Out-of-State Con Sales
Sep. 17th, 2023 11:48 am![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
lb_leeRogan: After SPX, Mac decided to collate all the numbers for every out-of-state con we've done since starting memory work. There were seven: 2 SPXs (Bethesda), 1 TCAF (Toronto), 1 Flamecon (NYC), 1 Queers and Comics (NYC), 1 STAPLE (Austin), 1 IGDID (Seattle).
The numbers hurt: We didn't make even $100 worth of profit at any of them. (For context, I've made that much at public library cons, which are generally looked down on as tiny and low-paying.) Travel and lodging made expenses much higher, and that was with us crashing with friends at every single one of these events except TCAF and one SPX. Financially, out-of-state cons are just not lucrative.
But more than that, Mac was able to prove to me with data that the shows are rough on our health as well. Here's how it works:
We keep spreadsheets tabulating how often we have "an episode." (This is LB euphemism for a memory work chunk.) Over the past five years, we averaged 7 episodes a month. These episodes tend to be exhausting and knock us down for a day or two afterward--totally unacceptable if we need to be in high-energy sales mode. So, we intentionally try to have an episode before a con: ~2 days before for in-state; 1-2 days before travel for out-of-state. This gives us enough time to recover, while also hopefully clearing the way enough that we don't get hit again during the event.
For in-state shows, this has decent odds of working. Except for Arisia, we only work 1-2 day shows. But out-of-state cons are overwhelmingly 2-day, and also require 2 days of travel, with at least 1 buffer day to recover in-between (and also because you NEVER want to have your bus break down so you arrive at 3 AM and have to be in Sales Mode at 10).
The mathematically astute of you will realize that 7 episodes a month pans out to roughly one episode every 4-5 days--and the average out-of-state con requires five. So of those seven out-of-state cons, I had at least one episode at four of them. Of the remaining three, two I had no episodes, but only because I was under extreme stress (due to homelessness or harassment) and that slows memory work. The ONLY out-of-state con I didn't get hammered at is the SPX I just did.
Those are lousy numbers. It looks like we're just not cut out for out-of-state shows... UNLESS we are there for non-financial reasons and using the con to recoup expenses. (STAPLE is a good example; we had other business there but couldn't justify the trip without income.) At this point, there are only two shows I feel any curiosity in: Infinite Mind in Florida (even though IGDID felt like a cult induction meeting), and the Graphic Medicine conference, which I've been eyeing for a freakin' decade but have never been able to afford.
It looks like are best as a hometown huckster, especially since ebook sales have gotten a lot more popular since the debut of COVID.
The numbers hurt: We didn't make even $100 worth of profit at any of them. (For context, I've made that much at public library cons, which are generally looked down on as tiny and low-paying.) Travel and lodging made expenses much higher, and that was with us crashing with friends at every single one of these events except TCAF and one SPX. Financially, out-of-state cons are just not lucrative.
But more than that, Mac was able to prove to me with data that the shows are rough on our health as well. Here's how it works:
We keep spreadsheets tabulating how often we have "an episode." (This is LB euphemism for a memory work chunk.) Over the past five years, we averaged 7 episodes a month. These episodes tend to be exhausting and knock us down for a day or two afterward--totally unacceptable if we need to be in high-energy sales mode. So, we intentionally try to have an episode before a con: ~2 days before for in-state; 1-2 days before travel for out-of-state. This gives us enough time to recover, while also hopefully clearing the way enough that we don't get hit again during the event.
For in-state shows, this has decent odds of working. Except for Arisia, we only work 1-2 day shows. But out-of-state cons are overwhelmingly 2-day, and also require 2 days of travel, with at least 1 buffer day to recover in-between (and also because you NEVER want to have your bus break down so you arrive at 3 AM and have to be in Sales Mode at 10).
The mathematically astute of you will realize that 7 episodes a month pans out to roughly one episode every 4-5 days--and the average out-of-state con requires five. So of those seven out-of-state cons, I had at least one episode at four of them. Of the remaining three, two I had no episodes, but only because I was under extreme stress (due to homelessness or harassment) and that slows memory work. The ONLY out-of-state con I didn't get hammered at is the SPX I just did.
Those are lousy numbers. It looks like we're just not cut out for out-of-state shows... UNLESS we are there for non-financial reasons and using the con to recoup expenses. (STAPLE is a good example; we had other business there but couldn't justify the trip without income.) At this point, there are only two shows I feel any curiosity in: Infinite Mind in Florida (even though IGDID felt like a cult induction meeting), and the Graphic Medicine conference, which I've been eyeing for a freakin' decade but have never been able to afford.
It looks like are best as a hometown huckster, especially since ebook sales have gotten a lot more popular since the debut of COVID.
