Please Help a Con Virgin!

[C. A. Mitchell]

Folks, I want to venture into the world of conventions next year. Fear and money have been my previous blockers, but I'm working around both!

So, can anyone recommend a good con for scared newbies? I'm based in Edinburgh, with access to limited funds and the rail network I want to meet like-minded people (aspiring fantasy authors) in a pub with good ale. Anything else is a bonus.

Any suggestions would be most welcome.

 

[Jo Zebedee]

I'm not well versed in what's coming up next year but am very well versed in the nerves aspect.

I found it helped to go with some online friends. The first night, on my own, wasn't great, but when I met up with everyone else it was much easier. Next time, I'd stay much closer to the con to have a place to escape and have a cuppa in and also so I could have stayed later and come and gone more easily. So even if you can't afford the con hotel see what's close?

Good luck!

 

[Highlander II]

Definitely either find someone to go with or someone to specifically meet up with.

If you can swing it - staying in the con hotel makes a LOT of things easier. If not, the closer you can be to the con hotel/venue, the better.

If you're worried about being overwhelmed by people or 'what to do', choose a small/smaller con for your first time out to get a feel for it.

Good luck! =)

 

[Susan Boulton]

This site lists most UK Cons big and small. It might be of help.

http://www.lotna.org.uk/cons.htm

Your first Con is a bit daunting, but people are friendly and make you feel welcome.

 

[C. A. Mitchell]

Thanks guys I'll have a look at the list and find a small, not-so-scary one!

 

[alchemist]

Also, the odd thread will pop up here about certain cons. You'll find some like-minded Chrons at these.

 

[Roy1]

Not sure of your location but if there is local con you can try that and volunteer as a helper/gofer.
If you go to Eastercon you can help on the TTA Press stand in dealers room occasionally if you fancy it. Always a good way to meet lots of people.

 

[Prescott Fry]

I might have to move to UK cuz it seems like you all have tons of stuff going on while us Americans arnt reading anything but pulp fiction

 

[Teresa Edgerton]

Regarding hotels: If you don't have nearby friends to stay with, a room in the con hotel might actually be the cheapest way to go, since they frequently give considerable discounts if you make a reservation early and mention that you are going to the convention. The usual rates at that hotel may be too pricey for you, but during the convention it may be cheaper there than in surrounding hotels that would ordinarily be less expensive.

However, the con hotel typically allots a set number of rooms for the convention discount. Those who register late or don't mention the convention pay the full rate. So if you decide to go to any specific convention, do your homework well in advance and find out. It's the kind of thing that could make a convention you thought you could never afford turn out to be just within your means.

____

Prescott, there are SFF conventions all over the US, most of them covering a wide variety of reading interests. If you live on the east or the west coast there will probably be several this year -- some large, some small -- within a few hundred miles of where you live. If you live elsewhere in the country, it will may be much harder to find something close. It's a matter of looking to see what is available, and don't be content looking at just one list of conventions, because none of them will list everything.

 

[Prescott Fry]

thanks, I'll have to do a google search

Regarding hotels: If you don't have nearby friends to stay with, a room in the con hotel might actually be the cheapest way to go, since they frequently give considerable discounts if you make a reservation early and mention that you are going to the convention. The usual rates at that hotel may be too pricey for you, but during the convention it may be cheaper there than in surrounding hotels that would ordinarily be less expensive.

However, the con hotel typically allots a set number of rooms for the convention discount. Those who register late or don't mention the convention pay the full rate. So if you decide to go to any specific convention, do your homework well in advance and find out. It's the kind of thing that could make a convention you thought you could never afford turn out to be just within your means.

____

Prescott, there are SFF conventions all over the US, most of them covering a wide variety of reading interests. If you live on the east or the west coast there will probably be several this year -- some large, some small -- within a few hundred miles of where you live. If you live elsewhere in the country, it will may be much harder to find something close. It's a matter of looking to see what is available, and don't be content looking at just one list of conventions, because none of them will list everything.

nks

 

[Prescott Fry]

I'm on the east coast so I shouldn't have too much trouble finding some

 

[Teresa Edgerton]

Your profile says you are in Maryland (I should have looked at that before), which I think puts you in a good location for convention-going. I seem to remember hearing that Baltimore hosted some great conventions in the past, but I have no idea what it is like now.

 

[Prescott Fry]

Yup, I went down to the Baltimore Book festival and I was blown away by the the sheer amount of people in attendance and also the diversity of genre selection. One tent had a girl speaking about her book and somebody in the crowd kept asking question pertaining to her past with her experiences in sexual trade. I watched, very steadily, as throngs of people surrounded the questionnaire until the entire tent was filled shoulder to shoulder. Fascinsting

 

[Prescott Fry]

But the women at the podium got very angry because the the same person in the crowd kept asking the same question over and over and she wanted to carry the conversation somewhere else. Crazy stuff lol

 

[Deep Space Nina]

Definitely either find someone to go with or someone to specifically meet up with.

If you can swing it - staying in the con hotel makes a LOT of things easier. If not, the closer you can be to the con hotel/venue, the better.

If you're worried about being overwhelmed by people or 'what to do', choose a small/smaller con for your first time out to get a feel for it.

Good luck! =)

Being at the con hotel (or in walking distance) makes it indeed much easier. If you get to know anyone, you don´t have to finish early as you have to catch the last tube or whatever to your distant hotel.
In case you choose a convention with just lets say, 200 guests: If you are all alone, this is an easy way to get in touch with others. And: At such small events, you can e-mail an organizer in advance telling him/her about your situation. Everyone wants new people in their boat, but of course, if you have thousands of guests, you cannot keep up with everybody for a long time. Once I did this at a Czech con of about that size (I am Austrian, and I don´t speak the Czech language) and asked some questions about the con (I was not new to cons, but a national con a foreign country where you do not speak the language is different, so basically you are as self-concious as a con-virgin). They were not annoyed at all, but even invited me to their meeting a day before the con where usually just gophers go. And at the con, they introduced a lot of people to me.

 

[johnnyjet]

Prescott (and any other East Coast USA folks),

Have you heard about the Confluence SF/F/H Convention in Pittsburgh, PA? It's not a large convention, but it's a lot of fun.

http://www.confluence-sff.org/

Lots of other conventions around the East Coast as well. Here's some links to lots of conventions: http://www.confluence-sff.org/links.html

 

[Denise Tanaka]

Folks, I want to venture into the world of conventions next year. Fear and money have been my previous blockers, but I'm working around both!

So, can anyone recommend a good con for scared newbies? I'm based in Edinburgh, with access to limited funds and the rail network I want to meet like-minded people (aspiring fantasy authors) in a pub with good ale. Anything else is a bonus.

Any suggestions would be most welcome.

Hi, I am just now stumbling onto this thread. Did you go to a Con yet? If not, there is an event called Confluence in Pittsburgh in July. I think Pittsburgh is not too far away from Baltimore?? (I am in California, so I don't know for sure.) A Facebook friend of mine - Larry Ivkovich - is going to be at that one. He writes dragon books with a steampunk theme, where people in zeppelins are hunting dragons.

I find it's helpful to go to Cons either with friends or with a purpose such as signing up for their writer's workshop (if any.) It is also perfectly OK to attend and simply stroll the halls taking in the sights.