Sci Fi Channel Year of the Scorpion Calendar

I saw the cast of Black Scorpion up in the autograph area, though I didn't hear any one down at the sci fi booth particularly mentioned to me that they were up there, and while I did come home with a sci-fi channel calendar it was not until after I returned to Texas that I discovered the calendar had photos of most of the cast members who had been upstairs signing autographs in obscurity for four days.  (I also later discovered an announcement on the sci-fi website that the cast members would be at the San Diego Comic Con.)

I fully understand that a booth, no matter how big a space you have bought, at a convention is to small a space to have multiple high profile actor signings at a time.  The cast of the Invisible Man and D'argo from Farscape resulted in lines circling the sci-fi booth for most of two days.

However, if there had been a sign next to the calendar when I picked it up, or if the person handing it out to me had mentioned that the cast was upstairs I think their traffic would have been greatly increased!

As a sideline, there are two goals for a pro (be they actor, writer, artist, director, producer, whatever) at an event like the San Diego Comic Con.  I'll pause here simply to note that I do have an opinion on which order these two goals should go in, though not everyone on the planet sees it my way, and I accept that with a smile. :)

First is summed up easily as public relations.  If a fan has a wonderful experience meeting you they will look for you year after year, at con, but also for your projects.  I have had people who bought my book after my first appearance at con spot me in the crowded floor of 40,000 people to say how much they enjoyed it and what was next.  These are the people who had a positive experience and will most likely follow my writing for years to come.  Likewise I've had similarly positive experience with actors and have made a point of watching everything they've ever been in as a result.

With writers I have made the effort to gradually accumulate everything they've ever written!   This PR approach means that while you may not make a sale today of 1 $10 item, you have problem developed a relationship with a fan who will buy a multitude of things for far more than $10 over the years to come and will support your career.

This is why I note PR as the first and perhaps best goal at con.  If people have a negative encounter (and I have been in this situation as well) they may not enjoy your work as much in the future.  In my case, I had such a negative experience that I now avoid that person's work because I can not see their face without recalling that experience.  It is unfortunate.  A friend was with me for another negative encounter and she no longer likes that person's work, I can still enjoy theirs however as the negative encounter was with a person representing them, and not with the actor himself.  My friend has a problem thinking of one without the other -- which, in the end, I can understand.  They were side by side effectively in a good cop bad cop situation, and I have chosen to remember the good cop.  :)

The Second goal at a public appearance like con is to at the very least sell enough items to cover the expenses incurred coming.  For me, anything earned after that takes the trip from vacation, to paid vacation.  I am not sure if others share my vacation feel, but time away from home and bills is in the end relaxing.

However, I tend to assume when I make a convention appearance (with few exceptions which I will cover next) that people are not likely to buy copies of my book.  Until recently they might have picked up copies of my short story, or my publicity photo to remember the encounter by, but I have just dropped those odds significantly as well.  Where does that attitude come from?

The Official Kay Kellam Store at Kay Kellam's Official Home on the Web is now open for business.  When people are at a con they are looking to buy things they can't get elsewhere the rest of the year.  My book can be gotten from Amazon.com at any time, or people can get an autographed copy via my website again any time.  I've now added publicity shots and short stories to the official store.  I think it is unrealistic to expect people to pay in cash for something they can put on a credit card over the web, and then expect them to hand carry it home on top of that!  The convenience factor of getting it over the web is so high that I consider signings to be 98% PR and 2% sales.

Though I can also say that in the wake of two con appearances in the past month my sales at Amazon.com have more than doubled, as have my orders by bookstores.  So, from that perspective, I have done well with the approach of con first and foremost as PR and secondly as a place to make direct sales.

Now I did say there are some appearances that are a great exception to that rule -- charity signings.  The money that normally goes to the middle men goes directly to charity.  So, when I do a signing at a charity event $10 from the sale of each book goes to the cause.  In that case I have been known to sell books to 10% of the people in attendance as they are there to support the cause, and having a book to read afterwards is a nice keepsake.

So, why did I get started on my PR perspective?  Because I think hundreds of the people who got the Sci Fi Channel Year of the Scorpion Calendar, had they been made aware the cast was upstairs signing, would have gone upstairs, gotten a free autograph on the calendar, had a positive experience with these wonderful folks (I know I sure had a blast when I went up to see them! Though I do wish I'd realized I should have had the calendar with me :( )  and would at the very least have supported their careers in the future, if not picked up a picture on the spot, or made a mental note to at some future time make a trek to one of their websites.

As usual, this is just something that was on my mind.

(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...