I found out that people at scifi conventions are different from people at any of other writer's or artist's conventions that I have attended. At writer's and artist's events, people are there mainly to learn. They treat event like a mini-school. While at a scifi con, main emphasis is on having fun. With a video room showing movies and TV shows, a gaming room for computer and board games, a Con Suite where people can meet, eat and have a good time. And don't forget closing event, Squirt Gun Fight.

Don't get me wrong, there was a lot there for writers and artists to learn, but Fun is King. The Con had many good panels, in fact, I was on three of them. It was at these panels where I learned some very interesting, and possible disturbing facts, for genre writers, and writers in general.

I gleaned this information while talking with several writers, including: · Michael Stackpole - He's written over twenty five books, including Battle Tech and Star Wars novels, plus many original works. · Jennifer Roberson - She's had over twenty published novels, thirteen of which were best-selling fantasy novels. · John Vornholt - Who has over thirty published books, two of which were Star Trek: TNG. · Emily Devenport - With over fifteen published books and numerous short stories. · Ernest Hogan - Who has numerous published short stories, some of which have been recommended for Hugo and Nebula Awards.

While talking with them I learned some valuable information. For writers in general, I found out that: · Publishing houses spend little or no money to market bulk of their authors. · About 80% of books published never make back their advance. · Advances are getting smaller.

1. Use lots of white space. People like to read in 'chunks' of information so have lots of space in your background.

2. Use short paragraphs. Following on from tip 1 keep it short and let your visitor read little pieces of information at a time. 3. Use occasional exclamation mark (!) to get your readers attention. But please do not over use this as many people now appear to be doing. 4. Ask a question so that your visitor will read on to find answer. This keeps readers attention focussed. 5. Put a lot of thought and effort into your heading. If heading does not get visitors attention straight away then they will just move on and not even read your article. Try 'The 7 Secrets to Successfully breeding Cane Toads' rather than 'How to breed cane toads'.