Guest Supanova Brisbane 2017

Well, its official, James and I are guests at this year’s Supanova Brisbane. So how does one feel about this recent accolade? Surprise… Pride… Excitement… Fear… I’d say all of the above. For a fantasy/syfy author, attending any of the Supanova events, it is a great chance to promote your novels, meet your audience, and of course network with your peers. There is also a certain amount of apprehension when it comes to sales of your books, because at the end of the day, sales equates to profit. I know as an indie author, it should be about the enjoyment and satisfaction of having others read your stories, but you would at least like to know that the costs of the table, transport, accommodation, insurance, food, etc, etc, will be covered by book sales. So when the organizers of this year’s Supanova extended an invitation to the Lindsay brothers, we readily accepted, thinking that in some small part, that we had made it.

Then as the week ticked by it dawned on us both. What are they going to expect from us? Are we going to be able to sell our wares? And most importantly, what does a guest do?

We conferred between us, a list of questions, hoping that the answers would be to our liking, and this was their response. Yes we would be able to sell our own books, but also that QBD would have a stall and that they would be selling them as well (YAH). We would have an area to sign and meet the people coming (FANTASTIC). We would be allowed to actively promote the books with banners and posters (AWESOME), and finally we would participate each day in author panels, along with the other writers (WHAT?).

The last one was definitely a pleasant surprise, for as daunting as it sounds (Standing up in front of a large audience and talking about ourselves), the prospect of reaching a larger audience, and talking about our experiences in self-publishing, may very well help others avoid the pitfalls of the industry, and hopefully inspire potential writers that the dream is possible.

Probably the most exciting thing about appearing at this year’s Supanova will of course be meeting the other guests. The actors, writers, and artists, that love the fantasy/syfy genre just as much as us, in particular, the legendary ‘STAN LEE’, whom I’m hoping will sign my copy of his autobiography, and possibly, even, get a photo with.