NerdCon: Stories did three things for me:
- It solidified my conviction that cons are worth the time, effort, and money
- It introduced me to a bunch of fantastic people from all walks
- It left me certain that I need to offer more ways to support Into the Nanten and the rest of my writing
NerdCon Lesson 1 – Cons Are Worth It
Niggling at the back of my mind as I approached NerdCon, much the same as Sasquan, was doubt. Doubt that a con was worth the time, money, and sheer effort that went into exhibiting. Doubt that anyone would like what I had to offer. Doubt that anyone would even stop by my booth long enough to reject me in the first place.
Sasquan crushed those doubts, and NerdCon swept the corpses into the river.
The Work Involved in a Con
I can’t honestly say how much time I put into NerdCon. Less than Sasquan, which consumed a full week or two of my life in prep alone, but it did require some hustle. I had to get one of the giant panels of my backdrop printed, mounted, and then bundled with the rest and shipped from Spokane to Minneapolis – all remotely.
I ordered so many books that I only had space left for two shirts, and I had to load and unload all of it into and out of the convention center by myself. Thankfully I had some last-minute help from a new con-buddy and writer, David Emery, who made getting the massive prints and Dark Horse portrait out of the convention center a lot easier. I got to the exhibition hall at 7:45am, and left about 12 hours later each day. I pitched all day, got no breaks, and had a general blast.
The Rewards
To put it simply, I sold out of Into the Nanten in the first three hours, Dark Horse half-way through the next day, and sold nearly half of the rest of my merch by the end of the convention. But that wasn’t the biggest reward by half.
The biggest take-away is that cons offer a ton of value for the investment – at least for me. I’m going to be picking up my game on that front in the coming months.
NerdCon Lesson 2 – People Are the Best Part
The Biggest Reward
New friends are always the biggest reward. While it was really cool to sell out of Into the Nanten in the first three hours (and somewhat awkward to turn people away for the next day and a half), what was most fun was meeting the variety of folks who stopped by my booth. Two big highlights worth noting: Joy and general fanteraction.
Joy dropped by early on Friday and, realizing I was all by myself, asked if I was going to get lunch. I must have looked especially pitiable when I said “No,” because she got lunch for me – not once, but twice! I might have starved without her. She was a pleasure and help to have hang out behind the table for a little while.
Fanteraction as a whole was amazing. I don’t think a single attendee knew of my existence going into NerdCon: Stories, but a whole bunch know I exist now. It was really, really fun to have people who found me on Friday come back Saturday and tell me how far along they were reading or listening to Into the Nanten. I even had a few who hung around for a while corralling passers by for me to maneuver them over to my table and hear me pitch the story. It was pleasantly shocking to see.
Danielle bought the last copy of Into the Nanten and was kind enough to leave it as a display model for the rest of the convention!
What’s really fun to watch is how people process the concept of Into the Nanten. Watching them go from “How is that even possible?” to that moment when a pleasure center somewhere in their brain kicks on and they get that little smile. Or they flat out blurt their surprise as they get it.
It’s not every day you get to have people walk by you and shout at the crowd in front of you “Totally worth it! Buy it now!” I was also told at numerous points Saturday afternoon that the leather-bound journal was the “legend of NerdCon.” I bowed in gratitude many times during my tenure behind the table.
NerdCon Lesson 3 – People Want to Support Storytellers
I tend to put up barriers between myself and my projects. I speak in terms of “we” and “Into the Nanten” a lot to substitute for myself. So when I say “We decided…” usually I mean that I decided. In the same way, when I talk about supporting something, it’s easier to talk about supporting “Into the Nanten.” But I realized this weekend that people understand what’s really going on, and they want a way to help the stories they love keep going. They already feel a part of a story they love – many want to express that by giving back.
I was asked “But how does it make money?” so frequently this weekend, and had so many people push back on the free-to-read nature of the project, that I’ve finally decided to go ahead with the idea of launching a Patreon. I still want to give you something in exchange, which is why if you support me via Patreon, at the very least, you’ll gain access to new content that fills in more of the story surrounding Marceles’ exile.
The main attractions are letters between the conspirators behind Marceles’ exile – they will be released in real-time as well. In other words, you get to read their secret correspondence as Marceles continues his struggle in the jungle. Inside knowledge that Marceles doesn’t have.
It’s not polished (no video yet), but it would be silly not to link to it, so be sure to head on over to Patreon to check it out.
NerdCon: Stories – In Summation
I’m really grateful for the opportunity to meet so many great people and to have made so many connections. Here are some practical points I took away:
In the future I will definitely ship books ahead of myself instead of packing them along in my suitcase.
I’ll also be sure to bring help, especially if Nimit or whoever else can’t make it.
I need to get a banner to hang high with the URL featured prominently.
I need to invest in a Husky case for hauling it all (one mysteriously appeared at my booth for a couple of days – it looked nice).
I certainly hope NerdCon is around to stay as a convention. Perhaps next time I’ll get out of the basement long enough to see a little bit of Minneapolis. Thanks to John and Hank Green and all the VidCon staff for putting it on, along with Carrie and the GES staffers who were so helpful! See you all next year!