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Conventions are run by volunteers
Oct. 29th, 2013 02:17 pmAll fan-run conventions are run by a team of volunteers. Here's how to become one of them.
The con committee is not paid for their work, and they're not hired by a corporation. No one submitted their resume, and none of them do this for a living.
In most cases, the Con Chairman, programming director, and the rest of the team are employed full-time and devote a large chunk of their spare time putting together the convention.
I hear people complain about the cost of conventions. I'm here to tell you that you got in for CHEAP, because we all pitched in. Fees for guests, site fees, storage expenses, food/drink expenses... the list goes on.
However, the long-held secret to attending conventions on the cheap is as follows: Pre-register, or volunteer.
Pre-registration is vital to these kinds of events. Having an income during the rest of the year is helpful for the expenses that happen before the convention. As such, most conventions sell memberships in advance for a greatly reduced price. The earlier you register, the cheaper it is. This is how I've attended Archon for less than fifty bucks for the last several years.
You can also Volunteer. Let's talk about how someone (like me) winds up "in charge" of a convention.
Some of you are nodding to yourself and saying, "It's because of her mom."
Only partly. I *learned how to do this* from my mom. Sure, there were times when she recruited me for some committee or staff position, but that's not really the whole story. She taught me how to be useful to a convention. Lucky you, I'm going to share this process with you, too.
Back in the day, getting contact information for the convention was tricky. Back before the internet, conventions communicated solely through mailings and phone calls. "Knowing someone" was the easiest way to get a staff or committee position, which was why the same people were doing all the work all of the time.
BUT THE INTERNET HAS FREED US! Information is available! Any decent convention has a website that offers a page with contact information! The better conventions have a form right on the website where you can offer yourself!
Nearly every fan-run convention out there is starving for help.
There are right and wrong ways to go about offering yourself as tribute.
WRONG WAY:
Show up at the convention, wearing a complex costume, and asking if you can get in free for "helping out."
RIGHT WAY:
People who volunteer during the convention are useful, and if you want to help out be sure to wear something you can do work in. The convention will need people to haul stuff around, set things up, break things down, run errands, and be "Go-Fers".
BEST WAY:
Before the convention, contact the chairman or the volunteer coordinator. This is your best shot at rewards for your time. A well-run convention will get you something of a schedule in advance so you can arrange your work schedule around the things at the con that you actually want to do and see.
REWARD:
You might get some of your badge fees refunded, or you might not. You might have access to VIP/HQ/Backstage where you can get some food, you might even get crash space in a communal hotel room.
WRONG WAY:
"Hey, GeneriCon! The way you handle your Masquerade is kind of backward. At SupercoolCon they do things this other way, and I'd like to tell you how to fix your Masquerade so it is more like the way these other conventions do things!"
RIGHT WAY:
"Hi there! I've worked on masquerades at other conventions, and I was wondering if you needed some help with the costume contest at GeneriCon?"
BEST WAY:
8 months before the convention, contact the committee member in charge of the Masquerade and volunteer as tribute.
REWARD:
The best reward is that you get an inside track on how the convention does certain things. You'll learn the political climate (What the hotel will and won't allow *this year*), the logistical needs, and the monetary constraints that the committee is working around.
Once you've done that, and worked with a convention for a year, you can then go about restructuring things that could be improved.
You also will likely get a complimentary or reduced price badge, and potentially a position of authority later.
Conventions want solutions, not problems.
Have a programming idea? Great!
WRONG WAY:
Dear GeneriCon,
I want there to be panels about radioactive cats. There isn't enough radioactive cat programming at your convention.
Dear GeneriCon,
Could you do a workshop on how to make corsets? It would be really cool if we could do a hands-on sewing panel.
RIGHT WAY:
Dear GeneriCon,
I see that you have Joe Schmoe as a guest. Could you ask him to do a panel about Radioactive Cats?
Dear GeneriCon,
Last year there there didn't seem to be much costuming programming. I see that you have a costuming guest this year, is she willing to do a lecture/demo about corset making?
