Making Contacts and Money at Philcon

By Rose Fox -- Publishers Weekly, 11/24/2009 12:38:00 PM

With no end in sight to the economic woes that are forcing many publishers to curtail their advertising budgets, small presses and authors specializing in science fiction, fantasy, and horror still find value in purchasing dealer space at genre conventions. "Most conventions, we're close to breaking even, but it is really advertising and connecting with the readership," said Neal Levin, acquisitions editor and publisher of Dark Quest Books, who had a number of books for sale at Philcon, an annual Philadelphia-area convention that's now in its second year across the river in Cherry Hill, N.J. "Convention selling is different from selling online because you are dealing face-to-face with the customers, with the fans. It's a great way for the authors and editors to interact and find out what the readers are looking for."

Many vendors go to multiple conventions within a region every year, building up relationships with readers who are willing to travel to socialize with fellow fans and meet their favorite authors. A familiar face behind a table, or a friendly greeting from someone who remembers their last purchase, can make a sale. "Since I am engaging readers and I have an opportunity to talk to them about what I've written, it piques their interest," said Danielle Ackley-McPhail, an author and editor who frequently volunteers to staff the Dark Quest table at conventions. "So they'll try a book or two. And then I come back to a convention I've been at before and a customer comes up and all of a sudden buys everything on the table because they've enjoyed that first book so much. Or people I recognize come back looking for whatever new title we have coming out."

Ackley-McPhail clearly enjoyed her time at the convention, calling out to fans and friends across the room. "I'm very isolated as an author," she explained. "A convention is a unique opportunity to actually be able to connect with your audience, to form a relationship with them outside of the page itself. It gives you a thrill because you can see how your work's appreciated, and it gives them a thrill because they are in the presence of the person who wrote something they enjoyed. Even with the explosion of blogs and such, it's still a remove between you and your readers, whereas here you just settle in."

Publishers who weary of staffing their own tables or want more time for hand-shaking and deal-making would do well to cultivate relationships with such extraverted authors. Levin seemed quite happy to leave the salesmanship to Ackley-McPhail. "He's around all weekend, but I just happen to be a little more outgoing," she said as she went off to make another sale.