How to Run a Booth at a Con

Back from four days in Indy, I thought I’d share with those of you who have never run a booth before some tips on how to manage your time effectively and reach out to new customers.

Bring Proper Documentation

First things first. Make sure–before you go–you have a centralized location for all the con paperwork. Next year we’ll be updating our stack to include email correspondence with the staff as well. We found out the hard way it’s not always a good idea to rely on in-house staffers to track communication–especially when there’s last minute changes.

Know Your Product

I can’t tell you how important it is to know what you’re selling. Sometimes it’s easy to come across like you don’t–especially when you’re nervous or encounter a difficult question. But if you can’t sum up what your project does, what it’s about, and what it costs? To your customer it’s going to look like you have no idea what you’re doing.
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GenCon 2008: Wrap-Up and Notes from the Booth

The past week has been a blur of faces, pitches and products flying past me so fast and furious that I’ve been trying to answer that mundane question: How was the show?

I’ve been trying to wrap my mind around the answer to that, because there was a lot going on. As a contributing author for four of the products at the Abstract Nova booth we were running, I was focused on the business side of things to make it a success. Was it? For a first year at GenCon, absolutely!
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Like the Dark? Meet me for a Dream Date in Indy and get Swag

I’m making a list and checking it twice — no, it’s not Christmas in July. As I mentioned before, we’re getting ready for GenCon Indy. Part of our packing efforts is to design two horrific packages for people who love the things that go bump in the night. One is a horror-themed silent auction package that includes everything you need for a dark and dreary evening; the other is a dream date.

Dream Date Auction – Flames Rising

Come to the ENnie awards at Gen Con and don’t sit with the plebes! Get a seat in the reserved seating for nominated publishers and hang out with the crew from Flames Rising.

This auction is for a “dream date” with Matt M McElroy and Monica Valentinelli for the 2008 ENnie Awards, Friday August 15th. Join them as they find out if FlamesRising.com wins an ENnie!

Also included in this auction is a Flames Rising t-shirt, coffee mug and poster. We also have a signed copy of the Tales of the Seven Dogs Society fiction collection from Abstract Nova, a horror music CD from Nox Arcana and a few other dark surprises…

This auction is for a sit-down event being held at Gen Con in Indianapolis on the night of Friday, August 15th. The prize must be claimed in person at Gen Con by coming to the ENnies booth in the dealer hall at Gen Con on Thursday or Friday during the dealer hall hours. If for any reason the winner of this auction cannot attend, they may choose to have a person substitute for them. If no approved substitute is sent, the dream date may be re-auctioned or re-sold at Gen Con.

Bid on the Dream Date Auction

If you’re more interested in something a little lighter or more magical, don’t forget to bid on your favorite publisher’s dream date. I hear that the White Wolf dream date is truly–a dream. Last year, we sat with the guys from Evil Hat Productions and their dream date; we all had a lot of fun!

Who I’ll be Hanging Out With at GenCon: Indy

This year at GenCon: Indianapolis 2008 I’ll be supporting publisher Abstract Nova Entertainment at Booth #2115. I’ve worked on several of the products we’ll be offering at the booth including Nuomenon, Exquisite Replicas, Aletheia and a novella featured in the Tales of the Seven Dogs Society.

As project manager for Flames Rising, I’ll be attending the Diana Jones Awards, the ENnie Awards, and hanging out with a lot of my friends including author and editor James Lowder. Here are some of the folk who will be there:

Game designer and novelist Ari Marmell who has done work for Wizards of the Coast and White Wolf will be there. The lovely freelancer and novelistJess Hartley will be speaking (potentially) on two panels and will be at the ENnie awards to see whether or not Changeling: the Dreaming has won any awards. Changeling, nominated for several awards, is a storytelling game of beautiful madness. Full-time artist, author and game designer Aaron Acevedo will be splitting his time between the Talisman Studios booth and the art show. Flames Rising is proud to feature Aaron’s work as part of a silent auction to fund the ENnie awards.

In addition to finding Matt Machell hanging around the Play Collective or Chad Underkoffler at the IPR booth, Industry Insider Guest of Honor Matt Forbeck will be signing autographs, presenting on panels, and having fun. I hope to meet Michael A. Stackpole this year and run into Jean Rabe once again.

GenCon typically has about 45,000 people in attendance; this year there will be events commemorating Gary Gygax, the release of 4E for Wizards of the Coast, and much more! If you’re going, please stop by the booth and say “Hello” or set up a time where we can chat. This is a whirlwind event that goes by very quickly and takes a lot of time and energy. If you’ve never had the chance to go, it’s definitely the experience of a lifetime.

This year I will not be speaking on panels due to time and scheduling constraints. I’m already working on next year’s presentation, but I hope to see you this year!

When Fan Awards Make a Difference: Diana Jones and ENnie Awards for Gaming

As most of you know, I’ve done a lot of writing and editing within the gaming industry. Like other industries, there are some industry-facing and/or fan awards that softly bolster the businesses that do their very best. There are two awards that are typically presented at GenCon Indy that not a lot of folk are aware of; one is The Diana Jones Award for Excellence in Gaming, and the other are the ENnie Awards.

Diana Jones Award

I had the pleasure of sponsoring this event through Flames Rising last year and was on hand to take pictures and throw in support.

Attracting international attendees, there are folk from Scotland, Ireland, Germany, France, the UK and as far away as Australia have come to Indianapolis for this convention opener. The Awards commemorate the “excellence in gaming” and while for many folk that might mean “excellence in design” — the Diana Jones awards has a different take on it.
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