Do authors at Dragoncon get paid?

[gabristar88.livejournal.com]

Do the authors that go to dragoncon get paid at all? How about room and travel expenses? I'd very much like a favorite author of mine to go, but he said he couldn't afford to travel right now...

Comments

[hanabishirecca.livejournal.com]

Though big name authors might get something, most authors do not.

[dependonyou.livejournal.com]

I also believe that most authors try to get back their traveling expenses by charging for signatures. Most guests in the hall of fame in general, really.

[reannon.livejournal.com]

Most of us do not get paid. We must fund our own travel and room. That's why we loooove to sell you our books; it's how we can afford to attend the show. So if you want to see authors at con, bring a little extra cash to buy their books. The signature's free. :)

[gabristar88.livejournal.com]

That is disappointing. Thank for the responses!

[barryreese.livejournal.com]

I am not getting paid -- all we're getting is free entrance into the con. Oh, and I do get to bring a guest. But that's okay -- I'm thrilled to be attending and look forward to meeting fans of my work and hopefully making some new ones.

[kkatowll.livejournal.com]

As much as I'd like the authors to be paid (because they're why I go to DC), I guess this does make sense. After all, the celebrities don't have a product to sell -- they can't sell you their movie or TV show. (Or rather, they could, but they wouldn't make any money off it.) So if they're going to make money, they have to sell signatures. Whereas the authors can make money by selling books, and if you show up with a book, well, clearly you've already bought it, which gets them money.

I must confess though that, with the particularly famous celebrities, I sort of feel ripped off by the selling of autographs. I mean, aren't they making millions already? But I'm willing to believe they desperately need somebody's 50 bucks.

[gabristar88.livejournal.com]

The reason I asked is because a favorite author of mine(when I emailed him), said he couldn't afford to go... I just figured with the money that dragoncon pulls in, they should be willing to help with some travelling expenses.

The guy recently had a medical problem that almost bankrupted him.

Amazing author though. I won't mention his name for obvious reasons.