Comic Witchery

Part 1: Working up the Nerve to Attend Your First Convention.

It’s one thing to sit in your room/studio and work on your comic, and then put it up on the internet for the world to see and judge while you stay safe at home. It’s quite another to take that same work and stand next to it yourself. Such confidence seems to come so naturally to some people, but the thought of going to this con gave me that “deer in the headlights” kind of feeling. I was so anxious, I couldn’t do anything, but the event date was coming closer and closer!

And it’s not just presenting your work to the public that is intimidating, either. It’s taking the opportunity to discuss comics and craft with other people whose work you admire. You want to meet these folks and participate in the dialog but you’re too shy. EVERYONE wants to meet them! What if they think you’re a pest? What if they already know your work and hate it? What if they think you’re hopeless and shoot you down? What if….?

Have you felt these insecurities firsthand? Do you know someone like that? Maybe what I’ve learned can help.

Your First Showing at a Convention: Unfortunately, the only cure for anxiousness about presenting your work at a convention is actually doing it.  Doing it ONCE gives you a better understanding of what to expect when people come by your table.  You feel so much more confident at the thought of doing another after that very, scary first one.  (I am saying this from experience, fresh after my first convention.) But don’t worry, I’m not going to throw you to the sharks and tell you to sink or swim! Here are some tips:

• Choose your venue.

I chose a small regional convention for my first one and I highly recommend it. People take the time to browse, for one thing, as a crowd of people aren’t pushing them along to get to the “big” names. Secondly, you have more time between people to relax and refine your pitch, or figure out how to make change for a sale! A small convention gives you a chance to see what works and what doesn’t before a small group. Stand up comics often try out their material in smaller venues before committing that material to their shows. This is a good system!

• Attend a con or two as a patron.

Ideally, attend the convention of your choice the year before you want to buy a table/booth, but any con/expo will do. But don’t look at everything as a fan would. Examine the mechanics of the various presentations: look at how the tables are set up, how the artists are presenting their work, etc. Listen to their banter when they interact with attendees. See how the other artists are set up. Where do they have their signs? Do they have business cards? What are their freebies? What are they selling? Do you like/dislike? Take a notebook and camera. Write everything down and take pics of things you want to remember. Refer to these when you are planning your table and display.

• Seek advice.

Look at blogs that discuss and give tips on tradeshows for ANY industry. Talk in forums and through email with fellow comickers, writers and artists who have been to conventions. Ask their advice. I have found webcomickers to be very forthcoming with their advice and encouragement. Get the benefit of other people’s experiences. Seriously!

• Prepare your best work.

Get the comics and samples selected and printed as soon as possible. This was one of the biggest expenses and biggest worries. If I had gotten it together sooner, that would have been at least ONE major worry off my mind.

• Have Freebies.

If you’re just giving stuff away, you don’t have a lot of emotional investment in it. If someone buys something and they hate it, they may blame you for wasting their money or just may think you’re charging too much. That may not be so, but it goes through your mind when you sell it, I can tell you. But if you GIVE away a few samples of your strip, or a bookmark they can USE with your URL on it, it doesn’t matter. They didn’t pay for it. And you always have something to say: “Please take a sample of the strip!” “Did you get a bookmark to take with you?” These need to be prepared before the big day, and you’ll want to have a lot. Better to have too many than to run out!

• Get Business Cards.

These are for sharing with other artists as well as con attendees. They are a MUST have. In fact, take them with you wherever you go, including and ESPECIALLY when you attend comic events or places where you may meet other comickers/artists/creative/media/publishing professionals. Have your complete contact information, INCLUDING your preferred social media profiles (more about business cards in another article).

Can you think of any other things to do to prepare for your first convention? Post your thoughts and suggestions in the comments.

(In Part 2, I’ll discuss the anxiety of meeting other artists you admire. No sure fire cures there, but I did make a few mistakes and observations which may be helpful.)

Tips from the comments:

• Find a friend who’s also going to have a table at the convention! (tip from me)

I can’t tell you how much it helped knowing Barry Buchanan of Don’t Feed the Geek was going to be there also. I hadn’t met Barry in person before, but I knew him online. Before the convention, we emailed back and forth about what we should bring, and wondered if we were going to fall flat on our faces. Both of our spouses were very supportive, but it really does help to express our feelings to someone who is going through the same thing. If your friend has convention experience already, all the better! I would think having a mentor for your first con would be a terrific source of both comfort and inspiration.