Convention Survival Guide

(This post is a longer version of an interview question for later in the week. A twitter conversation with Eleri Stone convinced me to post it here as well. If you're going to RT--or any large cons--this year, enjoy. If not, uh...sorry? Sucks to be you?)

People often ask for advice when attending a convetion like Romantic Times. It's a big place, packed full of people, and it's easy to lose sight of little things. (And it's easy to think other things just won't matter--they will, trust me.) So, with three RTs under my belt, I have a lot of advice to share. Take what you want and leave the rest, but I've erred where a lot of these are concerned so you might want to learn from my mistakes ;-) 

1. Hydrate—first and foremost, stay hydrated. It’s really easy to not think about this and then you end up weak and tired and cranky (and that’s before the alcohol gets involved). Hotels are notoriously dry anyway, so why make the problem worse. Keep a water bottle on you at all times and use it.
2. Don’t forget to eat! I’m notorious for this. When I am busy and having fun, I will forget to eat. I’ve learned to pack protein bars so I can shove one in my bag when I leave the room in the morning. That way when I finally realize I haven’t eaten in hours, I have a quick healthy(ish) snack that I can munch between panels. Other things that work well for this (some more packable than others: little boxes of cereal, fruit, string cheese, jerky... Point is, have something with you. I also usually take protein powder and my blender bottle for a quick and easy breakfast.)
3. Plan your wardrobe in advance. I will honestly start packing about a week ahead of time (at least) because it's easy to forget costume pieces or the shoes that go with your pitching outfit or... Figure out what you want to take and then minimize where you can. (This last bit is especially important when room-sharing because of limited space.) I am a big fan of items that can do double duty for both parties and day wear.
4. Have a plan. Nice and tight or loosey-goosey. Doesn't matter. But know what you most want to get out of RT and what your "can't miss" events are. (Might I recommend the Steampunk Tea and Hero Speed Dating?) Do what works for you, but I don't suggest completely winging it unless you are just hanging at the bar (which I totally support too :P) 
5. Dress up...or don't. Every party has a theme. Not everyone will dress for it. You don't have to, but some of us really get into that. It goes back to packing. Figure out what you're most interested in dressing for (or what you have to) and go for that. (I, for one, won't be doing the disco theme. I don't have the clothes. I dont' want the clothes. I'm not wasting money on the clothes. But that's me. I fully support everyone else in their attire choices.)
6. See that last bit? It's important for more than just clothes. Don’t judge people because they sin differently than you. Some people’s idea of a good time is a little more loose and carefree than others. This is okay. If you aren’t comfortable in that atmosphere, find a spot where you are comfortable, but let them have their fun their way.
7. Don’t be a wallflower. I’m naturally an introvert, so this was hard for me, especially my first year. I was lucky in that my roommate was really outgoing and then I met another really outgoing author at the pitch sessions. Between the two of them, they wouldn’t let me wallflower. There are thousands of people at RT, even if you only meet one new person a day that you can talk to, it’s one more than you knew the day before (Note: the bar is great for meeting people.), and odds are they’ll introduce you to one or two of their friends. By the end of the week, you'll know a bunch of people and have some new friends from around the globe. 
8. Business cards! Have them. Use them. When you talk to someone and they give you theirs, try to jot down a note or two on the back about who they are and what you talked about. It won't always help you to remember them, but sometimes it's enough...especially after a couple hours at the bar.
9. Try not to be intimidated by authors. Most authors are extremely excited to meet and talk to fans and potential new fans. It’s why we’re there! And a lot of us are at least as nervous about chatting with new people as you are. So talk to us—about our books, our costumes, the toilet paper stuck to our shoe… 
10. Oh yeah, shoes—bring comfy ones. Yes, bring cute ones for the parties, but you will be walking a lot (think a day at Disneyworld with a six-year-old), so you’re going to want to be sensible during the day. (Also, back to hydration…drinking water helps keep you from retaining water which means the cute shoes should still fit by the end of the night. Swollen footsies are no one's friend.)
11. Unless you're required to be somewhere (ie--if you're speaking on the panel, you should be there unless you're in your room puking your guts out or otherwise dying), don't feel like you have to go to everything. Of course someone will want you there, but if you need a break or you have to choose between two awesome sounding options, it's okay...do what you want. No one is going to hate you for not showing up to their panel. (Except maybe me, but I'm evil, so it's part of the gig.)
12. However...if you have promised to help someone (with a panel, corset tying, supply moving, whatever) do your very very best to be there. If you don't want to help, don't say you will. Or say "maybe" if you genuinely plan to try. Just don't leave someone in the lurch because you got a better offer.
13. The models...yes, they are very attractive. Yes, they've chosen a profession where they are used to being ogled a lot. This does not, however, make them playthings. They're human beings. Please treat them that way. 

