Today is a Worldcon day. There are 100 emails to answer, and files to check. It's the end of April so in particular today is the day I audit the table sales file and send out final notices
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Exactly! And it's why I get so angry when people who Haven't A Clue about how difficult what convention runners do is get on their high horse about how the SMOFS are excluding poor little Real Fans and not doing what they want, or are making huge fortunes from those exorbitant "ticket" prices because how could it possibly cost that much just to open the doors to a big building, etc. etc.
Every now and then, one of them thinks, "Oh, that's easy. I'll do one of these things and harvest the money from the marks, no problem." Eventually followed by them heading out of town one step ahead of the authorities, leaving behind a pile of unpaid debts and angry fans left with memberships to an event that didn't happen or that was nothing like what they were promised.
The bit that makes me laugh is when they say we do it to get close to authors: everyone I know I met either at breakfast or in the gym. There is no *time* go get close to authors.
I really did get a tiny number of perks for chairing a Worldcon. A good room location (but I had to pay for my own room, which many people don't seem to get). A couple of welcome baskets from the hotel and convention center (which is good because there were several days of ConJosé where I would not have had dinner otherwise due to my commitments keeping me out until after everything had closed). Admittance to the Hugo Nominees Reception (where I got to fret about logistics of organizing nominees and worrying that someone who I knew was going to win because I was also one of the Hugo Administrators wouldn't show up). And so on.
Nobody organizes one of these things for the big perks. What makes me happy are the people who, ten years later, came to me and said, "Oh, that was my first Worldcon. I had a great time and have gone to [names of other Worldcons]. That's why I do what I do.
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Every now and then, one of them thinks, "Oh, that's easy. I'll do one of these things and harvest the money from the marks, no problem." Eventually followed by them heading out of town one step ahead of the authorities, leaving behind a pile of unpaid debts and angry fans left with memberships to an event that didn't happen or that was nothing like what they were promised.
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Nobody organizes one of these things for the big perks. What makes me happy are the people who, ten years later, came to me and said, "Oh, that was my first Worldcon. I had a great time and have gone to [names of other Worldcons]. That's why I do what I do.
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