OldFolks Guide - DragonCon vs Author Nation
Author
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Hey All! - Shawn here!
Many people asked me what I thought about conferences, including the two I have been to. As it’s easier for me to just write my thoughts, I decided to sit down today and give you a quick synopsis.
PRICE of the Con
Dragon Con:
Cheaper Ticket ($130-150).
Hotel - Expensive (Find friends) & Hard to find (Book early or travel from an AirBnB or something.
Air Fare - Depends on where you live
Food - Ehh… its ‘expensive’ but not… Good food, decent prices.
Author Nation:
The ticket is Expensive - $450
Hotel - Cheaper
Air Fare - Depends on where you live
Food - MUCH more expensive (Think $9 small coffee/water)
Purpose of the Con
Dragon Con:
The goal here is to interact with fans of your genre as well as other authors and publishers. Unless you have books that are out (in print) and have a publishing house behind you, don’t plan on getting a table and signing books. There is a LOT of extra stuff here, but if you’re not there because Publisher XXXX said “Come and sign books for a few hours each day,” don’t plan on this. The cost of shipping books, or carrying them on a plane can get super expensive.
If you’re not someone who is going to sign books, the purpose of this is ALL about interacting with others. Form relationships, meet other publishers, talk about potential partnerships, etc. Have fun, go to panels, and be part of the community. Most likely, you’ll pick up some great friendships and learn a few cool tidbits.
For example, on some of the panels, I learned a little bit about research, how to do it, where to look (Google…does a lot, but there are other areas), time management, and more. This requires me to go to the panels and not just have fun.
Fun is key - Again, KEY - if you’re not signing books. Sure, you can meet with publishers and others, but remember, don’t make this too crazy. It will be overwhelming as 70,000 people descend upon Atlanta. At night, each night, the authors descend upon the Weston Hotel at the bar and hang out, again trading knowledge, info, etc, and forming those essential bonds. Don’t miss out here.
Author Nation:
The goal of this con is to help the author. There are no fans here ‘except’ on the Friday night Rave night, which I skipped (I have 6 kids and a job). Each panel is designed to give advice on different aspects of the author's journey.
I’ll say this: If I were 100% new, not having the knowledge I gained in the year of all this, I would have signed up with every table and probably committed to getting 100 different things, all with the hope of becoming a success.
MY OPINION is that 90% of what is ‘pitched’ there only impacts self-publishing authors, and most of what they teach/offer/sell isn’t worth the money if you can get in touch with the right people. A publisher removes most of that, but again, trading royalties for easier launch and entry into the published world vs. learning it alone.
This doesn’t mean I don’t think it’s worth going. I went to some good panels, learned some great tidbits of knowledge, met a ton of cool authors across different genres, and learned how lucky I am to be in my genre, among a dozen other things.
Focus on engaging with others. Don’t stand by the wall and watch. Join a group, introduce yourself, and hit up the ‘new author’ mixer (just know water or coke is 9$). This gives you a chance to really hear from the other side of the aisle genre-wise. You’ll hear their struggles, the problems they deal with, the success they have and other marketing tips (FB/Instagram/Tiktok/etc).
Final Thoughts between the two:
If you only get to go to one conference, I’d probably pick DC first. This week could be a REALLY great opportunity to make contacts while engaging the community and learning from a safe environment. You’ll get a chance to meet some of the top writers in our genre as well as a few others and attend panels that do offer some great tips, all without being presented with promises of making money if you sign up for XXXX from a vendor.
Author Nation has some great potential, but you need to know a little bit more about our industry. Have an idea of the potential percentages you can earn from each publisher in our genre. Also, understanding what is possible in our world/genre helps weed out those primarily focused on Independent self-published authors. This can again save you from signing up (paying for) lots of extra stuff. Many authors (Melas/Selkie/Hunter Mythos) have mentioned helping with things like amazon ad info. If you can get a little help for free, why not try that before spending $$$ on someone you don’t know, and you may not get the service you were expecting.
