Photo by JohnKit on Flickr

I went to this year’s Phoenix Comicon which was much bigger compared to last year’s and better organized. Besides having a great time talking about comics and stories, I noticed that for indie comic creators and book authors being part of the Con was a great way to promote themselves.

Even from all the panels I went to, the common advice successful comic creators and authors had for promotion was to go to various conventions and talk to people in person. From getting a booth to participating in panels, being active at various events is one of the best ways to interact with fans.

It’s all part of the community-building process. It’s the same reason using various tools like Blogs, Twitter and Facebook, works well. Simply put, to let people know about what you do, interact with them.

Here some other tips I kept hearing discussed during panels:

• To get your work talked about, put effort into getting reviews, even if it means tracking down bloggers who might be interested in your work and sending them review copies
• Making your work a series released on a shorter-term basis could be an easier investment with some quicker results versus spending years on the perfect novel
• Think of ways to create merchandise around your work since that’s what can sometimes make you more money than the story itself

Comicons and other conventions revolving around stories and the worlds they create are everywhere now and there’s more of them starting up than ever before. If you haven’t been to one, you’re missing out on some great fun!