On Saturday, I did a stint at Addendum, a charming hobbit-hole of a children’s/ya bookshop in St. Paul, MN. Katherine Warde (who did my new author photos) invited me to take part. As usual at author events, I left with totally unexpected gains: I did a little Christmas shopping; saw tons of writer friends like Kurtis Scaletta, Swati Avasthi, Mary Losure, Sheila O’Connor, Debra Frasier, and several more; got a great idea for an NCTE proposal; got advice about my newly out-of-print book; and had a great heart-to-heart writer talk with Debra.?And, of course, I got to show a bit of support for local, independent booksellers. So even though the number of authors and illustrators there outnumbered the customers at times, it was a win!
Indies First! [my writing life]
By Laura
Congratulations for seeing the positive in a small crowd. I’ve done many where only a couple of folks showed up. It’s disheartening on the one hand, but on the other, it only takes one person with the right connections to bring you greater gain. And although book sales seem to be our focus at these events, there are greater gains as you’ve pointed out.
It’s always awkward when there are no customers. The great thing in this case is that it was an event to show support for the bookseller, so I didn’t feel like a personal failure for not selling books, because I knew going into it that my name wasn’t drawing anyone there. And other writers to talk with always makes the event worthwhile. This is why I totally think group events are the best. I really dislike individual reading/signings at bookstores because they make me so uncomfortable….You’re right about the one person. Each event is an opportunity to connect, even if that connection is solely with the bookseller! In this case, I got to connect with several folks and get some good info, so I’m psyched!
Congratulations for seeing the positive in a small crowd. I’ve done many where only a couple of folks showed up. It’s disheartening on the one hand, but on the other, it only takes one person with the right connections to bring you greater gain. And although book sales seem to be our focus at these events, there are greater gains as you’ve pointed out.
It’s always awkward when there are no customers. The great thing in this case is that it was an event to show support for the bookseller, so I didn’t feel like a personal failure for not selling books, because I knew going into it that my name wasn’t drawing anyone there. And other writers to talk with always makes the event worthwhile. This is why I totally think group events are the best. I really dislike individual reading/signings at bookstores because they make me so uncomfortable….You’re right about the one person. Each event is an opportunity to connect, even if that connection is solely with the bookseller! In this case, I got to connect with several folks and get some good info, so I’m psyched!
I visited one of the local Indies, too, Laura. Much fun for me, and a big thank you to the authors there who gave up their days to be there, like you did!
Hurray, Linda! Glad you had fun!
I visited one of the local Indies, too, Laura. Much fun for me, and a big thank you to the authors there who gave up their days to be there, like you did!
Hurray, Linda! Glad you had fun!