Takeaways from Author Nation:
- I’m going to number these and discuss what I picked up being there. Most of what I have gained comes from being in this genre for a year and working with Podium, Mango Media, and Royal Guard. I’m also working with Moonquill on a webtoon and have been discussing a book with Atheon for next year. I’ve spoken with a lot of people and gained some knowledge in the publishing world, but I also know that there is a TON I do not know. I haven’t self-published a LitRPG story and haven’t dealt with what that requires. So everything I share isn’t gospel. It’s simply what I learned and want to share.
- One of the BIG takeaways I got was developing a relationship with a narrator.
Jonathan McClain has killed it for my Ultimate Level 1 Series, and I got to meet him at Author Nation. This was a huge thing for me on a lot of levels, but it also felt great to connect in person. We even traded numbers after making sure neither of us were serial killers.
A panel I attended had three authors with the narrators who they have worked with for a while. Getting to hear how they both understood the stories, how they worked together, and the way characters spoke was eye-opening. Matt Dinniman stated that he could hear the voices Jeff Hays and his team use for his characters and knew that they would make certain lines pop. The other two authors mimicked that statement to a degree as well. Knowing what your narrator is capable of helps you to create characters with voices.
So if you get a chance to work with a narrator, you love a few times, try to reach out and have a call or meet them at a con if they are going to be there. - Somewhere is someone killing it in an area you are weak at.
I met a couple of cool dudes one day through a random encounter. They write fantasy and are making the transition to progression fantasy. We chatted and discussed a lot of things, and then my socks got blown off when I found out one of them had a TikTok that often got 1-2 million views on his videos. As someone trying to learn that platform, I found it a great chance to ask a few specific questions and get some advice.
The flip side was that they didn’t hit the Facebook/Reddit side at all, and I was able to offer my wisdom after having some posts that hit 50k+ views. While it's not TikTok 1-2mil, again, mine were in categories specific to our genre, and that’s a win. That random encounter allowed us both to share wisdom and trade business cards.
Don’t look at a nametag or those flashy slap-on-cloth stickers and see they write in a genre you don’t and ignore them. Keep socializing with everyone. One of my coolest moments was speaking with an older man, Laurence O’Bryan, who has been writing Historical Fiction for a while. It was a great moment getting to learn a lot from someone with YEARS of experience.
He said I helped encourage him and give him new ways of looking at things while I gleaned valuable information on how to see how I wrote and avenues to grow. It was totally a random encounter at the exit to elevators that led to a constant interaction during the convention (I even gave him a copy of all my books and he seemed excited, so who knows). - Publishers, Companies, Audio People, etc are all here, trying to meet you.
You might think you don’t have anything to offer, but if you’re writing and have books, they want to know the person on the other side of those words and screen. This is a chance to meet that person you email all the time. It’s also an opportunity to shine a light on yourself to those who haven’t heard of you. Nothing is better than getting to talk with one publisher and say, ‘Yeah, I got books published with XXX over there.’
Go visit the vendor stalls, even if you don’t plan on using their stuff. Some have great swag and you never know who might have a product or be a potential partner down the road. Yes, I said there are lots of people here selling products you probably don’t need. Still, it’s good to SEE what they are selling, because odds are those are important things.
Learning the importance of Amazon ads is important if you self-publish. But it’s also good to know a little bit so that when discussing details with a publisher about how much marketing they will spend on you, you have an idea of how much that really is. - You get to meet powerhouses in our genre.
Matt Dinniman doesn’t eat you or your children if you say hi. Sure if he’s talking to 5 people don’t barge in, but be a good person, wait, shake his hand and maybe snap a selfie with him if you ask.
Seth Ring is there, playing D&D, hanging out, talking some shop, having fun.
Haylock & Hunter Mythos are out flying around in a helicopter…
Tons of big names are there just hanging out. Spend some time getting to know them, and listen when they talk.
Most are honest - they don’t have all the answers.
Each has found what works for them and will sometimes share that wisdom with you if you ask nicely or just hang around them.
While there are a lot more things I could easily talk about, these are the takeaway of my trip. I’m just hoping you enjoy getting to read a little bit about my experience.
I look forward to seeing those attending DragonCon 25 and LitRPG Con in July 25!