perhaps make a little money at the same time, then it’s not a bad idea. You just need to know how to approach it.
The first thing to keep in mind is that this is a comic book convention, not a science fiction convention. The average attendees are most eager to spend money on items directly related to the comic book industry. Comic book memorabilia, art prints, personal sketches, discounted back issues, and related games are the hottest selling items. Even if the average attendee loves a good science fiction novel, they aren’t there to buy one, which puts you at a disadvantage. Your job is to fight the odds and convince customers to spend their money on your book and not on this more commonly sought after items.
Sales technique is important. How you engage a customer and what you say to inspire interest matters. I’m not a natural salesman, so I won’t spend a lot of time on this. Just keep in mind a few basics: make eye contact, smile, be friendly, and believe in your product. Whatever technique you use, you have to be extroverted, not introverted. If you’re too much of an introvert to engage customers, bring a friend along who can help strike up a conversation with perspective buyers. Otherwise, you’re wasting your time. I only sold two books to people who walked up and decided to buy it before I could even open my mouth. Everyone else I had utilized salesman skills before they would fork over cash.
Presentation is big. If your table is nothing more than a stack of books, that isn’t going to cut it. You need to do something to grab people’s attention. How much depends on how eager you are for results. If you want to make a big impression, it will cost money. This is money you’re not likely to get back in sales (at least not at the convention), but once again, if your goal is promotions and getting your name out there, consider it an investment. Besides, much of what you buy or make for your table can be used at future conventions at no added cost. For example, buy a nice display for your books or get a six-foot tall free standing backdrop to put behind you. Not everything has to be expensive, either. I gave out black-and-white prints of my book covers. People loved that and they only cost me 40 cents each. Or, try going as a character from your book. People at conventions love to see others in good costumes. They may even ask to pose with you for a photo.
A convention is also a great place to make contacts. Don’t miss out by neglecting to take advantage of this opportunity. There will be artists and other kinds of authors there. Even if these people work exclusively in the comic book field, they could still be beneficial contacts. You might find an artist who could help with future book covers or advertising material, or a writer you could collaborate with on some level. Even if you don’t need these sorts of contacts now, you might later. Whoever is currently helping you with art or edits may not be available next time for reasons you (or they) cannot anticipate. You never know.
Granted, if making contacts is your top priority, you wouldn’t necessarily need to attend the convention as an author. However, you’ll find that attending as an author will go a long ways when trying to establish contacts. They will see you and treat you as one of them. After all, anyone can show up at a convention and wander around saying they’re an author. It’s not what you say; it’s what you do that matters.
In addition to contacts, a comic book convention could provide a good opportunity to meet celebrities. Comic conventions are known for bringing in a variety of guests with ‘geek’ appeal. At Wizard Con Austin I met or saw several science fiction actors from shows as far back as the late 70s to more recent series. There were sitcom actors (such as the Soup Nazi from Seinfeld), female wrestlers, painters, and even a screen writer and a film critic. Having such a broad spectrum of celebrities provides you with a unique opportunity for endorsements. Let me just say that I would not advise asking for an on-the-spot endorsement. That’s a waste of time, not to mention rude. They don’t know you or care about your book, and they’re probably busy. However, you could offer up a free copy of your book to them. Make sure they understand it’s a no obligation gift. It’s a long shot that this tactic will go anywhere, but if you give out dozens of copies in this fashion and get even as much as one semi-celebrity to offer up favorable comments, well, think of the possibilities.
Those were the most striking observations I made this last weekend. There is probably a lot more that could be said and a lot more I could learn from this experience, but I’m still soaking it in and reflecting. I will, most likely, continue to do comic conventions and as I do, I’ll learn more and adapt accordingly. If you are someone who has tried this before, I’d love to hear your stories and the lessons you’ve learned, so feel free to share. Until then, to all you writers out there, keep at it!
