Christian A. Larsen |
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On this month's Special Page: The Horror Zine's Media Director Christian A. Larsen gives valuable advice about conventions and book tours |
IN THE "SPECIAL PAGE" ARCHIVES: Marc Ciccarone
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Con and Fest Season is Upon Us! by Christian A. Larsen Winter is thawing into spring, which may bring the sounds of running water and birdsong to your ears, but there is one surer sign of spring than those: the uptick in festivals and cons. Readers of The Horror Zine know the ones I’m talking about: comic book, pop culture, and horror conventions. Why, just this spring, we’ve got three of my favorites: the Texas Frightmare Festival in Dallas, the World Horror Convention in Atlanta, and Printer’s Row Lit Fest, right here in my own back yard, Chicago. No matter if we’re talking big or small, these events are unique opportunities to be among like-minded people, soak in the horror or literary culture, and maybe find a gem or two in the flesh that you wouldn’t have found anywhere else ... except maybe online, and then you’re missing the visceral connection with your discovery. For me, cons and fests are the way to go—as a shopper and a seller. I’ve been to my share, promoting my novel, Losing Touch (Post Mortem Press) ... and some of them have been real winners. Some have been losers, too. There are any number of elements that are out of your control: poor promotion, bad weather, or too much competition—competition with other, similar events in town, and competition from others at the same event. But how can you even the playing field with the more experienced vendors at the end of the row?
You might have thought of these already and thought, of course, Chris—or maybe something a little less charitable, but just winging it and relying on common sense is not the same thing. You’ve got to be ready, not just know what being ready is. Practice that pitch in front of a mirror, be sure you’ve got the change you need to sell to those cash customers, and above all, be ready to enjoy yourself. Because if you’re not having fun, what’s the point? Unless you do really, really well, and I mean really well, you could probably earn more money putting in a shift at a day job, and unless you’ve done that well consistently for years, you’ve got a day job right now, so when you’re at an event or a con, it’s your time off. Sure, it’s work, but it should be fun, too. You are among your people—the nerds, the geeks, the literary dweebs. Time to embrace it!
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Christian A. Larsen grew up in Park Ridge, Illinois and graduated from Maine South High School in 1993. He has worked as an English teacher, radio personality, newspaper reporter, and a printer’s devil. His short stories have appeared in such anthologies as Shrieks and Shivers (Post Mortem Press), Of Devils and Deviants (Crowded Quarantine), and Qualia Nous (Written Backwards). In Larsen’s debut novel, Losing Touch, Morgan Dunsmore’s life is falling apart when he finds he can walk through walls, but it’s not quite the blessing he envisioned. Losing Touch features a foreword by NY Times bestselling author Piers Anthony. Larsen lives with his wife and two sons in the fictional town of Northport, Illinois. Follow him on Twitter @exlibrislarsen or visit exlibrislarsen.com.
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