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Let's talk frankly about the FWA Den
3 years ago
General
I wanted to clear up any misconceptions y'all might have had about the announcement I made a few days ago. So let's get into it.
Here is what actually happened with the FWA Selection Process for the Den this year. I have this directly from a staffer, and since everyone is assuming the worst here, I think I really need to clear things up. These things should be transparent anyway, imho. Also a lot of folks are getting needlessly angry, which is not something I wanted. So, I'd like to do something about that.
I applied for a larger space than your average artist's table for FWA this year, because we started creating new, exciting stuff that has now been a mainstay for us at events for the last two years. Namely, RPG stuff. Playmats, hand-made dice, etc. I also have an expanding portfolio of comics, novels and artbooks, so we're a book vendor as well. Anyone who's seen my table at events can attest- we have a lot of different wares on offer, and given that our dice sell out at nearly every con we go to now, and our books are our biggest seller, I don't consider this new merchandise to be something we can strip away. I'm still an artist table - literally everything we carry was made by me, even the dice. But we need more than a 4 ft by 8 ft space these days.
This category was- unknown to me when I applied- EXTREMELY limited, due to issues with laying out the den space this year. Something involving electric, I think (we don't require electric but I'd imagine mapping it out affects how they divy up their space). As in, they had TWO spots available, and six of us applied. And apparently we all tied? Something like that. So, at this point, I have to imagine (because on this I'm unclear) the choosing was reduced to a lottery, to keep things fair. Again, can't verify that, but what else are you going to do when multiple vendors in a category somehow tied in your voting process?
I don't win lotteries XP Ask anyone who's played D&D with me. I have the worst luck on the planet. And this, THIS, not a disinterest in my content, or my age as a vendor, or any metric of 'goodness', is why I was rejected. I have had this - REPEATEDLY - reinforced to me by the staff, and despite my worst tendencies of self-loathing, at this point I believe them. I also wanted to say they have absolutely zero reason to be this communicative or open with me regarding this process, and they've been incredibly polite and kind the whole way. I feel awful about the folks insulting or harassing them, and if you're one of them, PLEASE STOP.
This next part I'm going to lead with: I love this con. It's the first convention that's ever asked me to be a GOH, it was an incredible GOH experience, I released the first Red Lantern that year, and it's my home con. I love Atlanta and this is always the chillest event we do. The staff are great, (again please don't bother them). The idea of dropping it absolutely breaks my heart. But. BUT. I do have what I hope is some understandable frustration with this situation. First off I need to admit I have personal baggage here: we bought our first home this year, and this is the worst possible year for us to lose a staple con in our yearly income, a con which for a decade now was a reliable 'in' for us. So, some of this is coming from a place of hurt. But I also think it's right to be honest, especially with an event where the staff have repeatedly asked me to give them feedback every year.
I am absolutely willing to give the overworked staffers doing their best here some time to figure out the space in the Den. They have urged me to stay on the waitlist. I am doing so. We'll see what happens.
But as a vendor. To anyone who is listening. If there is a voting system in place in which multiple vendors in a category, especially a small category, can tie... that is essentially a lottery. And I stopped applying to conventions who ran their den that way long ago. You either get into a den on your own merits or you don't. You're either judged or you're randomly chosen. There just isn't an in-between. We have to plan out our years financially far in advance, as vendors. Yes, more than six months in advance. Because other applications have to be made, if our chances at our mainstay cons are randomized. And no, I don't think applying to a ton of conventions I don't plan to go to, as 'safety cons', is a good choice. That is flooding their staff with pointless applications, and wasting their time and mine. I rely on my merits, my skill and my experience in my field, as well as my portfolio, perhaps more than I should... but apparently this wasn't even due to a lack of merit. That makes our financial future EXTREMELY hard to plan for, ironically more so than if we just 'weren't good enough' with our application this year, because it is not something I can fix or improve. And what's on the line here is life stuff. Big, big stuff. Not just a little extra cash one month. If a convention becomes unreliable in a way we cannot personally improve our chances at, it drops out of the rotation : ( I can't roll the dice on whether I can pay my mortgage in the spring. I just can't. And I'd imagine many of the other vendors who may have lost out for a similar reason, would feel the same if they knew.
Trying to find the silver lining here is hard. We'll have more time to focus on the garden and livestock this spring, so that's something. But for anyone who thinks we artists can just do an online sale, even when those go well... it's like 1/4 what we might make at a con. There's no making up for the loss of one of these. There just isn't.
