RomantiCon 2010 and Way Too Much Fun!

Okay, so from October 7-11 I was in Richfield, Ohio attending RomantiCon 2010. This is a small conference presented by Ellora's Cave (my publisher) for authors, readers, editors, reviewers, and aspiring authors.

The staff at the Days Inn and the EC staff do an absolutely amazing job of putting this thing on - I mean, it's not like we're the only ones in the hotel, there are other people staying here - but somehow they manage to keep a group of erotica writers, their fans, the super-hot Cavemen, and all the other hotel guests happy and supplied with (amazing!) food, beverages (both alcoholic & non), and good times.

The conference started on Thursday for most of us with a "Meet and Greet" and a sash contest - the whole sash thing came about during a discussion on the RomantiCon loop about how to recognize authors and what they write...some were elaborate, some were very last minute, but they all looked great!Hey, You're SUPPOSED to be looking at my sash! The handsome man standing to my right is one of the EC Cavemen - his name is Lorenzo and he was on the cover of one of my books (Sapphire Sizzle). Oh, by the way? Nara Malone won the sash contest - her prize? Next Year's Conference Fee!

Then Friday there were workshops for aspiring writers, workshops for readers, workshops for current writers, and more meeting-and-greeting! Friday night was the "costume event" - a Roaring 20's party with flappers, gangsters, molls, and more! There was some "play" money passed out and we were all playing slot machines for tickets to a raffle. There were some amazing prizes given out at this event, including a digital camera, a video camera, a Netbook computer, a B&N e-book reader, a Sony e-book reader and a Kindle!

Did I mention the EC Cavemen? LOL Yes, they were there in pin-striped suits, white suspenders, spats & their trademark fedoras. These are some of the nicest guys you'll ever meet (and they're not bad looking either - LOL). From left to right (in case you were interested...Kevin, Keaneau (brand new, his first EC experience outside of the photo studio), Lorenzo, Angelo, Brooks, Christian, Rodney and Jason (seated)).

Okay, so there WERE a lot of people there in costume and having fun, there were just as many not in costume but still having fun!

On Saturday there were more workshops, this time divided into reader focus groups, research, hands-on information, and so much more. Saturday night brought the 10th Anniversary Celebration featuring Ellora's Cave founder Jaid Black, the first Caveman, CJ Hollenbach and the first female cover model, Shannon Smith. Jaid was gracious and emotional over the giving nature of the EC authors and fans. She specifically mentioned some of the times that EC authors have "given back" to those in need and how proud she was to be a part of such a group. Jaid, CJ & Shannon all also autographed the Special Edition of The Empress' New Clothes, a re-release of the very first EC book for all attendees.

Of course, there was dancing and more fun at this party...

Yes, the Cavemen were dancing in those 4-inch heeled boots - what? You weren't looking at his boots? Well, what WERE you looking at??

Oh, did I mention the author awards? No? Well....Marilu Mann just happened to win a 2010 Superstar award for "Witches, Shifters, Demons & Doms, Oh My! Most versatile types of heroes"

So, Sunday brought more workshops, the crazy-hat and BINGO/pizza party and departures for most of us. I stayed an extra day to get a better flight and so I could recap this event for all of you. Now, other than seeing the pictures above, what do YOU get out of this? Well, a totebag of SWAG and other stuff, of course! I picked up some really amazing stuff that will go to one lucky person (or maybe more once I get home and see exactly what kind of loot I DID manage to get!). How do you win? Leave a comment here or at http://www.marilumann.blogspot.com/ (where there are MORE pictures and daily recaps of the events at RomantiCon) and someone will win a totebag full of SWAG!!

After all those years in Asia, I don't have to do promotion anymore. We just release a Jackie Chan movie and - Boom! - people go. ~ Jackie Chan

I do promotion when it is necessary, but I always want to get back to the music.~Enya

Oh how I wish I could be like Jackie Chan or Enya. To be able to release a book and – Boom! – people reading…it would be lovely. Sadly, that is rarely the case for most authors. You have to build your audience. You have to encourage them to read your words by promoting yourself. There are many ways to do this.