That's probably not all of the advice I could give, but it's a lot to take in. Feel free to hit me with questions and I'll be happy to tell you everything I know. 


Also, Angela James did a brilliant post about staying safe at conventions. It's well worth a read. 

Con Games

So, I just got back from World Steam Expo last night. Holy crap, what a great time! I very much wish I'd paid for a room at the hotel but, considering I somehow didn't know about the con until only a few weeks before and it's close to my parents' house (30 minute drive), I didn't spring for the full-price room (con rate rooms were gone). We'll get back to World Steam Expo in a minute. Right now, we're going to talk cons and money.

You see, I have this thing about conventions. Namely that they're expensive. There's travel expenses, con fees, food, hotel, outfits (more on this in a bit). So when it's a con I've never attended, I tend to trim costs wherever I can. I mean, if it's dull and/or not a lot goes on in the evenings or early mornings, the hundreds of dollars for a hotel is a total waste when I can stay elsewhere for free.

Then there are the fun cons where I know I'm going to be up half the night and have to get up and hit things hard again in the morning (like the Romantic Times convention). I don't care if that was at a hotel a mile from my house (there isn't a hotel that close, but the point is the same), I'd pay to stay at the hotel because I know I need to squeeze in every ounce of sleep that I can.

World Steam Expo is like that. Hell, it might be even crazier. At RT, the official programming pretty much ends at midnight (I don't have a program handy, but I think it might have gone later one night). The bar shuts down at 2, and most people have crashed by then. At World Steam Expo, the Saturday night official events went until 3 AM. On Sunday, it was 2 AM. (Friday officially ended earlier.) I didn't stay on Saturday, but I can tell you that on Sunday, there were still a lot of people there at 3. A lot.

And other cons I've been to haven't been anywhere near that active. In fact, I've noticed a trend (both about cons and about myself). Reader/fan cons are much louder and more raucous than writer cons. And... I like loud. Don't get me wrong, there are writer cons that I adore, but as a general thing, I prefer an excuse to dress up in things I don't normally get to wear and hang out drinking with hundreds of people I don't know. It's a strange dichotomy that I do well with people I don't know when we're either one-on-one or in massive groups. Small groups... that's when I get nervous and clam up. It doesn't make much sense, but it's just the way I am.

I'm also the girl who loves playing dress-up with bunches of other people. Halloween was always my favorite holiday as a kid, and one of the worst things about being a grown up is missing out on that (none of the parents around here dress up :( ). So, when I'm presented with a convention where 90-95% of the people dress for the occasion? Oh hells yes, please sign me up! I will spend the next year working on slowly building up my outfits for World Steam Expo 2013 because I really felt under-dressed this year. The detail that went into some of those outfits was amazing. I wish I'd have taken more pictures, but I'll post at least some of what I have at Steamed! next week.

Most of all though, the people were amazing. Everyone I met was really friendly and welcoming, and I made some fantastic new friends over the weekend. Going in, I knew one person (Cindy Spencer Pape) who was going to be there, and we weren't always there at the same time. It says a lot about the kind of people in attendance that I was rarely, if ever, by myself. Someone was always stopping me to say hi, asking which event I was going to, telling me that the band going on in five minutes was amazing and I should try to hit the concert... It was like they could all tell I was a newbie, but no one ever made me feel like I didn't belong. This was my first real introduction to steampunk as a community, and it was amazing. I can't wait to go back. Only next time I'm making sure to get a hotel room.

