I'm writing the majority of this on my flight back to California after speaking at the Life, the Universe, and Everything Symposium.

First, I want to shout out to my crew, Rook and Sable, for braving the elements and the long drive, bringing my books across three states to ensure a successful weekend.

Two years ago, I announced that I would not be returning to this event, but last year, my phone and DM's blew up. In several Zoom gatherings of writers over the following months, people told me how much they missed me... and my shenanigans. So, I returned to LTUE this year for the Gallowglas Army, and we had a blast—both the GA veterans and our many new recruits.

I'm moving the From the Front Lines columns to the official Gallowglas Army website. Head over there for a recount of the adventures throughout the weekend.

My musing this week is tied to LTUE and the Gallowglas Army, but I'm thinking a little bit more broadly about attending events as a professional creative. I'm pondering less about where to go and more about why I'm going there.

In 2018, I announced that I would be retiring from performing at Renaissance faires. By the time I went to the first faire that year in April, I had been to events in Florida, Utah, the Bay Area, and Southern California. I had been rubbing shoulders and sharing drinks with luminaries of both speculative and literary communities of writers. I was also wrapping up work on my first MFA. One of my first interactions with someone at the Ren fair was less than optimal. The combination of my non-ren faire travels and impending academic success went to my head. I let that one interaction with a socially inept person at ren faire get under my skin and have me walk away from something I loved, made me decenty money, and where I saw a large portion of the Gallowglass Army who love and support my storytelling and books.

Something had to go.

Since most of my comic cons, symposiums, and conferences were proving to be more successful, oftentimes more successful than some ren faires in those days, I felt faires were the logical thing to cut from my travel schedule. Notice my use of the words: most, often, and some. Since COVID, I've returned to the most successful ren faires I had previously cut out of my schedule.

When I decided to stop attending LTUE, I made the choice based on effort and economics. LTUE is an expensive show for me to attend. I live in California. LTUE is in Utah. Hotel prices and food keep going up, which means I have to sell more and more books each year. The logistics of getting those books to and from Utah have grown more and more challenging as I have published more and more books. By 2024, I'd also put in 10 good years into LTUE and figured that was a decent, solid run.

But... sometimes you don't go to an event as a pro just because it's financially beneficial.

I've gone to WonderCon, AWP, San Diego Comic Con, the World Science Fiction Convention, and the World Fantasy Convention many times without making a dime. Many more times with spending way more than I got back; however, the intangibles I've gotten from some of those events far outweigh the economics. Sometimes I get to network successfully. Every time, I get to see friends. Most of them, my heart fills with nerdy joy. The thing is... I don't attend all of those every year. I pick and choose from year to year on which I'll attend and which I won't.

Since returning to ren faire, I have cut back on the number of faires where I perform. The ones where I do perform, I tend to go every year, but I'm not opposed to taking a year off. Also, I'm not just doing ren faire for the money. Much of the core of the Gallowglas Army veterans comes from ren faire. So... I don't have to do every event every year—including LTUE.

Knowing your limits is vital to a successful creative career. The hustle is real. But sometimes it's more important to know when not to hustle.

Now, this year was a blast. Part of that was a refocus on why I went. Over the last year, my Utah Gallowglass Army people made themselves heard, and I went to LTUE for them. The symposium put me on panels, gave me presentation time, and offered me a great room for teaching my master classes. However, most of my energy went to the Gallowglas Army events.

I haven't decided if I'm going to LTUE next year. Just like I haven't decided about some ren faires later this year. From now on, at least for the foreseeable future, I'm making my schedule year by year, event by event. With each event, I'm asking myself: Why am I going; how will attending this make my life better, both personally and professionally? Sometimes, that doesn't have to be about financial gain. Some years, the answer to those questions will be vastly different, as each year is its own unique series of adventures. And because I'm refocusing on the why of attending events, I have to be very careful about which I am making as an investment rather than an economic win.

If I think to myself, I’m going because I’ve always gone, and don’t have any other reasons, that will almost certainly stop me from attending. That's honestly a terrible reason to go to an event. You have to take each instance of an event as its own thing. One of the most dangerous sentences in all of business is: We've always done things that way. I've seen many events over the years start small, grow big, and then have a sudden decline in quality, both as a gathering place and as a way for people to make money. You need to be ready to coutrse correct and do what's right for you, both professionally and personally. If you have an event where you're used to seeing me, feel free to tell me why you'd like to see me there again. I absolutely want to have time with the Gallowglas Army. However, I can't promise that I will go. But, I will always consider the Gallowglas Army. After all, it worked with LTUE this year. We’ll see how next year looks.