Reflections: MEBC

Greetings all! It’s been a while… or at least it feels that way. Honestly, a lot has happened in a short amount of time and now I finally have a breather to tell you about it.

Attending Monsterotica Book Con was a delulu author goal of mine, and this year that dream came true in the best way imaginable. It came with a lot of obstacles, but I met each one and overcame them all, learning and growing and feeling so supported by this amazing, monster-loving community.

It started with the longest solo road trip of my life—from the high plains of Kansas to Baltimore. It took me three days to do the trip out, and I had to stay in a hotel by myself for the first time since I’ve been married. That was hard and scary. But literally every person I met on my journey there was kind, foreshadowing the good vibes of the convention. This was the furthest east I’ve been in my life and I got to see some beautiful landscapes. It was incredible. I loved every second of the total 23-ish hour drive.

When I arrived I could tell the volunteers were just as excited as the rest of us, eager to get the tables set up and willing to help at the drop of the hat. Honestly, the volunteers were outright amazing the whole time, and so helpful when I got turned around while looking at the convention map.

I unloaded and set up my table easily, just like I’d practiced—except I had help from a very kind narrator named Lindsey, who held a pole for me. (Thanks again, Lindsey!) I shared my table with another author, Skyla Gray, and she was a pure delight to be around.

The anxiety nearly did me in that first night, waiting to make sales and talk to people at my first ever big event. But I sold a book that night and jump-started my confidence in talking about my books to strangers.

The first day at the convention is a blur in my mind—all hand shakes and high fives and signing things. I met so many people and posed for so many pictures. I had an incredible time! And I was exhausted after the first signing. Though I planned to attend the panels, I wound up going back to my room to rest and refuel between signings because I just felt so tired.

After the second signing, I had made more in book sales in that single day than I had done for all previous years combined. I was floored. I was in complete shock about it. I cried, overwhelmed with joy and gratitude and just the sheer enormity of it all.

I learned a thing that first day: everyone has a shark story. Whether it is the reason they are afraid of sharks, how they love shark movies, their first tattoo being a shark, or a memorial to a family member that loved sharks, almost every single person that bought one of my books had a shark story to tell. And I loved hearing them. This was one really unexpected aspect of publishing and doing events I never could have anticipated and which I love very much.

The second day I was perhaps busier than the first, though I made fewer sales. I was signing a lot of anthologies and souvenirs, which was super fun. One lovely attendee had me sign a pillow shaped like a plant penis, which was delightfully strange and beautiful.

When I met members of my street team in person for the first time, my eyes immediately watered. I couldn’t even stop it. It was such an honor to meet the folks who have been talking up my work for the last few months, I can’t even express it.

Both days, I had a dedicated swag bag. Not only did the con hand out swag to the vendors, but everyone seemed to have a trade of some kind. I handed out so many shark necklaces and shark lollipops, and in return—sometimes for nothing at all—I was gifted some amazing trinkets and stickers. I have 3D printed sharks. I have a miniature of one of my books, specially made by a bookstagrammer. I was given a custom embroidered patch of the Requiem House crest by my street team. Other others gave me sharks galore. I was overwhelmed by the giving nature of the vendors, authors, attendees and volunteers.

And that ultimately is my biggest take away: the entire crowd was there to have a good time, but more importantly make sure everyone else was successfully and safely having a good time too. Not a single incident of rudeness reached my virtual or real ears. Not a single moment of bad behavior was brought to my attention. When I had a line at my table, everyone was patient and kindly waited so I could give my full attention to each person in line… It was incredible. It healed something in me, to be in that space with so many people working toward the same goal, with the same value for consent.

What is more, it validated me just by being there. I am a real person, with real books, with real readers. I didn’t know how much I had been pretending it wasn’t real until it was undeniably my reality.

Now, what all this says to me is that the event runner, Cassie of Unfortunate Reads, really knows how to run an event. There were clear expectations, and that everyone followed them? Authors, attendees, staff, and vendors alike? That is an incredible feat. Even the hotel staff, who I chatted with after the event was over, said they traded their off days to work the convention because they just loved the vibe. That really speaks to the integrity and kindness of the organizer, as much as it does of the volunteers, staff, attendees and authors.

Looking back, there are very few things I’d do differently. I’d account for fees from my credit card processing people (whoops, that 3% hit me harder than I anticipated) and I would have my art listed as a separate item on my price list. Everything else… was perfect.

I left home with 89 books and came home with 46. I left home a 3-figure author, and came home a 4-figure author. I left home unsure of if I had a place in the author community and came home feeling healed and loved and supported. Truly I cannot express how much I feel about this experience.

My sincerest gratitude to the volunteers, staff, event hosts, attendees, vendors, and hotel personnel that made this incredible weekend possible. Thank you!

Thanks for reading, and for your continued support!

~R