Quote:
Originally Posted by Steve Jordan
Right! If I knock off a few Starbucks trips per week, that'll get me planefare... then a few less restaurant dinners a month for the hotel... 
Seriously, that's the way to do it, if you want to go... you can plan and start saving for it now, instead of looking at it a month from then and realizing it's too late. |
Unless the Worldcon is local to you, deciding to go at the last moment is unlikely. Plane fares will have risen from exorbitant to astronomical, hotel bookings at any of the close by con affiliated hotels at con rates will be sold out, and at the door membership prices will be a lot higher.
The San Jose Worldcon, ConJose, had an interesting problem. A week or so before the con, Paramount Studios called them. A new Star Trek movie was coming out, and they wanted to have Patrick Stewart appear at the con to promote it. They'd pick up Stewart's fee and expenses. The con said yes, though some fast reshuffling was needed to clear the program space needed for the event. But the con faced the question of "How do we budget for this? There will be people who will come strictly to see Patrick Stewart, but how many?" Having no better option, they made a WAG ($5K, I believe) and plugged in it as projected attending membership revenue increase.
And they got a much higher than expected walk-in trade. The economy wasn't robust, but while folks in the San Jose area or a reasonable drive distance were scaling back on major purchases, they were willing to drop $200 to attend the Worldcon on a commuting basis.
Quote:
I like the idea of an effort to promote e-books at the con, if something could be arranged. Possibly an "FAQ" booth, tied into various sources for e-books, readers, formats, etc. I, for instance, could answer questions on e-book production for independent sales... maybe a visiting print-published author could discuss e-book penetration in print publishing... an MR member could discuss the community, availability of books, public domain... we could all argue on copyright issues (maybe that could be a paneled/private room discussion... or just set up in a mud-wrestling pit!...).
Or, thinking smaller, make sure e-books get some exposure in programs, ads, posters, etc... and make sure MR is a visible contingent for those who want more information. (T-shirts, anyone?)
|
For the first, you would want to arrange for what is called a "fan table". Fan tables are set up in public areas, and are places for fans to promote thier clubs, conventions and the like. There is no charge for them, but you do need to book well in advance, as there are a limited number available.
To go with that, you would want to suggest ebook related programming to the con programming staff. Precision is better: suggest panels with a catchy title, a paragraph description for the pocket program, and a list of folks you think might be good to be on it. There's no guarantee the suggestion will get implemented, but it will be easier for programming to evaluate and say yes or no to.
Fan tables have the critical issue of scheduling. If you have one, someone needs to man it, so you'll need to get commitments from folks tossing their hats into this ring on hours they are willing to be available.
You would also need stuff you could hand out to people. It doesn't need to be fancy. Simple sheets with lists of ebook resources and URLs, and perhaps buttons with the MR logo if anyone wants to spring for the cost of producing them and MR has no objection to the use of the trademark.
______
Dennis