I also want to give a shout-out to Ms. Martha's Corset Shoppe and Pendragon Costumes. The corset I bought from Ms. Martha is absolutely amazing. It cinched me really effectively, but unless I tried to take a really deep breath, I never felt it. The most comfortable, amazing corset I've ever had on. I'll definitely shop with her again. And the people at Pendragon... gorgeous leather work. I need to save up for the coat I want, but I will get it. I am a big fan of low-pressure sales, and all of them were fantastic about showing me things and helping me decide without being pushy. (Of course, it helps that their stuff is so great.) I highly recommend both stores.

So, yes, World Steam Expo was a fantastic weekend. Met some great people, learned a lot, saw some incredible artists perform, and had more fun than I ever thought possible.

The Romance Is Over

Or at least the Mr. Romance competition.

Word came out last Wednesday that the people behind the Romantic Times convention have pulled the plug on the competition. I'm not going to re-hash their reasons (you can read them here --> http://readersentertainment.com/2011/no-more-mr-romance/ ). It's no secret I'm not happy about this, but I don't think it's for the reason most people who know me (or know of me) think. Okay, that might be a bit of the reason, but it's not the whole reason.

Here's the thing...I love the Romantic Times Convention. I love the scope of it and the parties and meeting authors and, yes, meeting the models. It's all part of this big package to me that screams in orgasmic joy. The powers-that-be at RT are saying that there will still be models there, and I'm sure some of them will be, but I'm going to hazard a guess that for the most part it will be the people who have been there before: CJ Hollenbeck, Jimmy Thomas, Mark Johnson... and maybe a few of the more recent contestants. But odds are there won't be new blood every year. And I don't like that...for a lot of reasons.

We'll start with the obvious one that most people will think I mean--there won't be the opportunity to meet new models. Yes, I like meeting and partying with (and actually talking to) men. Sure, I like talking to men I already know, but meeting new ones is fun. I'll miss that. And if my regular dance partners don't go? Um...the dances are going to be a lot less fun. Sorry to all my girlfriends. Dancing with you is fun, but I like dancing with guys.

Now onto (some of) the other reasons.

First is the opportunity the Mr. Romance competition provided to up and coming models. Many of the guys who competed didn't have connections in the romance industry, and for some, Mr. Romance was their first glance into that world. There are quite a few male models who would love to get into cover modeling but don't have the connections. Mr. Romance was a foot in the door--one that has just been cut off. Considering more than one of the competitors this year alone signed with agents and stock photo companies because of the competition, that means less opportunities for models and fewer options for authors. I don't know about any other author, but I like the increased possibility of having models that fit what my characters actually look like.

But that's not even the biggest issue.

That one is RT itself. As I said, I love this con and Mr. Romance was one thing that made it stand out from all the others. Without it, what makes it special? What makes it different than...RomCom or RWA Nationals or Authors After Dark or (for those of us who write genre romance) DragonCon or World Con or World Fantasy? Every author and reader has to make choices on where their promotional dollar goes, and cons are expensive. As far as registration and promotion goes, RT might be the most expensive. To be fair, someone's going to be most expensive, and it might as well be them. But at a certain point, if RT loses what makes it unique, what is going to encourage authors and readers to spend the extra to attend?

I want to have faith that the powers-that-be have something planned to make RT stand out since they're doing away with the Mr. Romance competition, but I don't know them well enough to say that for certain. The best I can do is hope that something awesome will take its place, because I'd hate to see RT become just another con.

Budget? I Don't Need No Stinking Budget.

Yeah, turns out I actually needed a better one.

For those of you who don't already know, I had to back out of Authors After Dark for this year. This was a very hard decision, and I tried to find a way to make it work, but the point came where I had to let people know so they could fill my slots. I'm very upset about this both because I feel like i let people down and because, damn it, there were a lot of people going that I really wanted to meet or see again.

The problem is, when you have a travel budget and you stretch it, that doesn't leave a lot of room for contingencies. Since my writing is not making me huge bank yet, I had to rely on my wonderful, supportive husband to front all of my travel costs. He gave me a dollar figure and said "Do what you want." (Because he's awesome like that.)

And there should have been plenty there for everything. I knew RT would be a pricey trip (and LA is a pricey town), so I actually budgeted in a little extra for that, hoping I'd have some left over. Sadly, it did all get used up. No worries though, because I still had enough for the other two trips on my agenda. I booked my flight to Scotland (which ended up about the same price as my flight to LA when all was said and done) and--Yay!--staying with a friend there, so really the flight is the only major expense for that trip. I'd already paid my fees for AAD, and it looked like we would have frequent flyer miles for the flight so it was basically paid for too. In budget with a little spending money too!

