In four days’ time, I’ll be at Euro Pride Con in Amsterdam, along with a lot of other writers and readers of LGBTQA genre books.  So what better topic to talk about this month than conventions, and writers going to them? Why do they go and what do they expect to get out of it?

Euro Pride Con isn’t my only trip around the convention block. I’m also a regular at the UK Meet, which will be in Bristol this September. Both have a (relatively) narrow focus, aimed at a specific group of writers and readers. Yes, they cover a lot of ground, but they’re about books, mostly. They’re cons where being an author and talking about writing and books isn’t a hard sell, and the writers aren’t in competition with lots of other media events and happenings. They’re fun and familiar. In such a focused convention you’re with your own tribe: people who get what you write, who love LGBT-themed books, who identify as LGBTQA or are allies—it’s a safe space.

I’ve also done conventions that aren’t focused on writing. I mainly write genre science fiction with LGBTQA protagonists (I don’t categorise those as m/m romance, by the way, because they aren’t romances) and steampunk (which are m/m romances!) so going to the odd sci-fi convention is a good move—and actually something I need to do more often.

I’ve done a couple of sci-fi fandom conventions in the US. It was a peculiarly convoluted route into these conventions, but it involved both judging writing contests and running a writing workshop. The first one I attended, that was pretty much it in terms of exposure, but I was just starting out and I only had one small novella published. Actually, the impetus for publishing it was that I was attending the convention. I didn’t think I’d have much street cred in writing workshops if I didn’t have at least one work out there! When I was asked to repeat the workshops a couple of years later, I was far savvier. In return, I was given a vendor table to sell my books. Win-win there.

So, what did I—and by extension, other writers—get out of it all?

• a name check, to begin with. Yes, I’m a not-very-well known author, but for several weeks my name was up there on the convention websites as a panel member and workshop tutor. That’s gold for publicity and marketing. You point to that when you’re making pitches to publishers because it adds to your credibility. It’s something concrete to show that you’re a serious author and you take a professional approach to the job.
• the chance to interact with the widest range of sci-fi/fantasy fans. They’re there because they love the speculative genres. They love space operas, and explosions and big bangs. Sure, it’s harder to get them to focus on books, when they almost certainly came because of big visual media draws such Star Wars or the Marvel universe films or Game of Thrones. But the fact is, they are there. They’re there to have fun and geek out, and believe me, they love to talk. They’ll quite happily stand with you for ten minutes chatting about their cosplay, or about steampunk, or space lasers. You’re connecting there with the people you hope will buy your books. And many of them do, bless them. Forge those connections, because they, too, are gold.
• the chance to sell books. Someone walking around a convention hall isn’t going to buy your entire stock, but they might buy the first of the series. So discount it. Make it attractive enough for them to decide its worthwhile to add the weight to their backpack and schlep it around for the rest of the day. If you’re lucky, they’ll buy the rest of the series afterwards.
• geek out! Talking with Jewel Staite in the ladies loo and sharing a bus ride with half the cast of BSG was sheer fun. Don’t be stalkery though. They’re just professionals doing a job, too.
• have some fun in a place that’s new to you. If you take the convention seriously, you’ll either be in a panel or workshop or sitting at your vendor table for the entire day. So trade off with nearby vendors to negotiate some time out to eat and explore a little—I was sharing space with a jewellery maker at the last con I attended, so we looked after each other’s stuff for an hour each day. I couldn’t go far, but I at least managed an hour of real sunshine and a look around the immediate area. Re-energises the batteries a bit.

So, is it worth it? Yes. So much so, I’m planning on attending a local steampunk festival (to publicise that steampunk romance I mentioned as well as gawp at the lovely cos-play) and I’ve reserved a table at Nottingham Pride at the end of July. I may never sell lots of books, but I’m determined to have some fun!

About Anna

Anna was a communications specialist for many years, working in various UK government departments on everything from marketing employment schemes to organizing conferences for 10,000 civil servants to running an internal TV service. These days, though, she is writing full time. She lives with her husband in a quiet village tucked deep in the Nottinghamshire countryside. She’s supported there by the Deputy Editor, aka Molly the cockerpoo, who is assisted by the lovely Mavis, a Yorkie-Bichon cross with a bark several sizes larger than she is but no opinion whatsoever on the placement of semi-colons.

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