BEST WAY:
Dear GeneriCon,
Radioactive Cats are a thing. There's a guy on Tumblr who is doing some hilarious art about them, and there's a podcast called GlowKitty that is really hitting its stride. Here are the web addresses of the creators of these things, and I already asked if they do conventions. The artist doing the podcast said that she would probably come and work the con for a free badge and a table. Joe Schmoe actually lives in (city less than five hours away) and is more than willing to come to the con.
Dear GeneriCon,
I work for a sewing machine dealership, and my boss is willing to loan some machines if you want to do some hands-on sewing workshops at your convention. Do you have any guests who would like to do some kind of sewing workshop? I can suggest some awesome people in the industry, and I myself would be willing to help out with a track of actual sewing workshops.
REWARD:
Getting the programming you want! If you want a panel discussion to happen, offer to moderate it. IF you are just offering ideas, offer concrete ways to make that happen. Brainstorming is the "fun" part of programming, but once the ideas are chosen, the programming director has to figure out who to rope into actually running those workshops, panels, discussion groups, and events. Also, good conventions reward panelists with reduced price badges or reimbursement for your membership.
The bottom line is that it is easier than ever to volunteer, and I see that the conventions are still STARVING for helpers. You don't have to be a committee member to be helpful to a convention. Volunteer for a security shift. Volunteer for dealer's room assistance. Volunteer for Art Show help. Volunteer to run a panel or programming event.
This is how I get to do the things I do. At TuckerCon, I asked the chairman (very politely) if I would be allowed to host a small themed tea-party in the hospitality suite. She gave me permission to do so and to post flyers. That was my first Mad Scientists' Tea Party. After the con, I got in contact with the programming director and asked if I could do it again. Once it hit the actual programming schedule, it blew up! Now I get to host a Steampunk Tea on Friday at Archon every year. I also asked if I could do the Dead Dog party, and that's been pretty popular too.
I wasn't given these things because I have a big name; I was given these things because I'm self-sufficient and I offer to add to the convention.
The con committee is not paid for their work, and they're not hired by a corporation. No one submitted their resume, and none of them do this for a living.
In most cases, the Con Chairman, programming director, and the rest of the team are employed full-time and devote a large chunk of their spare time putting together the convention.
I hear people complain about the cost of conventions. I'm here to tell you that you got in for CHEAP, because we all pitched in. Fees for guests, site fees, storage expenses, food/drink expenses... the list goes on.
However, the long-held secret to attending conventions on the cheap is as follows: Pre-register, or volunteer.
Pre-registration is vital to these kinds of events. Having an income during the rest of the year is helpful for the expenses that happen before the convention. As such, most conventions sell memberships in advance for a greatly reduced price. The earlier you register, the cheaper it is. This is how I've attended Archon for less than fifty bucks for the last several years.
You can also Volunteer. Let's talk about how someone (like me) winds up "in charge" of a convention.
Some of you are nodding to yourself and saying, "It's because of her mom."
Only partly. I *learned how to do this* from my mom. Sure, there were times when she recruited me for some committee or staff position, but that's not really the whole story. She taught me how to be useful to a convention. Lucky you, I'm going to share this process with you, too.
Back in the day, getting contact information for the convention was tricky. Back before the internet, conventions communicated solely through mailings and phone calls. "Knowing someone" was the easiest way to get a staff or committee position, which was why the same people were doing all the work all of the time.
BUT THE INTERNET HAS FREED US! Information is available! Any decent convention has a website that offers a page with contact information! The better conventions have a form right on the website where you can offer yourself!
Nearly every fan-run convention out there is starving for help.
There are right and wrong ways to go about offering yourself as tribute.
WRONG WAY:
Show up at the convention, wearing a complex costume, and asking if you can get in free for "helping out."
RIGHT WAY:
People who volunteer during the convention are useful, and if you want to help out be sure to wear something you can do work in. The convention will need people to haul stuff around, set things up, break things down, run errands, and be "Go-Fers".