And then...it wasn't. We didn't have enough miles for the flight, and then other rocks came tumbling down where it was going to be more money (and not a little more...a lot more). I could have wiggled the flight into the budget, but not the rest (the flight was less than half of the unexpected cost). When it all came down to it, what I'd budgeted as the least expensive trip only needed one more thing to go wrong and it would be the most expensive. All of the creative math in the world couldn't make up the difference.

So last week, I sent letters to the people most affected to let them know I wouldn't be there. I want to be very clear that this decision is not a negative about Authors After Dark. I've heard nothing but great things about it as a con and had really been looking forward to attending. It's entirely my own fault for not planning for all the contingencies that I could foresee. I didn't, and several of them bit me in the ass.

To the people I was supposed to work with: I'm sorry for leaving you one woman down.

To those I was supposed to meet and hang out with: I suck, I know :( Hopefully the next con.

To Stella: Thanks for your understanding, and I hope I didn't screw up panels and such too much.

To everyone else (hell, to everyone): A piece of advice...plan for things to go wrong when you're budgeting. Lots of things. That way  you don't run into this mess, and if everything goes right, you have extra spending money (which is always handy).

Is This Thing On?

Hey all, I'm back from RT. Sadly I came back sick (whoever got me sick...I'm not very happy with you). So, I'm not doing a big blog post here this week. Today I'm at From the Shadows doing an interview about Badlands, and tomorrow I'll have my RT roundup go live at Wicked Lil Pixie's. Hopefully next week I'll be back to my old self and have something mind-alteringly brilliant to post here :P In the meantime, please visit my other haunts this week.

<3

Find me at RT!

I've been talking about it for a while, but tomorrow I finally take of for the Romantic Times Booklovers' Convention in LA! This is my first con as a published author and I'm really geeked. Not only will I get the chance to meet a lot of my author friends I only know from online, but I get to meet people--real people!-- who read my books. Crazy excited about it. So, if you are one of those readers who wants to meet me, I'm going to give a list of activities I'll definitely be at (bolded) and others I'll probably be at so you can find me.

Tuesday:

8pm (I think)--Decadent Publishing's field trip to the Viper Room to see Run Devil Run.

Wednesday:

Morning--at the agent/editor pitches, seeing who I can see :)

Afternoon--various panels

3:25 pm -- I'll probably at least pop into the Carina Press publisher spotlight

6:30 pm-- Saucy Siren's through History

9 pm -- Ellora's Cave Bollywood Party

Thursday

Morning--at the agent/editor pitches, seeing who I can see :)

Afternoon--various panels

8:30pm--Venetian Masquerade Faery Ball




Friday

Morning--unknown

1:30pm--Club RT briefly for Decadent Publishing spotlight

2:45pm--Steampunk Social

4:00pm--E-book Expo (signing)

6:00pm--Avon's Dusk to Dark Mixer

8:00pm--Vampire Ball

Saturday

11:00am--Giant Book Fair (Signing as YA writer-me, Julie Particka)

5:00pm--Mr. Romance Competition

8:00pm--Carina Press Cocktail Hour

9:00pm--Harlequin Hollywood Glam party

If you're going to be there, I hope you pop by and say hi at some point!

Arrogance, Men and Romantic Times

Because if that title doesn't get me hits, I don't know what will.

Just kidding. Today's blog is going to be a bit of a mishmash, so please bear with me. Maybe by the end it'll all come together in some brilliant epiphany about the meaning of life.

Yeah. I kind of doubt it too.

One of my beta readers loves to point out how arrogant she thinks a particular character of mine is. I actually find it funny, because I see him as more...childish than arrogant, but she detests him because of it. This led me to thinking about arrogance in men in general, and I came to the conclusion that for me very few guys can pull off arrogance. Most look like complete assholes, but every once in a while it works (generally when accompanied by some sort of insecurity, but that's another story). So last night I asked twitter if they found arrogance appealing in the opposite sex, whether real or fictional people. The results weren't surprising, but were a little interesting.

