Category: Behavior

Events, behavior and all around fun

6/5/2016

I'm arrived home from the Sassy in Jacksonville event. It was small, fun, and the readers attending were fantastic! Everyone seemed genuinely excited to be there. During the signing I was able to reconnect with local readers I knew, met knew to me readers, reconnected with a reader I met last year who came specifically to see me (and y'all I fangirled her HARD for this!) and reconnected with an old friend and his wife. After the event, 9 of us in tow went to have dinner at an Irish bar, allowed an Irish man in a kilt to hit on us (IT WAS FUN!) and had a fantastic time! Laughs and howls were eminent! On our way back, we relaxed, stretched then had a great game of cards against humanity. In all, FANTASTIC!!
Now on to a subject I wanted to touch base on: the do's and don'ts of cons. Some of this may seem redundant others may be reading this for the first time. I've posted about this topic before, but the circumstances were different.

Do's:

Be on your best behavior. This may appear to be a 'duh' point but seriously, behave yourself. Smile, talk to people, ask what they like to read. Make a connection and go from there. If they don't buy from you, it's not the end of the world. Give them swag to take home that has your contact information on it; whether that be your amazon page, web page, or your email. Give them something so they remember you later. Some may only do ebooks so again, make that connection.
Do be courteous to those around you. When readers are at the table next to you or across from you, smile to them and let them know you acknowledge them. Simple right? Once they visit your table and connection is made, tell them as they're walking away that "author so in so also writes such and such genre. You may like their work as well." Trust me, this goes a LONG way. Signings are great to sell your books but it's not all about you. Be courteous, trust me on this. Word gets around and before you know it, others will take note and follow your lead. I was surrounded by one person at this signing. Unfortunately others canceled due to one reason or another. Suzannah Daniels was across from me, Emily Cyr next to her. and Suzanne (SM) Donaldson two tables down. The four of us had a good time chatting with one another and when finished with readers, we sent them to one anothers tables. See how that works? Team work! Emily and I knew each other prior to the event, but Suzannah and Suzanne had only just met.
BE RESPECTFUL! I cannot say this enough. You'll be remembered by the con organizer and receive an invite back, assuming another event is put on.

OK... and now for the don'ts:

Don't misbehave, get drunk, act a fool. People, especially readers, will remember this and avoid you at all costs.
Don't call out to readers to come see you while they're waiting at an authors table to come see you. That is absolutely rude. Wait for them to visit with the author they wish to see, then call them over. Don't rush it and don't steal sales. Just no.
Above I said be respectful. DO NOT by ANY means walk the floor and begin talking smack about authors and the choices they made during the event. There's a time and a place for everything and the signing IS NOT IT! I witnessed this type of behavior this weekend and was appalled. Honestly, don't do that. You have something to say? Fine. Hold off until the event is over. Don't walk around, point fingers and pass judgement. I saw what was set up as well. Was it in bad taste? Sure. Did it affect me? Not in the least. Why does it have to affect you? Don't like it? Simply ask them to move it, or ignore it. Trust me on this, she would have. If you misbehave during the event, you'll get blacklisted by this organizer, the ones they're run with and most likely, others they associate with. You'd only have yourself to blame.

To close, behave yourself. if there's something you don't like, voice your opinion to that person in a tasteful manner. Don't be mean about it. Don't walk around talking smack. And for all sake here, don't talk smack to readers. Seriously, don't. Always remember, do something good, they'll remember you for it, connection is made, and they'll tell your friends you're awesome (or amazing, or fantastic). If you're nasty, cruel, mean, and talk smack? Yeah, they'll remember you for that too. You pick how you want to be remembered.

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The Retelling of Events, Behavior and Never Ending Thoughts...

11/3/2015

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To start out this post on a bit of humor, this is me when I write...sometimes.

This blog post went up a few months ago and I think it's time to retell some of what was told then.
In the last few months, I've been to a few different events, with more setup for 2016. I'm going to post my own, honest opinion on things.

