When you were young, and your heart was an open book, you used to say live and let live.

[hazelchaz]

Message received at laconiv's info desk recently, from someone who I'll name Johnny One-Book. (The name on the e-mail address didn't match the name given at the end of the body of the message.)

"I'm a newly published sci-fi author and was wondering how I can go about getting a booth at your convention for book signings and so on. Are there other activities in which I can be involved?"

What do you think would be an appropriate response? Where do we start? His book is a self-published POD book through Prairie View Publishing.

Does anyone have a handy response for newbie authors who want to use the Worldcon as a self-promotion vehicle? I don't think it's helpful to tell him if he joins SFWA the local conventions will be falling all over themselves to invite him to speak... but what would be helpful, short of a good stout clue-by-four?

ADDENDUM: I've built an all-purpose contact form for the website, which has the power to answer some common questions automatically, and to route other messages to where they should go. So in the end, I'd like to make a pre-filter for Program to use; but that's a tricky thing, because we don't want people to think that anyone who clicks the button will automatically be included on a panel.

Comments

[johno.livejournal.com]

Simple, if they want a table to promote their book, send them dealers room info.

If they want to do panels, send them the info about applying to be on programming.

Warn them that if they are unknown to the programming staff, they need to submit a list of topics they can speak on and a resume to back up that list.

[timill]

Treat them politely. We were all new once, even though it seems a long time ago...

Polite response

[hazelchaz]

yes, treat them politely, I got that; how do I politely steer them straight?

I can take his questions at face value (as johno suggests). But should I tell him that he needs to reconsider his approach?

[cogitationitis.livejournal.com]

You never know. One Boskone, a nice young woman approached me (I was running Dealers), and asked how to get on program. "I have a book coming out," she reassured me. I tried not to make a face, and directed her to Program Ops, who did put her on Program.

She was Katya Reimann.