A couple of questions

[ksmith]

Publishers are attending more media-oriented cons like DragonCon and ComicCon. Do they make more business sense for a writer to attend instead of Worldcon and WFC?

No clue--just wondering.

Comments

[sartorias.livejournal.com]

The thrust of ComicCon is toward Hollywood...and it's so damn huge that really, the only chance you;ve got to even see a publisher is if one asks ahead of time if you're going and do you want to get together.

I went to ComicCon two years ago, and apparently there were fifty thousand more people this year. It was so enormous my son and I walked half an hour solid before coming to the warehouse with the panel rooms down one corridor--the dealiers room took several hours just to skim through. (That's actually one of the biggest foci of the con.)

[mcurry.livejournal.com]

I'd think the worth of those cons would be more for promoting your work to readers than for meeting editors and the like. Networking would seem to be easier at something like WFC, where there's such a high concentration of publishing professionals.

Of course, that's just my semi-informed opinion. *wry grin*

[kristine-smith.livejournal.com]

The hugeness is daunting. Unless you're someone like Anne McCaffrey or LK Hamilton and have entire swaths of programming devoted just to you... Getting lost must be the rule of the day.

[kristine-smith.livejournal.com]

This past WFC was great for networking and business, and for meeting friends in a scaled-down setting. I think if you're sticking within the SF/F genre, WFC is hard to beat.

But I'm always open to something else, which is the major reason why I'm giving Bouchercon a try this year.

[mcurry.livejournal.com]

Yeah, WFC is basically a spec fic thing. I hope going to Buchercon ends up working out well for you, both fun-wise and for networking and the like.

[sartorias.livejournal.com]

Yeah...I did have a backstage pass as I'm attached to a cartoon show (sorta and at the way possible bottom rung of any ladder, no, lower than that) but i didn't use it and go down there--couldn't afford it, didn't fancy the heat, and from the number of reports since ("Missed so and so, didn't see so and so, the line for X was so long I missed these panels...") I'm glad I didn't go.

[kristine-smith.livejournal.com]

So do I. It's in Madison, so it was hard to pass up. But boy, the Concourse, which was the main con hotel, was full by December, and as of now, all four hotels which had con blocks are filled.

I know a few folks who will be there, but it's going to be pretty much a different ballgame. I asked to be on programming, so we'll see how that goes.

[kristine-smith.livejournal.com]

Some folks posted photos--the art show gatherings looked like fun. But I think it's fun as long as you know people and have places to hang out. I wouldn't like to go there without knowing anyone.

[topayz4.livejournal.com]

This year is going to be my first WorldCon, but I've been to a couple of Dragon*Cons and from what I've gathered I suspect the average con goer is different. WorldCon and WFC have people that like to read, it must or so many authors wouldn't be going. D*C and ComicCon have people that like SF in some way, but not generally the literary side. I was staff on one of the book related programming tracks at D*C and if we didn't have anyone interesting involved our room was just about empty. There are people that go to D*C just to wear around their costume and get pictures taken. It's huge and the book stuff gets a bit lost in it.

WorldCon and WFC are probably good places to meet people that are more likely to read your books. D*C and ComicCon are probably good places to get your name out to people who would never otherwise notice it.

[kristine-smith.livejournal.com]

Thanks for the info. It sounds like a coin toss,