by Kay Kellam
originally posted in 2001
The autograph area at comic con seems to be one of the most overlooked areas.
The first year I attended comic con I had no idea autographs were even a part of the event. The next year a friend of mine (a writer from L.A.) took me around with him as he checked signals with people he needed to interview in the coming year, and I got autographs from each of them. Siddig el Fadil (later to be known as Alexander Siddig) from Deep Space Nine, Walter Koenig from Star Trek and Babylon 5, and David Prowse from Star Wars among them. But even then I didn't understand that there were dozens of actors, authors, and all forms of creative people coming to con to take the time to interact with those who love their work.
Now I understand.
I have been on both sides of the table. As a published author I have been there to sell and autograph copies of my book, and as a lover of all things creative I go through the lines each year to see who has come, and get a sense of how others feel about their work. (Invariably while in line you'll catch a few conversations on what people thought was that persons best work -- and find out about guest starring roles on other shows that you missed and will just have to catch in reruns as the others say it was their best work to date!)
But let's take a brief moment to do some basic math.
Most, but not all, actors drive down from L.A. And most, but not all, do this on their own. In a few cases a company picks up the tab and brings them in -- but most of the actors in the autograph area are taking time off from work because they want to see their fans. Sci-Fi Channel and a few others pay actors to come in and sign for free, but that's why they are signing for free, as this is not time off from work.
A lot of the actors fly in from other parts of the country or world. (Virginia Hey came from Australia, Michael Shanks was brought down by MGM from Canada, Wil Wheaton got off a red-eye from New York and came straight to the convention center this year.)
So let's say at a minimum they are spending $30 in gas for the round trip and getting to and from the convention center. We'll not figure in parking hoping that they aren't having to deal with that zoo. :)
Hotel room -- that's a good $200 per night. Most start signing at 11:00 a.m. so they were there the day before, and probably won't leave that day as flights headed east tend to be before 4 p.m. and it would be very tough to end a signing at 2 p.m. and be on a 4 p.m. flight. So at the very least $400 in hotel.
So, at a minimum an actor spends $450 to visit with their fans.
Starting
to see why they not only sell their photos but sometimes the prices are a bit
higher than you might expect? They are not just trying to recoup the cost
of the photos but the hotel, and in the case of one actor who flew over from
England, the idea of recouping $1,200 in airfare is a nice dream.
At $20 per picture 23 fans need to buy a picture if they are there for just one day.
Take that $200 hotel room for 5 nights, ie all of con and now the actor has spent $1,050 give or take and needs to sell 53 photographs at $20 each. And this doesn't even add in the fact that they are buying the same high priced convention center food as we are! :)
I mention this because it took me YEARS to figure out how to budget for con. At first I had no food budget, take a cooler and leave it in the car. Then I ended up with friends who had a booth where I could leave the cooler. Very nice friends!
This year I went to con with a budget of $150 for fun and purchases, $50 for food and other incidentals (like paying the hotel to get on the internet)
$100 were spent by noon Thursday! Not only was it easily done -- but it was at one booth!
That left me $50 for 3.5 days of con. A very bad plan, and I admit it.
So how did one booth successfully get two thirds of my budget right off the bat? I had seen them at a convention the previous week, had been to their website, knew the prices, and upon seeing it in person at con knew I just had to have it.
In my dream world, actors would announce about 2 months before con how much they are going to be selling pictures for! Then I could go to con knowing I was going to spend:
$15 for a black and white photo from Tony
Amendola
$10 for a black and white photo from Michael Shanks
$25 for a 11x14 color cast photo from Michael Shanks
And yes, the rest of my budget was gone in a heart beat!
So, this year, I devised a new plan. When I got home I surfed the web and started tracking down official websites for the actors. Robin Atkin Downes had a photo I just adored, but I was out of money. So, I got my picture taken with Robin at con, and out of next months budget $30 will be going to www.RobinAtkinDownes.com for that photo!
When I sold books at con I had postcards for my website, as I knew people would be running low on money, and something you can get from Amazon.com after you get home, or order autographed from my website later, makes the budget and the suitcase that much easier to handle. But until this year I hadn't really thought about this in terms of actors.
I'd still prefer to get things signed in person, but now I can use their websites to plan accordingly. I can either pull $30 out of my budget next month and set it aside for Con knowing it is going to Robin (a truly great guy just for the record) or I can order it through the website. In this particular case the website is winning as two other actors have signed the copy available through the website, and the one I saw at con on his table did not have their autographs. ;) They are both actors I've seen at con though, so for me this is an all around win.
So, in the pages that follow, you will see my photos of actors who came to con - my words of encouragement that you take the time to seek them out at con, and try and budget to buy a few photos from them as this is not paid vacation time for them, this is time spending hard earned money instead of getting it because they believe we are worth that investment. Not only are they spending $1,050 to come see us, but they are potentially giving up $5,000 in income. (I make that estimate based on if they got offered a guest staring spot on a 1 hour drama show and turned out down as they had already committed to con. In many cases hotel rooms and plane tickets are non-refundable. That is not to say they would turn down the work, as I personally would rather the world see them on screen, but is said merely to make a point. :))
I'm also going to try and find places where you can buy from the actors the photos they sell at con.
I know there are places where dealers sell autographed photos, but so much of the point, for me, in getting autographed photos is to support the actors and let them know that I believe in them and their work, and I appreciate it.
The last point I will make here is a simple cautionary note. 99% of the actors and creative personalities I have met at con have been wonderful. They are in general nice people who enjoy hearing that we appreciate their work. (If you feel you are getting tongue tied as you walk up to them, thank them for coming to the event and ask if they are enjoying it. That is a great ice-breaker!) However, I will warn you that 1% was not a wonderful positive experience. I note this because in that case I no longer enjoy that persons work. You are taking a risk meeting an actor in person, as you may come away with a negative impression that changes how you view their work. If you are at all concerned about this (and I feel that rarely should you be) then you might find it best to simply order photos through their websites when you have a few extra dollars in your budget.
(C) Kay Kellam, 2001 for PopArtsPlace.com
Prior to having her first novel, A
Life to Di For, published author Kay
Kellam enjoyed a variety of jobs that helped to shape her outlook on the
world, and her profession. more...
Actors/Pros, if you would like to add a comment to the page we have put up about your signing, a message to your fans about how you enjoyed the chance to see them and talk with them, please e-mail us.
