I Love NACVA, I Hate NACVA

NACVA is the most intensive conference of my year -- three long days, starting very early, that quickly become very busy (not even counting the real back-at-the-office work I'm trying to do at the same time, since NACVA always takes place during the working week.)

And so I hate NACVA because it wipes me out, stealing three consecutive 12-hour-plus days at a time when I've got plenty of other work to do. And because travel is always at least a little hassle -- especially this time, when I was supposed to be simultaneously in Orlando breaking down one conference and here in San Diego setting up another one. And because I really would rather not be trying to get to a convention-hotel's exhibit hall at 6 AM.

But I love it because it's also our most high-energy conference of the year -- full of authors who are enthusiastic not just about the topics of their books, but about selling those books. (For a while on Thursday, two of those authors were sitting at the closest table to our booth, signing books -- and a number of them specifically told the attendees at their sessions to go to the Wiley booth to buy their books.) And that means that I sell a lot of books here -- I'll have to check the numbers when I get back to Hoboken, but I think NACVA 2011 was our highest-selling convention ever.

So right now I'm happy that's it's over -- but more happy that it was successful. And triply happy that I now have a day and a half off until the next conference starts.

(And I haven't been posting here due to pure lack of time and material -- I haven't read any books on this trip so far, or seen any movies, and I got back to my hotel room the last three nights at 9, 10, and 8, after dinners with colleagues and other conference-related frivolity. All work and no play makes Andy an unblogging boy.)