Vendors Are People Too: 6 Things NOT To Do Or Say To A Vendor At A Convention

I'm a new author. I'm new at going to conventions as a vendor versus as an attendee.

With two lovely conventions under my belt (MidAmeriCon II/74th WorldCon & San Francisco Comic Con), there are more than a few uncomfortable issues that I experienced as the person behind the booth, and which I feel need to be addressed. Please note that the number of courteous and amazing people I have met far outweigh what I have termed as the C&Cs: Creeps and Critics. 99.9% of the C&Cs who stopped by my booth knew very well what they were doing, and their lack of remorse or shame in their actions when said behavior was pointed out confirmed it. However, there was one person who, upon realizing what they had done, looked genuinely abashed and apologized. To the person who apologized, if you are reading this post, know that I am not trying to shame you. But, I feel that it is important to nonetheless point out this action.

Without further ado, I present to you a list of things not to say or do to a vendor. Ever.

I know that these things are bound to happen again, as such is the nature of C&Cs. But I also know that by keeping silent I would be contributing to these actions continuing. As such, it is my hope that my readers will see this and understand why this post had to be written. That if they see someone being made to feel less, they will go up to them and say what a fellow boothmate at MidAmeriCon II said to me:

 "No one has the right to put you down. No one has the right to make you feel like you don't belong."

These words are magic <3

Till next we meet, 

xoxo

Writer's Life, The Con Edition: MidAmeriCon II/74th WorldCon & San Francisco Comic Con

Welcome back! Alas, it seems that the months have once more slipped through my hands. However, I am happy to report that I have been busy at work on quite a number of items, two of which I will touch upon in today's post :)

If you follow me on social media (Facebook, IG, Twitter) or happened to have stopped by my book website, you saw I was a vendor at the following cons: MidAmeriCon II/74th WorldCon and the first ever San Francisco Comic Con (SFCC2016).

Each con was a very different beastie, but both provided invaluable learning experiences. At WorldCon, I had the fortune of meeting fellow authors who shared their experience with this newbie author and convention vendor. Their kindness, whether they realized it or not, helped bring a sort of order to the chaos in my heart and thoughts. Other highlights of WorldCon included meeting insanely talented artists, being able to see the Hugo Awards live, and personally thanking the author who gave me the courage to stick to self-publishing. For there definitely was a time when I wondered if I was being foolish in not pursuing traditional publishing. But that story, I feel, is best told in its own blog post.

GRRR

SFF Author Ellie Ann

L to R: A solider of the Ascendancy, SF author John Scalzi, and some random person

Next we have San Francisco Comic Con. I really enjoyed this con. The atmosphere was vibrating with energy and the cosplayers' outfits were spectacular. SFCC was the first comic convention held in San Francisco in quite a number of years. From a vendor perspective, I did quite well. But, what I enjoyed most was being able to chat with the people who stopped by my booth. We talked anime, Universal Studios horror movies, Clive Barker, bookstagram, comics, books...the list goes on.

                     

Kazam Comics

                 
                 

                                

If you signed up for the newsletter, rest assured that I am working toward getting it sent out :) And, if you would like to see more pictures of either con, please head on over to my Facebook page.

Were you at MidAmeriCon II or San Francisco Comic Con? If so, tell me about it.

Till next we meet,

xoxo