Last blog post I gave a huge shout out to my friends and family for their support. Today, let’s take a look how my first Book Expo went. Dive into the nitty gritty. First, thank you to all those who donated to get the last few resources I needed. It was VERY much appreciated. I can not thank you enough. Sales were better than expected, especially for my first in-person book event. Holly’s (I Made A Thing) had made bookmarks and stickers, both were big hits to hand out. Second, but not least is my hype man, Kathy. She brought people into the tent, talked to them, got them to ask questions about the books, and handed out goodies. It was a good time. A lot of work, but fun. We made some connections, had people ask about eBooks, and took my information with the intent of buying on Kindle. So, there were some meaningful conversations. My name was put out there, and I feel it wasn’t for nothing, as I’ll mention in a second below. We learned a great deal about the next time. And I did have one person even compliment me on standing in front of the table and greeting them as they walked by, rather than hiding behind the table. So, I feel like I did something right at least. I’d like to find an event in Nov and Dec, and maybe even Jan to go to. With that Facebook group, someone previously mentioned, I may be able to find something. I know I’ll be part of the Arizona Authors Association Tucson Book Fest in March, which I know will happen one way or another. Any events before that though.
This event was small, I would estimate about 100-200 people showed up, and because of that, I’d say we talked to about 30-40 people. And for those really interested, we sold 2 Aggression Factors. Which was in my inventory only thanks to everyone who donated. Again, thank you. I can’t say that enough. We knew there wouldn’t be any gain here, this was all about putting myself out there, getting some conversation going, and hopefully making an impression. I feel we accomplished that. Kathy helped in that a great deal, keeping people engaged until either I was done talking to those I had greeted, or she had a question.
I learned that there definitely needs to be some kind of “grab them as they go by” type of thing… We didn’t see too many pass us by without stopping, but there were enough that in a bigger setting, or event, it definitely may be a missed opportunity. Kathy joked about bringing Jewels next time to bring people in and get them talking. Another thing I think happened, in regard to the two fantasy books (Ember of War and Gathering Tide), we were mentioning that they were prequels to novels I have coming out soon. I’m almost certain people were not interested in them, because they KNEW there was a larger series they’d be missing out on. Or would have to wait for. I may have to figure out how to get my novels edited faster, so I can start getting them out.
Again, thank you to everyone who helped. We’re not done though, and I still have a box of books to sell. The next hurdle is finding a place to set up and sell books. I’m looking at a few!