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Gotta Take Care of Bizzniss
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THE LEGEND OF JAMIE ROBERTS
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VANITA AND THE DEMON KING
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I mentioned this in the Friday newsletter, but yes, I'm looking to do fewer conventions in the future.
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I can confirm a few shows, like PIE (Pittsburgh Indie Expo) in March, and possibly A2CAF in June and Genghis Con in November. Beyond those, though, I'm actually looking to phase out doing conventions altogether.
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Thing is, after Bash Con, I realized how precious my time and energy are. I'm no longer in my 20s, so I don't have the energy to do 3-day conventions anymore (whether they're slammed or dead). On top of that, my day job is taking up a lot of energy, as are some freelance gigs that are not day job or comics-related. For once, I have enough going on that conventions are no longer necessary to make an income.
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Which is good, because conventions are not the money-makers they used to be. I think it's a combination of things that have made conventions untenable:
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Increased table fees. Aside from A2CAF and library-hosted shows, conventions are raising prices on their tables. Bash Con was $40 for a half-table, which is probably the best deal I've come across for a show that charged table fees. The average is $150+ (Galaxy Con is notorious for charging $350+ for a table. Also they're not worth it.)
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Higher printing prices. Even though I print all of my books domestically, the ink the print shops use still comes from overseas. So they pass that expense along to the customer (me and other comic artists). Even the ink I use for my home printer has raised their prices.
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COVID. People's health comes first, and unfortunately conventions are a good vector for disease. COVID has definitely affected a lot of folks' perception of health and safety, and too many conventions are not taking that seriously. So people aren't going. (To their credit, the Cartoonist Co-op has been pushing for shows to be COVID-compliant. The shows I've been confirmed for do take those concerns seriously. But a lot of shows need to catch up.)
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I no longer own a car. Any show I go to has to be in-town, or accessible by bus or train. This is great for some shows, but unfortunately keeps me locked out of others. (Ohio, for all its advocacy for trains, is a very car-dependent state). I actually had to bow out of Zinecinnati last year because there are no busses or trains to that show from where I am.
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"AI." Not so much that people are trying to hawk "AI" slop to shoppers (though that happens), but shoppers are now skeptical of anything in a vendor hall. They are more willing to call anything "AI" if it looks vaguely digital. (This is something my friend Gary has had to contend with a lot. He told me all about it as we sat around at Bash Con.)
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On top of all of that, taking time off to do Bash Con also made me fall behind on my other jobs. I've been playing catch-up for the last week. It's not a fun position to be in. After April, this should be less of an issue, but it's still an issue that's not fun to handle in the moment.
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I'm compiling a list of other, non-convention options to pursue. (I do best with lists). Again, the day job and other gigs are helping cover the gaps until the comics job picks up later this season. (Your support also helps!) The brainstorming is more for after June and what I want to do then.
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