Fall is approaching, which is my favorite time of year. I refuse to allow the current bumbling administration or my steel-jaw trap of a day job to shit on the marginally elevated mood which will soon be upon me. A frigid nip will be infused in the air, the best holiday ever invented (Halloween) is just around the corner, and con season is in full swing! Conventions and conferences can be phenomenal opportunities to network and possibly meet some influential individuals who may (or most likely may not) give more than a passing glance to your Star Trek fan fiction or experimental poetry memoir. Said gatherings can also be intimidating and harrowing affairs, but you can count on Bread Crumbs from the Void to delve into the moist crevices on your behalf.
I have covered the finer points of networking in a previous installment, so if you wish to edify yourself in the secret art of the schmooze visit: http://five2onemagazine.com/2017-2/
This time around I’m offering a few easy and greasy tips for the pseudo-agoraphobic, first-time con-goer. The information presented is intended to apply to both comic conventions and writer’s conferences. I’m simply going to assume that, like myself, you abhor crowds. I surmise that congregations of more than a few individuals — specifically those with whom you are not acquainted — elicits profuse perspiration and a two-by-four to lodge itself in your esophagus. The mere idea of being surrounded by throngs of germ-infested, self-obsessed attendees all vying for the attention of a diminutive group of editors and/or publishers sends a shiver up your taint.
If this all registers as far too relatable, I am absolutely addressing you. In the event you are an exception to the rule as a well-adjusted creator, I would still invite you to gather around the digital campfire as I share my suggestions for navigating a convention or conference.
Again, the recommendations listed above are that of the most basic variety concerning the traversing of trade shows for artists and writers. There is an encyclopedic wealth of information to be accessed by attending such assemblies. To find and immerse yourself in one such convergence in your area merely requires an infinitesimal amount of research and the willingness to remove your doughnut weighted ass form the recliner. Good luck with the fucking circus.
As always, if you would like to hear me elaborate a bit more on my own process, you can find links to a couple of interviews conducted recently with me on my website at: https://alexschumacherart.com/about/. Drop me a line from the contact page if you have any other questions, complaints, insults, or declarations of lust.
Bread Crumbs from the Void will return in two weeks with another thrilling edition of hard-nosed reality for you big-talkers and wannabes. Until next time, keep scribbling you freaks.
Stalk Alex online:
@AJschumacherart
alexschumacherwriter@gmail.com