BEST WAY:
Before the convention, contact the chairman or the volunteer coordinator. This is your best shot at rewards for your time. A well-run convention will get you something of a schedule in advance so you can arrange your work schedule around the things at the con that you actually want to do and see.
REWARD:
You might get some of your badge fees refunded, or you might not. You might have access to VIP/HQ/Backstage where you can get some food, you might even get crash space in a communal hotel room.
WRONG WAY:
"Hey, GeneriCon! The way you handle your Masquerade is kind of backward. At SupercoolCon they do things this other way, and I'd like to tell you how to fix your Masquerade so it is more like the way these other conventions do things!"
RIGHT WAY:
"Hi there! I've worked on masquerades at other conventions, and I was wondering if you needed some help with the costume contest at GeneriCon?"
BEST WAY:
8 months before the convention, contact the committee member in charge of the Masquerade and volunteer as tribute.
REWARD:
The best reward is that you get an inside track on how the convention does certain things. You'll learn the political climate (What the hotel will and won't allow *this year*), the logistical needs, and the monetary constraints that the committee is working around.
Once you've done that, and worked with a convention for a year, you can then go about restructuring things that could be improved.
You also will likely get a complimentary or reduced price badge, and potentially a position of authority later.
Conventions want solutions, not problems.
Have a programming idea? Great!
WRONG WAY:
Dear GeneriCon,
I want there to be panels about radioactive cats. There isn't enough radioactive cat programming at your convention.
Dear GeneriCon,
Could you do a workshop on how to make corsets? It would be really cool if we could do a hands-on sewing panel.
RIGHT WAY:
Dear GeneriCon,
I see that you have Joe Schmoe as a guest. Could you ask him to do a panel about Radioactive Cats?
Dear GeneriCon,
Last year there there didn't seem to be much costuming programming. I see that you have a costuming guest this year, is she willing to do a lecture/demo about corset making?
BEST WAY:
Dear GeneriCon,
Radioactive Cats are a thing. There's a guy on Tumblr who is doing some hilarious art about them, and there's a podcast called GlowKitty that is really hitting its stride. Here are the web addresses of the creators of these things, and I already asked if they do conventions. The artist doing the podcast said that she would probably come and work the con for a free badge and a table. Joe Schmoe actually lives in (city less than five hours away) and is more than willing to come to the con.
Dear GeneriCon,
I work for a sewing machine dealership, and my boss is willing to loan some machines if you want to do some hands-on sewing workshops at your convention. Do you have any guests who would like to do some kind of sewing workshop? I can suggest some awesome people in the industry, and I myself would be willing to help out with a track of actual sewing workshops.
REWARD:
Getting the programming you want! If you want a panel discussion to happen, offer to moderate it. IF you are just offering ideas, offer concrete ways to make that happen. Brainstorming is the "fun" part of programming, but once the ideas are chosen, the programming director has to figure out who to rope into actually running those workshops, panels, discussion groups, and events. Also, good conventions reward panelists with reduced price badges or reimbursement for your membership.
The bottom line is that it is easier than ever to volunteer, and I see that the conventions are still STARVING for helpers. You don't have to be a committee member to be helpful to a convention. Volunteer for a security shift. Volunteer for dealer's room assistance. Volunteer for Art Show help. Volunteer to run a panel or programming event.
This is how I get to do the things I do. At TuckerCon, I asked the chairman (very politely) if I would be allowed to host a small themed tea-party in the hospitality suite. She gave me permission to do so and to post flyers. That was my first Mad Scientists' Tea Party. After the con, I got in contact with the programming director and asked if I could do it again. Once it hit the actual programming schedule, it blew up! Now I get to host a Steampunk Tea on Friday at Archon every year. I also asked if I could do the Dead Dog party, and that's been pretty popular too.
I wasn't given these things because I have a big name; I was given these things because I'm self-sufficient and I offer to add to the convention.