If FWA becomes a no-go for me going forward, that hurts... but I keep trying to tell myself, at least someone else will occupy my space there. Maybe someone at the beginning of their career, who never had a shot before. I am trying to focus on that, and it's helping. It is hard, because this is literally about survival for us, but I of course understand others are in that position, too. I hope our absence there is a boon to someone else, genuinely. I'm really sorry to any folks who were hoping to see me there this year, purchase something from me, talk about or get a book signed, etc. Like I said, the staff has urged me to stay on the waitlist and for now, I'm doing so. But I'm not hopeful.
That was a lot. But I felt I had a duty to dispel any of the weird rumors surrounding this, and make my honest opinions on the situation known. I hope I did okay.
Here is what actually happened with the FWA Selection Process for the Den this year. I have this directly from a staffer, and since everyone is assuming the worst here, I think I really need to clear things up. These things should be transparent anyway, imho. Also a lot of folks are getting needlessly angry, which is not something I wanted. So, I'd like to do something about that.
I applied for a larger space than your average artist's table for FWA this year, because we started creating new, exciting stuff that has now been a mainstay for us at events for the last two years. Namely, RPG stuff. Playmats, hand-made dice, etc. I also have an expanding portfolio of comics, novels and artbooks, so we're a book vendor as well. Anyone who's seen my table at events can attest- we have a lot of different wares on offer, and given that our dice sell out at nearly every con we go to now, and our books are our biggest seller, I don't consider this new merchandise to be something we can strip away. I'm still an artist table - literally everything we carry was made by me, even the dice. But we need more than a 4 ft by 8 ft space these days.
This category was- unknown to me when I applied- EXTREMELY limited, due to issues with laying out the den space this year. Something involving electric, I think (we don't require electric but I'd imagine mapping it out affects how they divy up their space). As in, they had TWO spots available, and six of us applied. And apparently we all tied? Something like that. So, at this point, I have to imagine (because on this I'm unclear) the choosing was reduced to a lottery, to keep things fair. Again, can't verify that, but what else are you going to do when multiple vendors in a category somehow tied in your voting process?
I don't win lotteries XP Ask anyone who's played D&D with me. I have the worst luck on the planet. And this, THIS, not a disinterest in my content, or my age as a vendor, or any metric of 'goodness', is why I was rejected. I have had this - REPEATEDLY - reinforced to me by the staff, and despite my worst tendencies of self-loathing, at this point I believe them. I also wanted to say they have absolutely zero reason to be this communicative or open with me regarding this process, and they've been incredibly polite and kind the whole way. I feel awful about the folks insulting or harassing them, and if you're one of them, PLEASE STOP.
This next part I'm going to lead with: I love this con. It's the first convention that's ever asked me to be a GOH, it was an incredible GOH experience, I released the first Red Lantern that year, and it's my home con. I love Atlanta and this is always the chillest event we do. The staff are great, (again please don't bother them). The idea of dropping it absolutely breaks my heart. But. BUT. I do have what I hope is some understandable frustration with this situation. First off I need to admit I have personal baggage here: we bought our first home this year, and this is the worst possible year for us to lose a staple con in our yearly income, a con which for a decade now was a reliable 'in' for us. So, some of this is coming from a place of hurt. But I also think it's right to be honest, especially with an event where the staff have repeatedly asked me to give them feedback every year.
I am absolutely willing to give the overworked staffers doing their best here some time to figure out the space in the Den. They have urged me to stay on the waitlist. I am doing so. We'll see what happens.
But as a vendor. To anyone who is listening. If there is a voting system in place in which multiple vendors in a category, especially a small category, can tie... that is essentially a lottery. And I stopped applying to conventions who ran their den that way long ago. You either get into a den on your own merits or you don't. You're either judged or you're randomly chosen. There just isn't an in-between. We have to plan out our years financially far in advance, as vendors. Yes, more than six months in advance. Because other applications have to be made, if our chances at our mainstay cons are randomized. And no, I don't think applying to a ton of conventions I don't plan to go to, as 'safety cons', is a good choice. That is flooding their staff with pointless applications, and wasting their time and mine. I rely on my merits, my skill and my experience in my field, as well as my portfolio, perhaps more than I should... but apparently this wasn't even due to a lack of merit. That makes our financial future EXTREMELY hard to plan for, ironically more so than if we just 'weren't good enough' with our application this year, because it is not something I can fix or improve. And what's on the line here is life stuff. Big, big stuff. Not just a little extra cash one month. If a convention becomes unreliable in a way we cannot personally improve our chances at, it drops out of the rotation : ( I can't roll the dice on whether I can pay my mortgage in the spring. I just can't. And I'd imagine many of the other vendors who may have lost out for a similar reason, would feel the same if they knew.