Nicole said:

Is arrogance sexy/appealing? Not to me. Not even if it's deserved or understandable.

Andrea agreed:

No... not at all. One of the most off-putting qualities. Pretty much insures I'll hate them. Real and fictional...

Danielle was a little more forgiving:

It can be, but you have to be careful not to cross the line into asshole territory.

As was PJ:

A little arrogance at the right time can be insanely sexy. Too much and it gets to be a turn off real quick.

Laura differentiated between fictional and real:

I think arrogance is more appealing in a fictional character than in reality. Confidence is better in RL. But it's a fine line to walk.

Renae said much the same thing:

Appealing? No. Much more forgivable in fictional characters, but, I'll never say "if only he was more arrogant, he'd be hot"

Kelly was the most in tune with arrogance:

I usually go for the alpha guys in real life and in fictional characters. Arrogance is part of the package

Interestingly enough, all of the answers I got from men said no.

From Ken:

Confidance, snark, and a sharp wit = yes. Arrogance crosses the line and is generally a no.

Of course, I had to ask if acknowledging one had the first three by default made them arrogant. Apparently that could go either way. Hmmm...

But like everything, it seems people can't all agree on the appeal of arrogance. I debated doing a second poll with the same people asking them to rank their own arrogance, but that seemed even less scientific than the initial poll, so I quit while I was ahead.

On the topic of arrogant men, however, I'm getting ready to get my male model fix for the year. I know, I know, they aren't all arrogant--some are just really, really, really confident. Anyway...I leave for RT in twelve days. My last RT post, I had seventeen weeks! Now I'm down to less than two. All those fabulous promo plans...uh...not happening this year. What I want to do frankly cost too much to pull off with the revenue only coming in from a few shorts. Maybe by Authors After Dark this summer, but not for RT. I will have at least one project ready to pitch, maybe two (one adult, one YA). Even though the panel I'd planned for didn't happen, the lovely ladies at Steamed invited me to be part of the steampunk social on Friday, so I'm very geeked about that.

Right now though, I'm at the point I'm just trying to keep my head screwed on straight so I make sure everything is done and ready to go when I take off to drop the kids at my mom's house. Because once I leave here, if I've forgotten it, I just have to do without, which won't make me a happy camper.

So...what do I need to remember to take with me? (One of my lovely editors arranged for another of my lovely editors to pick up my vodka for me in advance, so WOOT! there will be booze!)

17 Weeks to RT!

Okay, okay, I know 17 weeks is kind of a long time, but with everything coming up, I have to start wrapping my head around this stuff in advance. You see, last year when I went to RT it was just for the con experience and pitching opportunities...and I still wasn't prepared.

This year? Now I'm a published author and I need to look at the convention in terms of promo as well as fun and opportunity. I'm slowly gathering some promo items to take with me, but I need more. The thing about promo is everyone's doing it, so I want my stuff to stand out. This is proving more difficult than anticipated since I also need to factor in cost and weight since I'll have to take it all on the plane with me or ship it in advance. So, with that in mind, I'm actually running out of time depending on what I go with.

But I also still need to prepare for pitches, and that means finishing novels not intended for my current publishers. This is harder than it sounds because in my mind I should be on the next Badlands story and doing something else for Evernight and plotting the next Blood Kissed, and that doesn't even take into account my young adult stuff. It's more than a little mind boggling. But I'm hoping to have stuff finished, polished and ready to pitch (especially since I have the experience from last year under my belt).

It's looking like I might be part of a panel this year too, which is huge. It also involves another set of stuff to prep. I'm incredibly geeked about it, so I hope like hell it pans out.

Then there's the fun and games portion of things. Hello? Outfits! Faery Ball, Vampire Ball... I love the madness. I'm on the lookout for bits and pieces to my costumes (still hunting for the perfect corset for the Vampire Ball).

Soooooo much to do and think about, and that's not even taking into account the little things like remembering to bring a power strip so my roommate, PJ Schnyder, and I can both get ready for events at the same time.

Basically what this post boils down to is a heads-up if you plan to attend an event like this. Yes, you can prep for it really quick if you need to, but I recommend putting some thought into things beforehand if you can. Now though? I need to get back to my novel-writing :)