Over the Border and Through Some Woods ~ by Andi Lawrencovna

Well, the past two months have been monstrously busy, and next

year is looking to shape up the same, but that’s okay, because they’ve also been really fun.

I was lucky enough to be a signing author at two different events, and I thought that I’d take a minute to share some things that I really liked about them, and some things that maybe were not my favorite and that I would look into for the future.

The first event I went to was Penned Con in St. Louis.

It…was…HUGE! It was beyond huge. Like, epically ginormous. Over one hundred and fifty signing authors in two ballrooms for readers to get through. 

This was by far the biggest event that I had gone to, and probably the most well attended as well. It has a super dedicated following and has the backing of over five years to its name. It’s established, in the literary sense of the word/world…and so that brings it a lot of merit to authors looking to attend, and to readers looking to find authors. 

The event was supremely well organized and even when there were hiccups, the staff worked very diligently to fix them. I found the event to be “clean,” which sounds weird, but that makes a difference. It was not the type of event where people were handing out random…uhm…sexually promiscuous “giveaways” to any passerby. It was intended for all audiences, and required that authors acknowledge that and be aware of that when presenting their books. 

Honestly, to me, that is a HUGE selling point for an event. I look at this in two ways: the type of event am I going to, and the type of audience am I trying to attract. 

As a more “fantasy” author than romance, I look for broader events that cater to more than just romance readers. Don’t get me wrong, at a romance event, have at it! The gimmicky giveaways are huge referral points and I don’t begrudge you that at all. But events that are wide, which means that you are attracting a more diverse audience, then you need to be a bit more circumspect with what you’re allowed to display, and I truly appreciated that about Penned.

Surprisingly, my biggest un-selling point, in a sense, was the number of authors. Up to Penned, I’d only gone to pretty small events, generally in the range of anywhere between 40-85 signing authors. At 150, the readers who were attending were attending to see “their” authors, and not necessarily meet new authors. I found that those who had been to Penned before did better in book sales than new authors, because the readers were there looking for those they knew, not necessarily those they wanted to get to know. With so many authors gathered, you have to be a bit more choosy with who you are going to be buying books from, and as a reader, I totally understood that standpoint. 

That many authors was also a bit overwhelming, especially to me personally. I am, at heart, an extroverted introvert. I’m good with small talking my way out of a situation, but still, it takes an effort and after a while, I’m physically and emotionally drained and just want to curl under my table and hide for a bit. 

Penned was also a two-day, 8 hour days, signing event. Day one was great. Day two started hitting my migraine point. I did really like the extended signing hours though. I thought that having literally a full day of signing was great because you got to meet the morning people and the afternoon people, those who were free all day, and those looking to relax right after work by picking up a good book. Surprisingly, over the Friday and Saturday signing times, I did better on Friday, where I thought I would do better on Saturday. But again, I put this down to being a “weekend event” and those that were there for the whole thing were there first on Friday for the signing, so it makes a lot of sense. 

Overall, it was an epic experience, and really great because of it. 

Then, a few weeks ago, I crossed the border into Canada to go

to KaLiCon. That was a harrowing experience, to say the least…Crossing the Border…not KaLiCon! I probably should be more specific!

For the event itself, it was a small an intimate signing, geared towards author education and reader entertainment and was really great. I found the events that the Convention put on were inventive and unique. There were a ton of great things that I’d never experienced before at an event that I absolutely loved.

I think one of my highest points was the author-reader speed dating. Essentially, authors sit down, and readers come around and you get to spend 2-5 minutes with each one talking and getting to know each other. You can talk about your books, or your hair or whatever, making a connection more than a sales pitch which is essentially what has to happen at the signing table. 

For as introverted as I am, I do love getting to know people. Making connections puts me more at ease with others and allows me to function easier with them, I don’t feel as fake, personally, trying to force a smile and “entice you to my books,” once I know you.

It’s a delicate line. And during the “speed-dating,” I didn’t feel like I had to make a pitch, I just had to be myself. I think having readers and writers interact, realizing that we’re all people, and yes, sometimes realizing that we are not “like” one another, is a great thing. So, even the next day at the signing, when someone walks by who isn’t interested in your books but still smiles, it’s because you’re a person to them, more than just a seller, which I cannot stress how important that was to me.

The biggest hurdle for KaLiCon, and I will go so far as to say “foreign country events,” is getting to them. I ONE HUNDRED PERCENT went about it the wrong way. Apparently, to sell in Canada, and I am just guessing it is similar in other countries, too, you need a vendor’s license, and a slew of other things that go along with them. The issue is, most of the authors of KaLiCon were Canadian, and did not know what a “foreign” author would need to do to be “legally” allowed to sell outside of their home country. That said, it was still an AMAZING event. 

Unlike Penned, there was a small number of authors present, representing a wide range of genres. For one of the first times, I was not fighting with at a minimum three or four other authors of fairy tale re-telling. I’m pretty sure I was the only one there, which was great. A friend who went with me wrote contemporary rom-com, and she did amazing because she was a niche author there. From that standpoint, the smaller convention was great. 

Of course, we do have to talk about attendance though, and smaller convention equals, you guessed it, smaller attendance. Does that bother me? No. Like I said, I got to make great connections with readers at this event. That was honestly the best thing I could have asked for and it was wonderful. 

Overall, I count myself incredibly lucky because I have had amazing times at these conventions. I hope to be able to attend each of them again in the future, though I also have to consider branching out and trying to get into other venues, too, which is another hard topic to consider! 

All the same, going over the border and through some woods was definitely a journey for me, and I hope you get to take the time to travel the same path some day!

Oh right, and in case you’re interested, Penned Con’s theme for

next year is Mermaids and Pirates! AAARRRgggg! I’ll keep you posted on KaLiCon, too, because even if you don’t attend as an author, going as a reader is an experience you will not regret!