Comic Con as an Author's Venue

When I was invited to share a table with fellow author, David Moore at Wizard World Comic Con in New Orleans, I jumped at the chance. David is author of ‘The Shroud’, an incredible novel that has been picked up Lion’s Gate Productions. Filming will start at the end of this year. I figured rubbing elbows with him couldn’t hurt, and being at Comic Con for three days would be fun as well as an awesome experience. Would I do well selling my books? Probably not. I knew it going in. I’ve been to a Comic Con before and knew what to expect.

The first thing I found out about getting a table on Artist’s Row is that it’s expensive. Not so much the table itself. I was sharing that expense with David. But … and here’s where you need to read the small print. If you want electricity at your table, you have to pay for it. It’s not cheap. And you have to pay the labor to have it done. Same for Wi-Fi. We’re not talking a few dollars, we’re running into the thousands. So, no electricity. Leave the laptops at home. No Wi-Fi. I can get around that one. I use my data plan or I use my Mobile Hotspot. The table comes with 2 chairs and 2 floorbands (passes so you can go in and out each day.) If you have an assistant, you have to pay extra. ($40 each) We both needed an extra floorband. They’re not interchangeable. The person who wears it, keeps it for the three days. No trading or swapping. If you want a chair for your assistant … you guessed it, you have to buy one. We won’t even discuss concessions. They were over-rated. Parking was convenient, but expensive. $30 a day definitely put a dent in the budget. So did having to pay the City of New Orleans for an occupational license and paying sales tax on the last day. My checkbook hates me.

Living an hour outside of New Orleans, I opted to drive back and forth, rather than the expense of a hotel. It might have been a smart decision, IF I drove a small vehicle. I happen to drive a large SUV, and went through a half tank of gas for the round trip each day. Winters are mild in this part of the country, except for those three days. As luck would have it, we hit winter during Comic Con. A day long torrential downpour with temps in the 20’s. For us, it was brutal. For me driving in the mess, miserable.