Trying to find the silver lining here is hard. We'll have more time to focus on the garden and livestock this spring, so that's something. But for anyone who thinks we artists can just do an online sale, even when those go well... it's like 1/4 what we might make at a con. There's no making up for the loss of one of these. There just isn't.
If FWA becomes a no-go for me going forward, that hurts... but I keep trying to tell myself, at least someone else will occupy my space there. Maybe someone at the beginning of their career, who never had a shot before. I am trying to focus on that, and it's helping. It is hard, because this is literally about survival for us, but I of course understand others are in that position, too. I hope our absence there is a boon to someone else, genuinely. I'm really sorry to any folks who were hoping to see me there this year, purchase something from me, talk about or get a book signed, etc. Like I said, the staff has urged me to stay on the waitlist and for now, I'm doing so. But I'm not hopeful.
That was a lot. But I felt I had a duty to dispel any of the weird rumors surrounding this, and make my honest opinions on the situation known. I hope I did okay.
That is if renting out two 'normal' slots isn't possible.
My followers know how frustrated I've gotten with being unable to get a dealers den table (basically just doing AA thus far, save for one con). And I really appreciate you discussing the inner workings of what happened on your end.
I was instinctively quick to jump to conclusions, and lost a lot of hope I'd ever get in the DD there. This post really helps put things in perspective.
I'm really sorry about the timing y'all are going through. I hope it works out in future years. It was great seeing your booth at MFF this year, and I look forward to running by y'all's table again in upcoming cons.
Maybe another dealer will withdraw, or if you know some of the others maybe share some table space.
If you are going use pre orders and sort of run the store from your room :)
Just some suggestions *Hugs*
Perhaps this question has already been answered, but--can you book two spaces? One for your artwork, one for your peripherals? It may be a bit more of an expense, they don't need to be side by side--in fact it might be better if they weren't, you'd get more exposure--and you'd need a second to man the other booth, but you'd be in.
And thank you for taking the time to discover the facts and relate them, Rukis. There's no fighting the Fickle Finger of Fate.
It's probably too late for this year, but you might want to keep it in mind for next year. Before you quit going to this con altogether, I mean.
I hope that sticking it out in their waitlist turns out to work in your favor, though. Here's hoping they're able to figure something out to fit you in! And the others they had to turn down for the same reason, too. Good luck!
Some cons, particularly smaller/newer cons may go through the process and still have open slots. But if you're still overloaded with artists at that point, you make offers to some, and waitlist others, and that doesn't necessarily need to be merit based, because at that point you have a pile of artists that you would love to have any of dealing at your con. Doesn't make sense to insist that artists need to be forced into direct competition for those slots, if they're all already awesome.
Just that it doesn't surprise me that cons choose to do so.
In the interests of your own health, happiness, and financial stability I wish you all the best and hope things work out amiably for you.
I don’t know any of the staff and I’m certainly not at all “popular.” I haven’t been to FWA (also my first/home/local con) since 2018. And I was rejected last year for the first time ever. I was so sure I wouldn’t be accepted for 2023 and was legit shocked when I found out. I’ve been hesitant to even say anything about it only because I don’t want to kick the hornet’s nest any harder, given how I don’t meet the criteria for said assumptions that are circulating.
I’m very grateful they’re giving me a chance next year, as I’m trying to kinda “start over” in the fandom and build up my own solo brand after originally running a studio with someone the last decade or so. I do agree with all the reasons you listed that there definitely needs to be a healthy balance of new and experienced talent (I refuse to say “old,” damnit lol).
I truly do hope they’re able to work something out for you, though, and appreciate you sharing additional insight and perspective with us! Very helpful to read and think about for me personally.
I don't want to run a con because there are too many places where you have to say no to someone even though it hurts the con. I have no idea what they were dealing with in terms of space. Only having two booth spaces to fill seems like it had to have been a bad choice. But I have enough respect for people who run conventions that I have to acknowledge that I don't know how bad the other choices they had were. They might not have had a less bad one.
Thanks again for giving me more information and making me think more about things I take for granted. I get it, at least a little, what it takes to make the wonderful content in all those books, but I don't think I respected what goes into the business side enough.
Its a small offer but if school in spring proves not to bad, I'd love to visit and help out at the farm. Owning a new home comes with so many struggles and I know sometimes its just more hands on deck are needed and I come with at least two sets (long as yall are cool with bringing my partner, I know hed love to see you again too hah)