“In the blink of an eye”, this common phrase really stood out to me this month as it went by in a flash! I can’t believe September is next week! Of course, I have been really busy with projects and research, so I suppose that makes sense 😉
Anyway, enough about how fast the month flew, let’s get to the good stuff. How did my events go? Excellent! I couldn’t have asked for a better Comic Con Summer Tour end! My last convention was in Tampa, Florida and boy did I learn a lot!
Even from the time I got onto the plane, it was a huge learning curb, but one I really needed! As some of you might know, Tampa Bay Comic Con is one of the larger comic cons. To me, it was bigger than Canada! I was able to comfortably fit all my books into four suitcases (yes, this includes stands and other small items). As it turns out Southwest is the way to go when you’re an author flying to comic cons! Not only do they allow two free check-in suitcases (in this case my husband went with me so it worked out!), but they allow curbside check-in for people who have a lot of luggage! 😊 Honestly, they made flying SO much easier and definitely made it stress-free!
As for the convention itself! We hit the ground running almost as soon as we landed. See, if you haven’t been there, let me be the first to tell you that Tampa is a large and congested city with more one-way streets than I can count. It took us quite a while to finally find the convention center (after taking a few wrong turns, that is). Just a note, if you’re going to a huge city you’re unfamiliar with…ALWAYS get there a day before set up so you can get a feel of the surroundings and parking garages. Downtown Tampa seems to be made up of mainly parking garages, but some are cheaper than others. Fortunately for us, there was a parking garage connected to the convention center, but you had to get there early or else it’d get filled up quickly.
And as crazy as it sounds, a very important lesson I learned the first day. . . ask lots of questions. Not that I don’t do that enough already, but if the place is massive (like this location was), ask everyone with a staff shirt where to go. Don’t assume it’s right or left because it can be EASY to get lost. And if someone isn’t sure, ask them to direct you to someone who knows. It might seem like you’re pestering people, but the truth is, this is stuff you need to know.
As great as these tips and guidelines are, I’ll get into now tell you how the book sales went. Wonderful! I sold almost 50 books! I couldn’t believe it myself; I can’t recall every sale that happened as the weekend was a whirl of excitement, but I can tell you that I feel I made a great first impression on the people of Tampa, Florida and I’m looking forward to coming back soon! 😊
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