ConQuest 46

Over Memorial Day weekend, May 22-24, I attended ConQuest 46 in Kansas City. It was my first time back since 2013, as a minor health issue kept me from going last year.

It was great seeing folks I hadn't seen in quite some time, and meeting some new people. I chose not to take part in any panels, as I wanted to sell books and talk to folks. As I had to edit the proof of an upcoming book, and as I was on a dealer room schedule, I didn't go to any late-night parties.

As to the selling books part, I sold 27 books at the con. That's 10 more than in 2013, which is a nice jump. That said, it seemed like there were twice as many attendees this year as in 2013. That means I was something like 7 books shy of doubling my numbers from two years ago. Not a huge number to be sure. Sometimes numbers mean something, and sometimes they don't.

Speaking of sales, a few more of those were ebooks. It's not as much of an advantage in sales, being able to sell ebooks at cons, as it was being able to take credit cards instead of just cash or checks. But it feels like it's opening up a few more opportunities for me. By the way, if you're an author, and you're interested in how to sell ebooks at events, check out this post.

I took something of the long way home on the way back from ConQuest. I drove US-69 from the KC metro area to Fort Scott, and ended up taking K-39 from Chanute to US-400 due to a construction detour. Quite a few of the rivers and creeks I drove over were high; we've had a lot of rain this month.  One good thing about all this rain: the trees and grass were really green, and that's always nice to see while on the road.

I have just under two weeks to rest, then I'm up to Emporia for their annual "Author Extravaganza." Hope to see you somewhere!