This was a rough show, for various reasons. The previous week was very busy in both of our professional and personal lives and any prep and packing for the show had to be done on Thursday night. The next morning, we both slept on a train from Manhattan to Baltimore and went directly to the Convention Center to get set up.
This was the second show, post-pandemic, for Baltimore Comic-Con and it was a lot bigger than last year. The convention center hall was also much bigger than the one we were in last year. Which was great because the organizers filled it, but we still had ample space behind the table.
I think there was a better turnout than last year, but that wasn’t reflected in our sales. We did the best we could with the energy we had to get people over to our table, but due to the economy, folks only have so much to spend. And everyone around us was working hard to get people to look at their books too.
As with the previous shows, our neighbors were wonderful. I’m dealing with social anxieties and the conventions can be triggering, but I’m getting out from behind the table at least once a day to talk to other exhibitors. It was great to see the different projects that people are working on, how they are collaborating, networking, and how they are publishing and promoting their books.
The weekend turned out to be a great learning experience. I think for future shows, we need to offer more variety, different products at different prices. Right now everything on our table is between $15 and $40. We’re going to reprint Martian Debut for Big Apple Comic Con this December to see what a $6 comic will do for us.