Summer is back in full force and that means short sleeves, scorching sun, and for me, a return to RiseUp Con 2025.
I attended the inaugural RiseUp convention last year and enjoyed it quite a bit. I ran a small booth to feature my books. It was my first time ever putting myself out there like that in a public way. While I did sell a few books, it didn’t really do much as far as I can tell for my career. Still, the convention is near where I live and the booth price was reasonable, so I decided to give it another go again this year.
Pros of Cons
My experience will almost certainly be different this year, but just briefly, here’s what I enjoyed about the convention last year and what I’m hoping will be the same.
My favorite part was the conversations I had with readers and attendees. There were lots of enthusiastic people who were very kind to consider a new author and discuss my stories. With some, I even got to have longer conversations about the value of beauty and the need for transcendence in stories and how fantastic stories lend themselves to the great eternal themes of love, justice, courage, sacrifice, heroism, and the best about what it means to be human.
I also got to see and meet lots of other artists. Since the convention focuses mostly on cinematic forms of art, there were not a huge amount of booths focused on books (though there were plenty of wonderful authors as well). But it was still neat to see such an outpouring of creativity centered around good wholesome values and godly themes.
Cons of Cons
The downside of events like this is that they can be a whole lot of sound and fury signifying nothing. You get reinvigorated by discussing your work and seeing it go directly into the hands of readers, but then you go home and it’s just silence all over, like nothing ever happend. Here now, a year later, I have to be honest and say that I can’t see that anything lasting came out of my first convention.
Then, of course, there is the whole self-promotion aspect. I think most authors are like me in that they just want to write and not have to do any kind of marketing or putting themselves and their work out in front of the public in a deliberate sort of way. While it’s wonderful to get to actually talk to people about your work, it’s can feel awkward discussing it with strangers. The entire time in the back of your mind you are wondering if you’re not wasting this person’s time and if they are only listening to you out of politeness.
Come meet Rimewinter—and me!
Despite all the hesitations and misgivings, hedging and doubts, I am looking forward to getting out there and putting my writing on the front burner of my life at least for a few days. Editing for Mountainfall has been going at a glacial pace and I am hopeful that this might jump start that process and get me back into a disciplined routine again.
This year, the event will run from June 27-29, 2025. The venue location this year is the Music Road Convention Center in Pigeon Forge. Stop by for one day or join us for all three.
I have a special treat for anyone who comes to the booth. I’ll be bringing my 3D printed replicas of both Truesilver and for the first time in public, Rimewinter! Come handle a legendary glaive of your own and get to be a swordspeaker for a day!
I’d love to see you there.
Until then.
