My First Con
- Danielle Greschner
- Apr 3
- 5 min read
No, I'm not a con artist as the title may imply. Last weekend, I attended my first con, as in convention, as a vendor. I had no idea what to expect going into it and I have nothing else to compare it to (yet), but I wanted to share my experience for anyone who may be interested in dipping their toes into the world of cons.
Island Fancon was a three-day event in Langford, BC located in two adjacent arenas. As I loaded in on the Friday morning, I was overwhelmed with awe at the sight of all the amazing, colourful set ups that the much more experienced exhibitors were busily erecting (hehe, I said "erecting"). I immediately felt a flood of imposture syndrome. Despite my nerves, I got straight to work setting up my table and proudly displaying my books, making a million minor adjustmets to get it just right.
When I finally had a chance to take a breath and explore, I was glad to see fellow authors sprinkled throughout the displays of artwork, keychains, buttons, stickers, clothing, light sabers, games, dice, jewellery, crystals, photobooths, and even a tarot card reader. Not only were there other authors, but most of them were also self-published, which tamed my imposture syndrome. . . somewhat. As the weekend unfolded, I had the pleasure of meeting a bunch of my fellow vendors and making some wonderful connections. I also got to enjoy the weekend sharing a table with my friend Melissa Olsen, creator of Happy Mountain Goods handmade leather products. I'm also grateful to my mom and my friend Amanda who came to help out at my table. I definitely recommend recruiting friends and/or family to help out and keep you company to any first-time vendors!
Okay, okay, I know you're dying to know how my sales were. The short answer is: not great. I had no idea what to expect going into it, but I think I expected to sell more than I did. I sold 9 paperbacks and 1 hardcover and made a few trades with other vendors. Not a lot for three days. I broke even on the price of renting the table and that's about it. A little disappointing. But it wasn't just me. It seemed as though none of the vendors sold very much. Some of the more experienced vendors at neighbouring tables told me that they usually sell a lot more. I'm not sure what the reason for the low sales was, but it is what it is.
Despite low sales, I had an overall positive experience and met a lot of cool people. Not only did I get to network with other sci-fi and fantasy authors, but I also participated in the novice cosplay contest (I didn't win, haha) and I got to meet Efren Ramirez, who you might know as Pedro from Napoleon Dynamite. He was really friendly and asked for a copy of my book! I hope he enjoys it and helps to spread the word. Many passersby also took my business card, so who knows, maybe they'll order my book online or get an ebook at a later date. At this stage in my author journey, I'm happy to have exposed my book to so many people.
Here is a summary of the highlights:
Meeting Efren Ramirez and giving him my book
Seeing the amazing cosplays
Networking with fellow authors and artisans and buying/ trading for some of their products.
Hanging out with my booth buddies
What I learned/ advice for new vendors:
If you hate people and have the world's largest bladder, go alone. Otherwise, bring a booth buddy. It's nice to have company during the long days, as well as someone you can count on to watch/ sell your merchandise while you take bathroom breaks and explore. If you can't find someone to help out, your neighbouring vendors will likely be happy to watch your booth for you when needed.
If you want to get your pump on, carry all of your stuff yourself. You will get a great workout and get your steps in going back and forth to your car (this is what I did). If you're weak and lazy, bring a dolly or wagon to transport your stuff.
Bring lots of food and drinks! And remember to actually drink your water! I brought a soft cooler full of snacks and it was a life saver, but I definitely felt dehydrated at the end of the day.
Bring layers: I imagine this is especially relevant if you are outdoors. Island FanCon was inside an arena and it tended to be cold in the morning and get stuffier as the day went on. My booth was far from the doors and the air circulation wasn't great.
In my opinion, some of the booth set-ups were too busy, which made them overwhelming to look at and difficult to discern what they were actually selling. The ones that stood out to me were simple and had one or two main colours to make them pop, and a large sign that clearly stated what was being sold.
Many vendors used wire mesh display cases/ walls. This is definitely a good idea depending on what you are selling. For this particular con, the tables were not surrounded by any sort of walls, so some vendors brought their own. This was helpful to give them sone height and they were able to put their signs in a more visible place (as opposed to attached to the front of the table, like mine was).
The vendors who seemed to do the best were those who had very inexpensive items, such as keychains, buttons, and magnets. I think part of the reason was that most of the clientele happened to be teens who just wanted little keepsakes, as opposed to large, expensive artwork. I think this really depends on the con or market you're selling at, but I think it's a good strategy to have items in a variety of price ranges. That being said, I had magnets, bookmarks, and stickers and did not sell a single one.
When foot traffic is low, use the time to talk to your fellow vendors. Bring business cards to exchange and add each other on social media. Us small businesses must support each other! I did this on the last day, and wished I had done it earlier on so I could have tagged them in photos throughout the weekend.
Thank you for reading! Let me know about your con experiences or if you have any questions in the comments. Any more tips are also welcome! I'll leave you with some photos of the amazing cosplays:
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