Horror Found

So we’ve been back from HF for a few hours now but we’ve still got that darkly luscious stink on us. Spent too much time trying to make the sales sheet match up with the copies we brought home and the cash we had. It’s been a bit like trying to force your own hand through a meat grinder. But I think we’ve got it sorted out now.

The sales were not as good as I had hoped they would be. We heard that the ATM in the hotel ran out of money every day and the police were doing some kind of security drills and had the road to the bank closed off. Plus I got the sense that more of the people attending this year were movie fans and had no interest in books. Even so we made enough to cover the expenses of the con.

We gave out 87 Sick Bags. It’s pretty amazing to think that we actually talked to 87 different people. It doesn’t feel like we saw that many people but then again I definitely feel like I gave the Sick Bag spiel about a million times. I think the bags definitely worked because, for one thing, Sick sold the most copies but also now 87 people have our catalog.

Here are some lessons I learned about manning a table:
-know exactly how much cash you start out with
-don’t mix personal funds with the table funds
-people are more likely to pick up books laying flat at the edge of the table than ones in stands further back
-when the crowd isn’t buying it doesn’t matter how strong your pitch is

What else? I know I can’t cover everything in one post so stay tuned for next time when I talk about the coolest part of the con – meeting so many great people.

Raw Dog Bite #37
When I was 15-17 I took drum lessons from a man who was in his 70’s. My Mom recently saw an article about him in the Washington Post. He’s now 88 years old and still giving drum lessons. Plus his rates are still the same!

current mood: drained
current music: Curve: Doppelganger