I had what I considered a very successful event. I took in $1033, selling 70 books. My books range in price from $5 to $25 depends on which one you're buying. 6/?

Because the event is local for me and I drive an electric car and I packed my lunch and snacks, my expenses were around $100 in parking fees and emergency coffee. 5/?

The table for GalaxyCon Raleigh (10X10 booth, I think) was $1900 this year. My quarter of that was $475. That price was up 20% from the year before and it went up again this year, though not by as much. 4/?

I'm also an introvert, so these noisy, busy events with long hours are damned difficult for me. But a writer friend talked me into it, and I've done it for four years running. 3/?

I'm a traditionally published writer who works with several small presses. I would describe my career up to now is just a little higher than fledgling. Mostly, I don't pay my mortgage with a month's earnings, but there have been months when I could have. 2/?

#CoSoWriters For anyone interested in the breakdown to participate in a "big box" event like Galaxycon, here's how it went for me: 1/?

@ToolPackinMama I wish "not being qualified" was enough. I am feeling hopeful though, seeing what a fool he's making of himself over Kamala. (fingers crossed).

@b4cks4w yes. And they kept making changes to where we were supposed to enter the building and then would you get to the entrance the guard wouldn’t let you in. They added 45 minutes to each day for VIP shoppers without telling us that would be the case. they jacked up the prices again for next year even though everybody made less money this year than the year before. Any single one of those wouldn’t be a dealbreaker for me. But the pile of them? Ain’t nobody got time for that.

@b4cks4w mixed bag. Financially successful but physically hard on me. They don’t treat their vendors very well. I’ve decided not to go back next year.

It stopped raining. So I probably only have a couple more days to enjoy my mushrooms. But check out this beautiful boy that popped up in my yard today!

After four days inside a convention center for GalaxyCon, I was in desperate need of some nature therapy. I had too much catching up to do today to get out for much of a walk. Luckily, it has rained a lot. So I didn’t even have to leave my own front yard to find all of these beautiful mushrooms.

Doing the convention thing this weekend. This is one of the big box ones, galaxy con. I’m two days in with two days to go and I cannot feel my feet. #CoSoWriters

@Bliss Honestly, maybe even because of it :-) They're the cutiest.

Gotta love that "new project" energy. I started playing around with a new story today (since I've now turned in my novel!) and wrote 4100 words in a tear. I could have kept going, but I do have other responsibilities. So much fun! #CoSoWriters

Yesterday was gotcha day for our pups and we tried to get a family selfie. The result is hardly Olan Mills, but it is accurate. #dogsofcoso

Trying to keep my plants alive in this heat, so I got a tiny self-driving tractor sprinkler. Her name is Maisie. Isn’t she cute?

Stick a fork in me, I'm done! Time off from the day job meant home project time at la Casa Bryant, and I'm so tired now from setting up, working, cleaning up, and moving on to the next thing. I think I'll go watch mindless TV now. Hope your weekend was fun!

The Insecure Writer's Support Group is talking tools of the trade for their First Wednesday blog hop today. Me, I'm a Scrivener fan girl. What do you use? Why do you love it? https://samanthadunawaybryant.blogspot.com/2024/07/tools-of-trade-iwsg-post.html #CoSoWriters

@q00w2 that’s how I was for the first 42 years of my life. Starting so many things and finishing nothing. So I guess I’m saying, it’s possible to get there. But it can take a while to figure out what that means for you.

How do you celebrate when you finish a project or creative endeavor? Do you go big? Give yourself a little treat? Or just move onto the next thing? https://samanthadunawaybryant.blogspot.com/2024/07/celebration-time-open-book-blog-hop-post.html #CoSoWriters