The awesomeness of Star Trek Conventions!

Sorry for the disappearing act all of June. I just returned from another trip; this time, to a Star Trek convention in Vancouver, BC, Canada.

People often ask me what these conventions are like, so there's a run down. Maybe one day, I'll have a science fiction novel that I can sell in the vendors room!

*The level of celebrity at these events can vary widely. Creation Entertainment is one of the big names and they bring out as many big names as they can. To give you an idea, this convention had a lot of the secondary cast of Deep Space 9, plus Bill Shatner and Leonard Nemoy. The Las Vegas one sometimes has the entire original cast! Patrick Stewart is attending the Las Vegas 2010 convention.

Counter that with a local SFF convention where they bring in writers, like Tanya Huff or Terry Brooks. A different kind of celebrity but still awesome.

*Yes, people dress up. In fact, the costumes are often part of the fun. I didn't dress up this year (I often go as a trill). Costumes get you more likely to end up on TV, on the radio, and in newspapers. Actors are more likely to notice you. And, hell, it's just plain fun.

*It isn't free. Here is something that people forget. These actors are working when they come to conventions. The conventions pay them to come. It makes sense, when you think about it. They are expected to speak on-stage, do photo ops, and give signatures. I've seen actors, at the end of 4 hour long signing sessions, wearing two wrists braces and unable to lift their pen off the photo without help. Photo Ops last about 15 seconds, where your photo is professionally taken with the actor. Also, that means that the actor is having a camera flashed at them every 15 seconds for 1-2 hours straight.

If it were me, I'd charge a lot more than these guys do.

*Yes, there are occasionally some scary fans and there are sometimes some rude actors. However, that tiny percentage is nothing next to the huge crowd of friendly, wonderful fans and the actors who chat with you when they bump into you in the corridor or who are playing with action figures of themselves in the vendor room.

*As awesome as the conventions are, they are even better when you make a sale while you're there! My short science fiction story, Flying Kite, Crashing Ship, sold to MuseItUp Publishing last weekend while I was enjoying the high-priced auction of a Kirk/Spock wall sized banner complete with in-person autographs! I lost the banner bidding (my credit card is very happy about that), but I won a new contract!

All in all, a great time for all!