Showcase Recap

Saturday, I shared a table at the Garland public library’s author showcase. I prepped/planned for it for more than a week, ordering goodies at the last minute and even making some of my own. This is what I brought:

• Table Runner with logo
• Newsletter signup list (QR and written)
• Bookmarks (QR to bonus scenes)
• Postcards (QR to newsletter, website, and ebook universal link)
• Synopsis sign
• Books
• 2 dice trays
• 1 giant foam D20
• 7 sets of gaming dice w/ personalized bags (iron on QT logo)
• Home printed stickers
• Candy
• Cash box
• Phone w/ Woo app for card orders
• A Fool for You novelette written by Renee Edwards and myself

Even with only one book under my belt, my half of the table was packed with “stuff.” I looked prepared.

I sold none.

I got no new newsletter signups (the ones you can see in the picture were from the book launch two weeks ago).

One kid took candy.

A few people took my card and/or bookmark, but I think they felt sorry for me.

Someone that bought a book from Renee Edwards also purchased a novelette.

In some ways, I feel like a failure. But I’m reminding myself that it simply means that I get to learn from this experience. What have I learned:

• Too much clutter makes it difficult for people to focus on the book.
• Having only one book on display and the others under the table might have made people think I wasn’t selling.
• Post the price of the book so no one has to ask (no one did).
• I got practice talking about my book. Some people seemed intrigued by the description, but that did not lead to sales. Maybe because there is only one so far?
• Nerves are inevitable, no matter how prepared I think I am.
• Tabling with Renee meant I got to talk to more people that might not have stopped if my table was separate.
• More books = more interest, or that’s what Renee predicted, as she had 4 different books plus the novelette.
• I can survive, even in the face of disappointment.

I am not letting this one experience deter me from trying again. I will take what I’ve learned and adjust. I also need to see about talking to local bookstores about carrying my book. It feels uncomfortable, but it’s the only way it will happen. No one knows my book exists unless I tell them. I will need to get comfortable with being uncomfortable. Or at least do it anyway.

The good news is, I did not come home devastated. Disappointed? Of course. But I’m not taking it personally, as I do so often. I realize that the lack of sales has many possible causes and none of them is because I am bad or defective. I’m new at this. I don’t have to be great at it right from the jump.