dorothy_of_oz (![[info]](http://l-stat.livejournal.com/img/userinfo.gif){kind=small} dorothy_of_oz) wrote,@ 2006-04-01 21:39:00 |
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Emerald City Day Uno
Today was awesome. I won't be able to tell until the end of the convention whether this was better than or as good as WonderCon, but either way it rates Very Highly in the list of conventions I've attended over the last year and a half. The people here are cheery and kind. They are returning smiles and "Hellos" with warmth and sincerity. We haven't been around such good people in quite a while.
It was raining when we got to the convention hall this morning but there was a decent sized line of happy fans waiting outside, excitedly standing in the rain.
Basically, everything is the opposite of WWLA so far.
10 am- the convention opened and by 10:20 we sold a Trade Paperback to a nice young man wearing a Pink Floyd jacket. I thought this might be a sign of good things to come, as sales usually don't begin until a couple of hours into the con, and I was right. The attention our booth received was beyond our expectations. Could be because it was a corner booth and might also be because we were across from a wall (thus no tables across from us to draw away the attention of the passer-bys).
12:30 brought my childhood friend Matt Brown, and with him, our lunch. I have to say No One Ever brings us food. So this alone was a huge delight. Typically, we are eating whatever the convention halls offer-- no time to go out and find something interesting. Matt brought us Subway sandwiches which meant we experienced the Extremely Rare healthy food at a convention. I can't say enough about this. It may sound small and petty, but until you have worked at a convention or attended one with such passion that you would not leave the hall all day, the opportunity to have yummy, filling, healthy food is almost unheard of.
By 2pm it is clear that my conservative packing for this convention mixed with the excellent booth traffic means we will surely sell out of Trade Paperbacks well before the convention is over.
Throughout the afternoon one of our delightful con friends, Laura of Bloggity-Blog-Blog-Blog, comes and hangs out with us at our booth. She, like me, can't sit still in a booth so she works very hard at reeling in everyone who walks anywhere near our booth. Now, the thing is, we love Laura. We also love her husband Eric. They are huge Oz fans and they are huge Dorothy fans. Their support of Dorothy is amazing. And here Laura is-- helping us more. Too cool. Greg drew sketches for both her and her "almost twin sister". They were the only sketches he drew all day, so this is a nice unique thanks we were able to give them. I still feel we owe them a debt of gratitude of being so incredible.
Right before the convention closes at 6pm, the booth next to us turns off it's lights and I realize a major reason we've gotten such great attention from the attendees is likely due to them. You see, we are next to a booth that is filming a documentary on comic books. All day long they have been filming fans, cosplay people of all ages, exhibitors and staff regarding comic books and superheros. (Greg and I were two of the interviewees so we may be a part of this thang.) Well, they have a whole professional setup with camera, sound and *Lights*. These lights have done a wonderful job of lighting our banner and bringing more light to our area in general. So I am learning a valuable lesson: Light = Good.
The only downside to the day is that Mark wasn't with us. Actually, to be quite honest, Mark is a very useful tool to have a cons. He knows Everyone. See, I could list the 5 people at the con that I know and said "Hi!" to, but I met quite a few new people and I'm fairly certain at least a few of them are Biggies in the industry. BUT since I'm horrible with names and faces, I don't recall them to know who they were. On the other hand, Mark can sit there and call out who anyone is as they walk by. Very handy when trying to not be humiliated by a lack of knowledge. So- to anyone who we met today and we should have recognized you immediately, I apologize, but our Face Recognizer Know Everything person wasn't in attendance.
And now I will try to get lots of sleep.
Today was awesome. I won't be able to tell until the end of the convention whether this was better than or as good as WonderCon, but either way it rates Very Highly in the list of conventions I've attended over the last year and a half. The people here are cheery and kind. They are returning smiles and "Hellos" with warmth and sincerity. We haven't been around such good people in quite a while.
It was raining when we got to the convention hall this morning but there was a decent sized line of happy fans waiting outside, excitedly standing in the rain.
Basically, everything is the opposite of WWLA so far.
10 am- the convention opened and by 10:20 we sold a Trade Paperback to a nice young man wearing a Pink Floyd jacket. I thought this might be a sign of good things to come, as sales usually don't begin until a couple of hours into the con, and I was right. The attention our booth received was beyond our expectations. Could be because it was a corner booth and might also be because we were across from a wall (thus no tables across from us to draw away the attention of the passer-bys).
12:30 brought my childhood friend Matt Brown, and with him, our lunch. I have to say No One Ever brings us food. So this alone was a huge delight. Typically, we are eating whatever the convention halls offer-- no time to go out and find something interesting. Matt brought us Subway sandwiches which meant we experienced the Extremely Rare healthy food at a convention. I can't say enough about this. It may sound small and petty, but until you have worked at a convention or attended one with such passion that you would not leave the hall all day, the opportunity to have yummy, filling, healthy food is almost unheard of.
By 2pm it is clear that my conservative packing for this convention mixed with the excellent booth traffic means we will surely sell out of Trade Paperbacks well before the convention is over.
Throughout the afternoon one of our delightful con friends, Laura of Bloggity-Blog-Blog-Blog, comes and hangs out with us at our booth. She, like me, can't sit still in a booth so she works very hard at reeling in everyone who walks anywhere near our booth. Now, the thing is, we love Laura. We also love her husband Eric. They are huge Oz fans and they are huge Dorothy fans. Their support of Dorothy is amazing. And here Laura is-- helping us more. Too cool. Greg drew sketches for both her and her "almost twin sister". They were the only sketches he drew all day, so this is a nice unique thanks we were able to give them. I still feel we owe them a debt of gratitude of being so incredible.
Right before the convention closes at 6pm, the booth next to us turns off it's lights and I realize a major reason we've gotten such great attention from the attendees is likely due to them. You see, we are next to a booth that is filming a documentary on comic books. All day long they have been filming fans, cosplay people of all ages, exhibitors and staff regarding comic books and superheros. (Greg and I were two of the interviewees so we may be a part of this thang.) Well, they have a whole professional setup with camera, sound and *Lights*. These lights have done a wonderful job of lighting our banner and bringing more light to our area in general. So I am learning a valuable lesson: Light = Good.
The only downside to the day is that Mark wasn't with us. Actually, to be quite honest, Mark is a very useful tool to have a cons. He knows Everyone. See, I could list the 5 people at the con that I know and said "Hi!" to, but I met quite a few new people and I'm fairly certain at least a few of them are Biggies in the industry. BUT since I'm horrible with names and faces, I don't recall them to know who they were. On the other hand, Mark can sit there and call out who anyone is as they walk by. Very handy when trying to not be humiliated by a lack of knowledge. So- to anyone who we met today and we should have recognized you immediately, I apologize, but our Face Recognizer Know Everything person wasn't in attendance.
And now I will try to get lots of sleep.
