First, sorry for the late reply. Been a busy few days.

I hear you on the networking front. I just don't really agree with it. Part of my disagreement is based on the sheer cost involved. Since we're both coming from about the same geographical area, the travel costs to Washington or San Francisco are about the same. Lodgings, food and just getting around the city add to the tally. Not to mention things to sell/give away plus the table cost itself, too. So easily $600 to $700, doing it on the cheap side. Obviously, if sales are good you can offset that to some extent but I don't believe that lesser known artists really cover much more than their table costs.

And yeah, I agree, it's not about making a profit. So it's an investment in you and the chance (not the guarantee) to have networking opportunities. I dunno. I'm down with the former which is why we went to the four cons. The latter? When I look at that type of dollar investment we've made, it starts to feel really like a gamble. And I say that with knowledge that we did have good times and met some very nifty and very important comic book types. I still don't think it was worth it. I'd argue that the internet is a far better way of networking than actually doing the cons. Hell, that's been the best part of GirlAMatic - the networking. And it has been way cheaper than the convention alternative.

I'm also of the opinion that conventions are better for more established artists. For people who already have an audience, I think they're a good way to go. For those who don't? Not so much. That goes back to the quote from Seth Godin that started this - the audience isn't listening. They are there to see someone else. That's ok. I don't fault anyone for that. How could I? I'm just not willing to invest what funds I've got into that again.

'Course, if they're working for you than what do I know? :)

Von

If I'm understanding you right, I think I have to disagree - at least to a certain point. I won't disagree that writing those posts and trying to describe my thinking process got me a great deal of attention; that's definitely true. But I'm not so sure the rest of it has anything to do with exhibiting at APE or SPX.

Every time I've had an event (being accepted into GaM, art shows, that kind of thing) I've tried to do as much outreach as possible. I write individual contact letters to certain "media types" (for lack of a better phrase). I send out press releases to a large number of organizations (about 200) and I also try and get them online and thus picked up through various key words, too. It's a lot of work. It's been fairly effective, though, and the results have, I think, been pretty good. Not once, and I'm not kidding, have I ever felt that any of it received a bounce or lift from my appearances at the conventions. When I look at it strictly pragmatically, from the dollars spent of view, I cringe. I don't think there's been any long term effect at all. Actually, I feel very much like the cons almost didn't happen - there's been that little effect from them. What do I mean? Same thing as always - emails out of the blue, phone calls (ok, that's a reach), snail mail, comments left on the comics, that kind of thing. I didn't see anything coming out of the cons and I still don't see anything now.

Now, that said the conventions were very positive for being able to put faces to names (Moggy and I met ldragoon, dragonluk, poisonrational, and arcana_j (amongst many others)). One could make an argument that by giving the road galley to Lisa at APE 07 I was able to show that I'm serious. My counter-argument is that I'd have just mailed it to her when I submitted to GaM to achieve the same thing, of course. The same goes for Leigh's lovely review over on Sequential Tart. She got a copy of the galley at the same time that Lisa did. I'd make the same argument there, too.

But the cons did rock for meeting people. Internet friends who we finally met in person. And the the fact that we were able to meet some damn fine retailers (in particular Rory Root - I'm very glad we were able to see him twice and get to know him, at least a little bit, before he died). That part was very good. And that will always hold a very special place with me. Especially when I consider how truly terrible the comic shops in Ottawa are.

I don't believe, even allowing for the long view of the conventions, that they've really exposed my work to a larger audience. Especially considering that my GaM numbers, as best as I can tell, aren't so hot. I'm pretty sure I've gotten more readers from Livejournal than I ever have from giving out samples at the four conventions we've exhibited at. If someone can make a drive to a con, find an inexpensive place to crash, and exhibit in a low cost way than they're still probably not a bad idea if expectations are kept in check. For those flying to a place like San Diego and hoping for sales or even "simply" networking, though? Man...it's going to be a very tough go.

Oh, I should add that I didn't think you were trying to discount my difficulties. Far from it. And I should take the opportunity to say that while we haven't chatted that often, I do really enjoy our exchanges.

Von

Edited at 2008-07-23 02:44 am (UTC)

Well, like I've said, I think that there's a separation between a holiday or vacation (well, a working vacation) and a full business trip. As working vacations, the cons have been pretty good, especially the San Francisco trips. We always stayed for an extra few days to see the sights and hook up with people, primarily who work in comics but outside of the con atmosphere. That was fun and I can justify the expense better from that point of view. And it's fun to be able to hang out with people you care about is exactly the kind of thing I mean.

It's when I try and justify it purely from a business point of view that the numbers don't work. If there was something come out of it, then it would be different. But there's simply not. No data to hang my hat on and certainly no feeling that I'm building any sort of momentum from the con appearances. One indirect way that corroborates this (though it's not scientific): we didn't go to the last SPX. The 2007 edition. We did '05 and '06. I didn't receive one email, LJ post, phone call, or anything like that regretting that we weren't coming. No "is the book out?" and/or "will it be available at SPX?" type comments. No one cared. As I just said to you upthread, the audience wasn't there for me. That's extraordinarily clear to me now.

I also find the bloody shows a helluva lot of work. I mean, the travel, set-up, tear down plus the show itself. I stand all the time. I talk a lot, hopefully good conversation with a lot of attendees and other exhibitors. It's work. I'm wiped out by the end of the first day let alone the end of the second day. And I always need to take a day or two off when we get back home just to detox from the whole thing. They're fun, but man. Work.

I don't think it's an age thing (though I hear you), I think it's a fatigue thing. My time is valuable, at least to me. I can better use my time, especially when the money is just vanishing, in another way. A better way. A more fulfilling way.

This is what I don't get about San Diego. It's not about comics there. Not anymore. And that means that the artists, at least most of them, are very small fish in a very big pond. I think they'll probably have fun, but I doubt it'll accomplish much else for them. Snarky, I suppose, but I do feel that it's true. I have absolutely no desire to go. Even as a fan, just to walk around. It really doesn't interest me.

Von

Yes, I definitely agree. As I mentioned in that big four part con thingy, when I view it from a business/art point of view, they bit hard. However, when I view it from the vacation point of view, they were very nice events. Especially the two San Francisco trips. Nifty people, interesting places (more so Berkeley than SF for me but still) and a chance to see the Pacific Ocean. I mean, we walked the Golden Gate Bridge. Perhaps I entertain easily, but man, that was cool. :)

Von

Well, it's the bookstore guy in me that cringes at this stuff, too. Retail is where I learned a lot of the metrics that I've since applied to cons. But hell, a blind monkey could figure out that if the revenue isn't nearly matching the expenses there's a problem. In my case, it wasn't even close.

I think part of the problem with cons is that there's a sense of overload. So many tables (usually around 250+) and then the guests of honour and other key exhibitors. That's the lions share of who people want to see. There's nothing wrong with that at all. I had hoped, when we originally planned this, that it wasn't the case and people would be more experimental. But with four of these cons under my belt, I actually don't believe that's the case. And these were the "high art" cons, too. So it's not about Spidey - it's about the big creators like Jeff Smith or Matt Wagner or whatever. An individual just can't create the separation that is needed to make their work stand out. Well, for the most part. There usually is a sleeper hit or two from someone we've never heard of. The exception that proves the rule.

This is all not to say that people aren't decent or you can't learn things. They are fun. I'm just not willing to travel to them out of my own pocket anymore. But if you can get to a good con on the cheap, it certainly doesn't hurt to go. :)

Von

Thanks, Lee. It's coming together. Slowly but surely. And I deeply appreciate the thought.

Von