Welcome to Blogging A to Z! My theme this year is Going Indie. I hope you enjoy it. Don't forget to check out the other participating blogs.
When I started my professional writing life, I wasn't thinking about the non-writing parts of the job. Things like selling my books from tables at book fairs, doing interview on podcasts, networking, publicity…wowzers. There's so much!
But it didn't take me long to learn that in-person events are an important way a writer can build a relationship with an audience and start to develop a following. So, I embraced it.
Now, I have accumulated a bunch of gear (a tent, several folding tables, banners, signs, bookstands, etc.) in support of "getting out there" and I use it regularly. Introvert that I am, these events do tire me out, but I've come to look forward to them all the same.
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| Me selling my books at Geek and Grub |
Talking directly to my readers helps me learn how to sell my books. Every book fair is an opportunity to hone the pitch and figure out what part of your book is the hook that will get someone to pick it up and read the back, and maybe even buy it.
Seeing what other writers do gives me ideas about what I might like to try, too. Sometimes that's getting a better tent that's easier to put up and take down myself just like the one Brittany had. Or learning what specific kind of storage tub is both the right size to hold most books and light enough that I can still carry it (Thansk, Patrick!). Other times, it's learning about individual download codes on Bookfunnel and how I can use those to sell eBook versions of my books at in-person events (Yay! Cassie, you're a genius)!
A few days ago, I shared my tent at an in-person event with a new author who had never done an event before. She was getting a bit "fluttery" about whether she had all the right things or not, but I reminded her that at the heart, this is very simple. If you bring yourself, your books, and a way to take payment for your books, then you're golden. The rest just makes it better and you can gather it a little at a time.
Honestly, at this point, I really really enjoy in-person events. A little taste of fame, and an opportunity to connect directly with readers and other writers. It's wonderful.
Having the right size boxes is so important. I was the "stuff" keeper for a non-profit and a tall man bought all the storage equipment and all the helpers thereafter were women - too wide for our shoulder width, too heavy to lift. It was awful. I asked the group for different storage and had to fight the argument of "It's not broken". "No the box isn't broken, but the people who are lifting it are!" Make sure to get a box to fit the inventory, which you can lift AND any volunteers you get to help can lift too.
ReplyDeleteYes! It's not just efficiency in storage, but in being able to move and interact with what's in storage!
DeleteNow, you need to tell all this to MJ Fifield. She freaks out every time she has an in-person event. Have you "met" her in blogging land yet?
ReplyDeleteYes, we visit each other's blogs regularly. :-)
DeleteOh, I would love to know more about book signings, how do you organise them, do you need insurance, what do you bring?
ReplyDeleteMany of the ones I've participated in have been a part of other events, like a convention or a book store reading. Sometimes, it's as easy as talking to the bookstore or venue owner to set one up. Other times, it takes more planning. Some places have an application process.
DeleteYour set-up looks great. I haven't done in-person events since Covid... probably time to look into that again.
ReplyDeleteRonel at Ronel the Mythmaker
Thank you! And yes, the in-person event is definitely making a comeback.
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