There are levels of con participation. At the very, very bottom you have the people that have never gone to a con at all. They may not even know what a con is.

This post is going to be of zero interest to those people.

Ignoring all the partial steps of wanting to go, saving to go, etc, the next level is being a con participant. You go, hit the dealers' room, eagerly attend panels, maybe even go to a kaffeklatch. You learn a lot, meet interesting people, have a lot of fun.

But, at some level you are aware of so many other things going on in the background, a secret con world of parties and gatherings. If you are very observant or wise you hang around the bars looking for the secret password that allows you access to that secondary con world.

Let me tell you a secret--there is no password. If you are a writer and join SFWA, or if you have gone to Clarion, or if you know someone, you can get to the parties. And you, like me, can make a fool of yourself in front of Gregory Benford.

But, even without any of that, eventually anyone can get to the next tier of con participation. If you go to enough cons you meet people, those people know people, and before long there you are at con tier two. You go and yes, there are panels you want to see, but you have to fit them in between breakfast, lunch, or dinner meet-ups with old friends (or family if you are lucky enough to be like me where I get to go and not only have the con experience but hang out with my awesome mother-in-law.)

At this level the con is a much more social event rather than a learning experience. Yes, there is still a ton of information to pick up, but it's way more about the people than the activities. And it's utterly exhausting in the best possible way.

I hit con tier two in San Antonio. It was amazing.

But, there are many, many con levels ahead of me. There's the tier where all those meetings are with agents or editors, or the tier where you get to be on the panels instead of going to them.

These levels, however, are not open to everyone. If you want to get there you have to put in the work to be a writer, hone your craft, get your name out there, and yes, you have to be a little lucky.

It takes time, but, in a few years, I hope to be there. And if so, and you are at a con, come say hi. Because in the F and SF communities the absolute best thing is the people, and they are always willing to give each other a boost.