Mixed bag

ConDFW was a mixed bag for me this year. The panels topics seemed to be especially well-planned and a good fit for my interests.

On the down side, though, attendance seemed to lag from previous years. From 2003 until maybe 2008 - from the first con I ever attended (which was ConDFW) until the Recession kicked in - attendance seemed to be on the upswing, then it obviously dropped as people lost their jobs and disposable incomes. Conestoga in Tulsa, one of the best cons I attended in that period, went away completely. But in the past couple of years, my impression is that convention attendance was on the upswing again.

ConDFW was the first con I've been to in a few years where the attendance seemed to have dropped from the previous year. My first panel Saturday only has three people in the audience - an equal number as the panelists - until halfway through when three more people walked in.

Another issue I have was the decision to put the authors' signing in the dealers room, at the back. The last time I was in this situation, at an AggieCon in College Station, the same thing happened. Sales stunk.