Sunday, February 5, 2012

The Writer Will Take Your Questions Now (#71) -- Why So Many Conventions

Why do you make a priority of attending conventions?

My editor Tom Waltz and me
First and foremost, I love to be a guest at a convention so I can meet the folks who read my work. I love to hear what people like and even didn't like. All that feedback keeps me inspired and motivated to churn out more work.

Making Mr. J jealous.
Second, I also go because this is a business for me. I write and I make money from writing, but I also sell what I've written (in addition to my publishers), and as much as I'd love to be able to simply release a book and have the millions of fans come rushing to me, I've found that until I can legally change my name to Stephen King or Kim Harrison, I'm still going to have to pound the pavement myself to build a following of readers.

L to R: Scott McCullar, Gotham's
Finest, and Afro-Action
Sean Taylor variant
Third, conventions are sort of like family reunions. They're the get-togethers where you can have dinner with those author and film-making and voice actor and celebrity friends you don't get to see on a regular basis outside of them, thanks to the miles between you and your busy schedule of creating new work.

It's hard work, but thanks to the fans and convention promoters, it's also a lot of fun.

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