FanX 2018 Report

Posted by Rampant Coyote on September 10, 2018

I’m not exactly sure how to begin.

I went to this FanX (formerly Salt Lake Comic Con) with the intention of doing little more than working the booth and selling books. This is my first FanX with my novel, Blood Creek Witch, rather than just anthologies that contained one of my stories. I didn’t really know what to expect, but based on previous conventions, I conservatively took the best total sales I’d ever had at this con with multiple titles combined (in some cases offering 2 different books at a discount), added about 50%, and figured that should be more than enough. I joked about selling out, thinking it was wildly optimistic.

I sold out halfway through the convention.

But while it sold extraordinarily well, it wasn’t just Blood Creek Witch. I sold out of everything else I’d brought except for a single copy of StoryHack that had gotten slightly warped from sitting in the box wrong.  Our shelves were starting to look pretty bare of everything by the end of the third day, and I heard from several other authors at other booths that had done extremely well. Whatever alchemy FanX came up with this time, I hope they keep it up! As for me, I wish I’d brought at least twice as many copies of Blood Creek Witch, but I’m happy with how things went.

Next time, I may bring tons of copies and only sell a half-dozen. Who knows?

Anyway, I still stayed with the booth most of the time, talking with people and costume-watching. That really is half the fun of a convention like this. I attended three panels, and didn’t end up going to see any of the big celebrities. I didn’t even go to see David Tenant, but my wife did. While I spent most of the time at the booth, I still ended up missing a few people who dropped by to see me. There’s probably some law of the universe that states that all the things you were waiting for will happen while you’ve finally left on a break.

As usual, though, the con was in part a fun family reunion with extended members of my geeky tribe. I love that. I got to hang out with old friends, including some that I haven’t seen in a few years, and those that I rarely see outside of conventions like this. It was also great spending time with the awesome people at the Utah Speculative Fiction / Immortal Works booth – Kelly, John, Beth, Ben, Scott, and several others. We swapped stories, had a bunch of laughs, and had late-night dinners after the show floor closed at local restaurants. We made new friends talking to people at the booth (ours and others). I wish I’d had more time to hang out with people, but the convention could have lasted six days and I still wouldn’t have been able to do that.

After three days, I had very sore feet and legs, but some good memories.

Some highlights I just want to jot down, some of which may be a little cryptic:

• Free craft soda refills
• Pac-Man dog leashes (yes, our dog is now wearing one. She has no clue)
• Pep talk from Dave Butler
• Hearing how Utah Jazz legend John Stockton helped push Brian Lee Durfee on his career
• Some comments by Cheree Alsop and other panelists about why action & romance (“Swashbuckling and Swooning”) go together so well
• Chatting with Dan and Maria over dinner about amusing celebrity green room moments
• Hanging out with an old friend, Jonnalyhn, from college
• “You’re a monkey!”
• Talking with the Operation Underground Railroad people. These guys are superheroes in my book, winning a real-life battles against despicable evil.
• Jason King of Immortal Works proving he is awesome in a clutch
• “He’s right behind me, isn’t he?” (x2)

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