Hi folks!
I was supposed to write a blog post for the month of September, but truly it was the most insane month I had. Small Press Expo, COVID, Boise Comic Arts Festival, Cancer?! I’ll break down what has been happening behind the scenes lately, and hopefully it’ll be interesting to hear!
SPX
What a wonderful show. I usually have immense anxiety right before and during the show, but everything went so smoothly this time. I organized a room with my close friends, Madeline McGrane and Harry Bogosian and set up went quickly the morning of the show.
Overall, the show went really well for me! I love to be transparent about my numbers, but if you don’t like reading that, no problem. Just skip this to the other sections.
I made about $2,000 in card sales and a few in cash. I usually keep my overhead costs low by sharing rooms or going with Airbnb, and taking red-eye flights… I have no idea what other folks see as a “successful” convention, but if I can break even, that’s what I usually strive for. My profits usually end up being 1-2 thousand more than what I’ve spent, both in merchandise, room, and travel. I also know that my product tends to be sold on the lower end, so I need higher sale transactions in order to meet my break. Many folks tell me to raise my prices, but I spend a lot of my efforts providing my art to folks who may have a few bucks to throw my way after they’re done spending on bigger names! I am still a little guy who has no real vision of a brand or what I want from my work. So, to people who appreciate my work… they really mean a lot to me.
I had a good time, and my sales were good for two days! Smaller products moved the most. Bookmarks, washi, stickers, and sticky notes moved reliably. My friend, Harry, brought his two giant tomes and sold them with a tote bag at $50, and he sold out completely! While I heard some of my favorite peers didn’t move as much as they wanted. It was a very mixed bag it seems, but I recommend thinking about smaller products if you’re thinking of attending shows.
I spent time isolating before and after SPX to make sure everyone I loved and cared for was safe from the risk of my choice of going to a big convention. I also wore my FLOMASK during the convention hours, and a KN95 during dinners and speaking to people outside during the after parties. I was so shocked to see so many people without their masks literally outside the show. We aren’t just masking to protect ourselves from attendees, everyone is supposed to mask so we protect one another. Fortunately, I only noticed a few people get COVID from the show afterward because of the masking protocols. I only hung out with a handful of people, and some of them wore their masks, too, during off hours. I was very grateful for not being the only one.
Book Tour
Funnily enough, my book tour for ENLIGHTEN ME didn’t happen! My writer, Minh, had to do it all by himself! My partner contracted COVID from his job, and we weren’t sure if I was infected as well. To be extra careful and to be conscious of all the schools we would go meet, the Little Brown team and I agreed that I should cancel and stay home. I ended up not contracting COVID, thankfully and spent my energy taking care of my partner (from afar) and cheering on Minh (also from afar).
My first book was released during the pandemic, and Scholastic never really helped me organize any book tour or events as things became a tad safer. This would be my FIRST book tour, and that didn’t happen. It’s a big bummer, and I think it’s been affecting me more than usual. There are many things that I feel like I “missed out” on simply because of circumstances or because I’ve been forgotten. It’s been rough!
However, I went to the Tweens Read Book Festival in Houston, Texas, in October, and it was a delight. There’s so much that I could talk about, but I highly recommend going if you ever get invited. Blue Willow Bookshop, the host and programmer of the festival, is amazing and at the forefront of fighting censorship in Texas. I wish them the best, because they’re really really cool and so good.
Boise Comic Arts Festival
THE BEST. I can’t explain to people how this is one of the best festivals for folks who are invited. It is run by the Boise Library and funded by the government. They’re very anti-book banning and provide so much support to their local teachers and librarians. Because the government fully funds them, they pay every guest for the full flight, board, and meals! I feel like a king every time I go, and it’s the most relaxed I see guests ever!!! Sales are never an issue because it’s all profit! Everyone there is so so nice! Anything chaotic that happens, well that’s excused by how chill we all are! I make my time for this show any time I’m invited.
BOOK ANNOUNCEMENT
I’m going to be working on a book with Hans Lindahl called “I'M GOING THROUGH SOMETHING” which is about a character who is intersex and the experience of growing up learning about it. This script landed in my inbox and I could not put down my phone until I was done. It’ll be something extremely special.
Molly advocated for my need for a 2+ year timeline AND helped me get my partner to be my assistant. It’s a bit of a secret due to the complications of book publishing, but he has been helping me with my graphic novels for the past several years. I could not have completed them in the timeline they gave me without his help, and it’s about time he gets paid and credited. I hope that my negotiations will help other artists advocate for themselves, too, because Scholastic and publishers DO have the ability to hire more help and push their schedules out.
Phew! That was a long post… with not much art to show for it! YIKES! Next time!!!
For now, I’m looking for a part-time job to help with supplementary income while I house hunt.
Wishing y’all the best!