Tag Archives: Minicon

Conventions

Minicon 58 in Review

Leave a comment

I just finished up three days at Minicon 58 in the Twin Cities. Set up my table, laid out my books, sat on some panels, and talked with other authors. Made some sales. Had some conversations.

Overall, it was a great weekend. Longer thoughts to follow.

Behold….my books!

My Table

My set up is pretty decent, as you can see from the picture. The table banner looks a lot better than that rolled up poster I used to have. I think putting the free pictures under the plastic sheet really helps keep them from moving around, and putting the business cards in card holders instead of spreading them out just keeps the table clear. It just looks more orderly than previous tables.

Talking with visitors is getting better. My elevator pitch for the two Renaissance Army books is okay, or at least I feel comfortable with it. I had to work through a few iterations of the Champion Bold pitch before I found one that felt right. I’ll probably practice some more before the next event.

There are a few things I’ll want to do in the future. for starters, I’m going to need to get something vertical to hold my books up, since I’m already going to have several more books once the supplements come in, and I’m going to be adding more titles in the future. Another idea I want to do is get some reviews off Amazon and Goodreads and put them up for people to read.

And, maybe, get some cool sci-fi videos for my picture display.

The Panels

I was on three panels at Minicon: Procrastination or Preparation, A Sense of Wonder in Sci-Fi, and Dealing with Writer’s Block.

I’m not going to bore you with details about each panel. They went well. I participated in discussions, responded to questions. I still felt like the junior member of the panels, but by most standards I probably am. It’s not like imposter syndrome is going to go away just because I want it to.

If I was to acknowledge one critique, I need to work on ending my response. More than once, I would say my bit, then sort of babble for a bit. What I need to do is say my thing, and the be done.

Readings

I was scheduled for one reading, I did two.

My individual reading was Friday afternoon, and no one came. Unfortunately, it was left off the schedule by accident, one of about half a dozen events that faced such a challenge. I don’t take it personally; it happens. I ended up sitting in my room reading my eBook for half an hour.

Later Friday night, I was approached by another author. he had assembled an Indie Author Reading Buffet; a handful of authors, reading for ten to fifteen minutes, but several of the authors had dropped out, and he was looking for readers. I had a copy of Champion Bold on the cloud, so I read as part of the group. Got at least one sale out of it.

From what I gather, this may be something we see more of in the future. Groups of authors reading in panels, rather than individuals sitting in rooms. I’m hoping that will mean more chances to read: a fantasy panel, a scifi panel, etc. We’ll see how they set it up next year.

Conclusion

Was it worth it? Absolutely. I made some sales of the new book, and had a lot of people ask about Book 3, which has to be my primary project for the rest of the year. I made some contacts and opened up some opportunities over the next few months that I want to take advantage of. There may be more announcements coming in the near future.

For now, I’m recovering from the con and prepping for the next projects. Looking forward to having at least one new title for next year.

Cheers!

Michael

Event

Minicon 56

Leave a comment

This past Easter weekend, I spent three days at Minicon 56, a science fiction convention in the Twin Cities. One of the oldest science fiction conventions in the Midwest, I had never attended this convention before, either as a vendor or a guest. Not only was this new, but this was my first multi-day book event since before Covid. Needless to say, I was excited.

Author-man

The Table

My primary reason there was to be author-man. I had an eight-foot table with electricity, which was more than enough space for my two books. My location was at a corner, so I was starting down a long edge of the dealer’s area.

I set up my picture frame with the wallpapers scrolling through angled to be visible from either direction and my recruiting poster visible down the long approach. I had my ‘Library of the Renaissance’ display up (the real books that Sasha reads during the series), my array of cards and fliers, and then my books themselves.

With all this space I had enough room to have my laptop out, so I could work in my downtime. Which was great, because over the course of three days, I certainly had enough of it.

The People

The other vendors in the room were a mix of more established writers, sellers and craftsmen, and a few first timers. As I’ve always found, everyone was friendly, happy to discuss their tables and projects. It’s always fun to be around eager and inventive people. I met with science fiction and fantasy writers, jewelry makers, and a podcaster who covers cryptids.

The guests of Minicon were a standard mix of longtime convention goers, newer attendees, and everything in between. I saw some Manticon and TRMN people I recognized from my first conventions (and some of them recognized me as well). It’s been a long time since I’ve done anything the TRMN, but I still remember them being a fun group.

During my time at my table, I got to speak with a lot of people who came up to find out about my book. Some of them got drawn in by the artwork. Some of them came in because of the ‘Library of the Renaissance’. And some talk to every author in the room to find out about their books. I had people buy my book, or decide it wasn’t for them.

The ‘Library of the Renaissance’ got a bit of interest. Grant’s Memoirs sparked a few conversations, as did Art of War and Laura Cereta’s Letters. Red Badge of Courage not only sparked conversation, but someone got upset over the book. I’m still not clear on why; I’m not sure he was clear on why I had it out. Overall, the Library idea went over well, with the only thing I would do differently is add a ‘not for sale’ sticker to the books so people understand it’s a display.

The Panel

One other exciting experience from the weekend was my first official panel, with microphones and a name plate and everything. The topic was ‘Writing the Twin Cities.’ Now, I had two reasons to be nervous. First, public speaking, always a worry of mine. Second, while my books are set in Minnesota, they’re post apocalyptic. I was worried that might come off poorly.

Turns out, every author up there destroyed at least part of the Twin Cities. I guess it’s not uncommon. I’m sure there’s a master’s thesis about why somewhere out there.

The panel itself went well. I answered a few questions about writing in Minnesota, and how I treated historical landmarks. The last half of the discussion got into the various tunnels and caverns of the Twin Cities, which I know nothing about, so I didn’t get to say much there. But that happens.

Overall, I’m glad I got to participate, but I do have to work on my presentation. I thought I kept rambling while trying to get my thoughts in order. Not too bad, but enough I want to work on it.

Conclusion

I absolutely loved the convention. It was a blast, with great sales, great people, and more than enough time to work on my projects. I have already registered for next year, and I’ve promised myself that I will have at least one more book on my table.

Minicon 57, here I come.