One thing published authors must take into consideration is promotional materials. I'm not talking about promo where you talk about your latest book. I mean the tangible stuff sometimes referred to as SWAG. That's a slang term for free promotional items. SWAG, aka Stuff We All Get, can be anything from bookmarks to t-shirts.

I've used pens, coffee cups, bookmarks and postcards in the past. Honestly, however, paper promo is not really SWAG per se because it is paper. Consider things like beach towels, lunch bags, jump drives, water bottles, stress balls and jar openers instead. You want something the reader will keep using so that they keep seeing your name. This is part of that old marketing adage sometimes called the Rule of Seven.

“The customer needs to see an advertisement seven times before it is effective.”

That generally means seven times but in as many different mediums as you can afford. So a book video, a bookmark, a good review—all of those are marketing in terms of being seen. If you can get something physical in the reader's hands, then you've upped the ante considerably!

Pens are one of the most common swag items. I personally like pens that work. I still have pens I got at RWA conferences three years ago.

One enterprising author put her name and book cover on water bottles. While this is a great idea, it's temporary. Raise your hand if you did NOT throw away the water bottle once it was empty.

That's what I thought. But sometimes, that's okay. I still remember that author's name (Kresley Cole for those who are curious - LOL) and even that the book cover had a ship on it so it must have worked, right?

One difficulty is finding the right source for your promotional items. I want the most bang for my buck just like everyone else. So I find 500 jar openers at one site for .50 each. What about this other site where I can get 650 jar openers for .35? Get your calculators out, darlings. This is where that high school math comes in handy. 500 jar openers at $.50 each is a grand total of $250.00 whereas 650 for $.35 is $227.00. Houston, we have a winner!

But do we, really?

Let's say the second site has an art set up charge of $90 plus shipping and handling BUT the first one is only $40 and if you order by Friday you get free shipping. Well that just bounced the 650 up to $317.00 which brought them up to $.48 a piece. So they are still cheaper than the first site per item but it may be a win for your pocketbook to stick to the $250.00. Or you can team up with another author and cut your cost even more!

For the Romantic Times Booklovers Conference in 2009, I joined forces with Ashlyn Chase to purchase 1000 coffee mugs.

By splitting all the production and shipping costs we were able to get a nicer swag item. It was popular for sure!

Other authors have also combined their money to come up with bigger items for that conference. C.T. Adams & Cathy Clamp offered the cutest lunch bags that were handed out at the 2009 RT Awards that were just stuffed with books. I use mine on a daily basis - good advertising for them, right?

Some good sites to look for promotional items are:

1. http://www.4imprint.com/
2. http://www.motivators.com/
3. http://www.gopromos.com/

You can also ask your fellow authors who they use. Pay attention if they tell you that the customer service was not good. Bad customer service is never worth the money you save.

For my publisher's convention, RomantiCon 2010 this October in Ohio, I will be offering mini bottles of Tabasco with my name, website and tagline.



Here is the actual size.



My plan is to put these out with my business cards and some postcards featuring my latest book, Needing Harte, with the tagline "Add a little Spice to your Life." This story is my first novella-length M/M set in a BDSM world and will release on October 6. You can find that here.

Needing Harte

Harte Donovan has a problem. A murder leads him to wanting a sexy stripper bound and naked in front of him. He can’t let his secret desires ruin his career as a detective. When he’s given a mysterious business card, Harte discovers a side of himself he intends to fully embrace.

Ramey Nichols strips for a living and he’s not willing to pretend to be something he’s not. When this sexy submissive meets the closeted cop and unwitting Dom, something has got to give. That something might just be Ramey. Ramey knows what he wants, and more than that, finds himself Needing Harte.

This is part of a brand-new series called 1-800-DOM-help

So what kind of swag do you like to get? Do you still have anything from conventions past? If you have a great promo place, please share it with us.