Storytellersunplugged

I just got back from Gen Con late Sunday night, and I’m still beat. It’s a long-standing tradition (at least for me) to hit any con I hit hard. If I’m going to be there, I go all-out. This year, my fourth in a row as a guest of honor, was no exception.

During any convention day, you can expect to find me in one of three places: on the exhibit show floor, checking out the merchandise and bumping into friends; taking part in a seminar in which I impart what knowledge I’ve earned in my narrow slice of “fun things to do to make a living”; or meeting with friends or clients (often one and the same) to catch up or chat about future projects.

Then, once the exhibit hall is officially closed, I hit the streets. I find people to grab a meal with—again friends, clients, or both—and then hunt down the unofficial watering holes where we can continue the process until the morning’s wee hours. Usually I’m up until 4 AM or later, then grab a precious few hours of sleep before starting all over again.

I do this for fun. Some may call it networking, and it’s been the source of many of my best gigs as both a writer and a game designer, but I don’t do it to network. I do it because I love it.

At Gen Con, I play host for the Diana Jones Award ceremony, a packed party in which I greet every attendee and hand out loads of free drink tickets. We’ve been doing this at Gen Con for seven years. It started out during a birthday party I held for myself in 2001, which was such a great success that we now line up corporate sponsorship for all the fun.

Sure, it’s a great networking mechanism, and it helps me get to know many of the professionals who attend Gen Con, but I don’t do it to gather names for my address book. I’ll never work for or with most of the people who show up, but they’re part of the tribe of people who love games and fiction—and whatever else Gen Con contains—as much as I do. I do all this to get to know them, to see old friends and make new ones.

That’s the real secret behind the best networkers. They don’t have to force themselves to do it to get jobs. They do it because they love to meet people.

If you force yourself to meet folks because they have something you want—like an editor who might have a plum assignment or could publish your magnum opus—you come across like the young man desperate for a prom date. Just like the girls can smell the need on him, the editors can sense it in you.

Nobody likes to feel like they’re being used. Meet people for fun. If you happen to work with them later, all the better, but enjoy the moment for what it is: a moment to enjoy.