Wednesday, August 18, 2010

Ten Reasons to Come to RomantiCon 2010

by Susan Edwards

1. It is literally the Party of the Decade in erotic romance publishing. The woman who started it all is throwing a bash to celebrate the 10th anniversary of her first book and the birth of her publishing company. And, sister, the Queen of Steam is doing it up! Saturday night's party will whisk you away to Trek Mi Qan, the setting of Jaid Black's irresistibly sexy, funny and romantic book: The Empress' New Clothes, which took the internet by storm and launched a publishing revolution. Fierce, gorgeous Trek warriors and beautiful slave girls made of sand will perform for your pleasure. You will dine like royalty and dance the night away in a distant galaxy of wild imagination.

2. You deserve it. You work hard and you should treat yourself like an Empress once in a while. If you don't, who will?

3. Did we say Party of the Decade? We meant Parties of the Decade. The opening act for the Saturday night Trek Birthday Bash is Friday night's Roaring Twenties costume ball. Dust off your glad rags, break out the beads and boas, and brush up your Charleston, dollies, we're gonna party likes it's 1926! Fun is the password to get you into the EC speakeasy, where you can, drink a little bootleg brew, enjoy a floorshow from the EC Cavemen, take your chances with a one-armed bandit, and cut a rug to your favorite songs.

4. It's a great value. Registration price and accommodations cost a fraction of other conferences, and we have a special rate for guests and spouses to attend just the parties and dinners. Set in a lovely semi-rural area of Ohio at the height of the brilliant autumn color season, the hotel has great food, service and rooms, and yet is extremely inexpensive compared with the luxury resort hotel prices you'll pay at other conventions. Plus, there are plenty of inexpensive things nearby for guests and spouses to do, if you choose to bring them.

5. It's a fun, safe, get-away-from-it-all vacation with loads of things to do and time to hang out with people who share your interests. (And tax-deductible for authors!)

6. Cavemen. Some of our hunkiest and most popular Cavemen cover models will be on-hand all weekend to perform, autograph books and calendars, pose for pictures, and hang out at parties. Need we say more?

7. You'll meet readers, authors, models, reviewers, bloggers and other industry professionals in an informal setting and in workshops and focus groups designed to illuminate, entertain, and give you input into the future of our books.

8. You deserve it. You know you do. Think about all the things you do for other people. Now think about the last thing you did for yourself. See?


9. Big Prizes! You could win a computer worth the entire cost of your trip! We'll be giving away all sorts of fun and valuable prizes.

10. The Goldilocks Factor. Some conventions are just too big. With so many authors and readers, the lines for everything from food to books are long, and there is little opportunity for the twain to meet. Some conventions are just too small. With too few authors, readers and events, there is not much reason to travel so far and not much excitement when you arrive. RomantiCon is just right. With just the right mix of authors and readers, events and downtime, everyone has the chance to meet everyone else in quiet, conversational settings and raucous parties.

Time is running out to sign up, so if you've been on the fence, go ahead and make the leap. Because, most of all, you deserve it. So seize the day and come celebrate with us. To sign up: https://www.jasminejade.com/romanticon/registration.html

4 comments:

Angelia Sparrow said...

It sounds like fun. But it's three times the cost of Dragon*Con and ten times the cost of any other convention I'm doing this year.

I don't see it happening.

Anonymous said...

Sorry you won't be joining us, Angelia! However, I have to quibble with your cost analysis.

DragonCon is great, but I'm pretty sure you will pay a lot more to attend. DC reg fee may be lower, but that cost does not include the 5 meals that are included in RomantiCon reg fee. That alone more than makes up for the reg fee difference, especially when you're paying Atlanta hotel restaurant prices. Then there are the staggering parking fees at DC ($25-30 per day)and the fact that Atlanta hotels cost almost twice as much per night. And, of course, you have to pay for autographs at DC. Also included in RomantiCon reg fee are two parties with live entertainment and dancing, a really nice goodie bag worth quite a bit of money, and several chances to win some very nice prizes worth several hundred dollars--more than the entire RomantiCon reg fee. And the odds of winning are pretty good. I'm not sure what $20 "conventions" you're going to, but I doubt they offer the 24 workshops & focus groups that RomantiCon does, plus a the chance to meet and handsell to lots and lots of readers who have come expressly to buy Romantica books from authors they love. We have gone to a lot of conventions, and all in all, EC staff has worked hard to make sure RomantiCon is a great value to our authors and readers and provides them a very memorable, cost effective and useful experience. We will miss you!

Angelia Sparrow said...

Ah, but Jaid, your post tells me that you don't do D*C on the cheap. DragonCon is going to cost me about $150 this year.

Parking and gas: $25 I park in a Marta lot and ride the train. I bring riders and we split the cost.
Food: ~20. I always bring a cooler.
Hotel: ~110. We're splitting it 6 ways among the author consortium.
Badge: free. I'm a guest author's body-servant


I do $35 conventions all over my region. HyperiCon, MidSouthCon, FanFest in Louisville.
MidSouth not only has a writer's track and offers numerous panels and workshops, but local teachers get continuing education credits for attending.
Hypericon gets the big and upcoming names in fantasy and horror and has a dozen panels on everything from Vampire Sex to realistic space-ship design in fiction.

I'll miss RomantiCon, but Akron is also 700+ miles. That's out of my con range until I win the lottery or get more kids launched. Naomi and I will make it some year, I'm sure. Maybe for the 20th.

Laurann Dohner said...

I'm coming! I can't wait to meet everyone!!!