Whether you like a person or not, it should not persuade you from doing their events. If readers will be there and you could benefit from going by selling books, meeting/reconnecting with readers, then I suggest you go. Let go of not liking someone. Who cares. This is a business, treat it as such.
I have NO idea what it entails to set up an event, but from what I can see, it is very stressful. Ever hear the phrase "it's like herding cats"? It seems to apply to this to a T. As an author, if you decide to sign on to an event, you have an obligation now. You need to tell your readers and writing community where you'll be. You want them to come see you, right? You want to sell your books, right? I do not expect the event coordinator to do this for me. When I sign up for an event, that is ALL on me, 100%, to market and pimp myself. If my street team jumps in the action, HOORAH! I love my girls so yeah, every little bit helps. But if you sign on for an event and never once mention it on your social media pages, how are your readers actually going to know you're there? Consider that moving forward.
A few days before the event kicks off, stress, nerves, butterflies, etc...they effect everyone, not just the coordinator (but add 1000% of your stress levels together and you may get close to what they're feeling). Do your part and contribute to the success of the event. You've paid to be there, so work it.
The day the event opens, do your part and contribute (repeated, I know). Do the panels, talk to readers, put on a smile and 'be on'. No one is asking you to be fake, but remember, these are your readers. Without your readers, you would not be where you are. If you need a break, remove yourself for an hour or two and go to your room, go outside, go make that call...whatever it is. Sometimes it's just to go pee. I've been there, it's okay.
During the book signing, be respectful, please. Do not bad mouth other authors, bloggers, models, readers, etc. Authors and bloggers will talk, but what's worse? Readers talk as well. Word will get around. Others will find out what was said. It's the nature of the gossip beast. Want to prevent it? Don't start it.
Running along the lines of the bullet above, do not bash other events, especially the day their event is starting. You are not only hurting the event, you are hurting the authors in attendance. Do not back lash at the aggressor, either. Do not fight fire with fire. This is a professional industry. Remember, your readers will see everything as it plays out on social media. I've mentioned this before to someone. "There are three sides to every story. Your side, their side, and the truth." Not everything you see on Facebook, Twitter and TSU is real (I think we've all learned that). If you're not sure, go to the source. Keep it simple and keep the negativity OFF social media.
Remember, we are here to write and sell books. I don't know about you, but I enjoy interacting with my readers on a daily basis. Do not ignore the hand that feeds you. And do not, especially, call them out, talk bad about them, or tell them to leave you alone when all they want is a few minutes of your time to tell you how much your story affected them. Seriously, it's only a few minutes of your day. We all have something going on (trust me, I'm a special needs mom. There's LOTS going on in my life). Take a few minutes of your day to read your messages and respond.
Do not stalk people. We all read the story of the author who took it too far and went to the bloggers house because of a review they left on their book. This goes along with the three sides to every story comment since we were not there to witness it, but damn, do not stalk people. Do not be Kathy Bates from Misery.
If another author begins talking about another author or reader, do what you will, but honestly, ignore it. We are not in high school. Let's leave the pettiness at the door and write our stories. (recall above? The gossip beast?)
And finally, for the love of Pete, do not steal someone else's work! Blood, sweat, and tears go into everything we do as writers. Not everyone will like everything out there, and that is okay. It is a diverse universe and it is okay to be different. What is NOT okay is stealing someone's work, changing the sex/names/places and calling it your own. We've all read/heard about what happened. The writing world is a small, small place. You steal, give it time, you'll be found out.

Not everyone may be in agreement with my post, and that's okay. Please do not go out of your way to "ruin" another author or coordinator. Why would you want to do this? What is your goal in doing so?
Did the author write a story you don't agree with? Do not read it.
Did the author steal your story line? File a complaint with the library of congress. Get an entertainment attorney on speed dial.
Has a coordinator become a threat to the industry professionals? I highly doubt it. Even if so, be a professional and take it up with them. Work together.
Has a model, reader, blogger or author crossed the line in some fashion? Take it up with them rather than blasting them on social media.

This is not intended to blast anyone or anything, nor is there any name calling. If offense is taken (which is not my intent), then reach out to me. I am one of the kindest persons you'll EVER meet, but never, ever, mistake my kindness for weakness.

It takes years to build up trust in someone but it can take only a second to destroy it. The mouth is a powerful weapon, use it wisely. Use it in a book as a man who is seducing a woman. Use drama in your story to build your plot, not drive away authors and potential readers.

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Events, behavior and all around fun

The Retelling of Events, Behavior and Never Ending Thoughts...

Julie Morgan

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