Book festival season is upon us. Most book festivals are held in the spring and fall. The first one on my 2011 schedule is today\u2014here in Ojai, CA. It\u2019s part of the Ojai WordFest. <\/p>\n
Have you ever sat behind a display of your very own books at a book festival, greeting visitors in hopes that they will make a purchase? How many times have you walked away after a book festival despondent because you are toting most of the books you came with? How many of you have vowed never to pay for space at a book festival again? It doesn\u2019t have to end this way. <\/p>\n
Book festivals present great opportunities for authors. But you have to do your part. I suggest that you change your approach and your outlook.<\/p>\n
What is your main objective when you reserve space at a book festival? Most authors would say, \u201cTo sell enough books to make it worth my while.\u201d They want to break even financially and then some. And that pretty much sums it up. <\/p>\n
Have you ever considered the side benefits to participating in a book festival? There\u2019s exposure, of course. If you stay in the game and continue promoting your book to your audience, exposure can lead to sales. Exposure is more valuable than many authors know. There are people who purchase books on the spot. But there are many others who don\u2019t buy a book until they\u2019ve seen it, heard about it and\/or read about it numbers of times. <\/p>\n
And exposure can garner other advantages, as well\u2014some that the author may not consider as such even in the face of the opportunity. Let\u2019s say that your book features unusual gifts you can make for under $25. You might meet a stringer for a home and garden, country or craft magazine who would love to interview you for an article. A librarian might want to include your children\u2019s book in their summer reading program. A small business owner might see your book on office organization and hire you as a consultant. <\/p>\n
Likewise, an organization or corporate leader might take your card and call you several weeks or months after the event and order two boxes of your local history book or business management book for an upcoming conference. <\/p>\n
Exposure is not typically a one-shot opportunity. Very often, there are ongoing and far-reaching effects resulting from exposure. <\/p>\n
Authors often say to me, \u201cI did a book festival once. Didn\u2019t sell any books, so I won\u2019t be doing that again.\u201d I will sometimes ask the author, \u201cDid you meet anyone interesting at the book festival?\u201d She might say, \u201cNot really.\u201d I\u2019ll say, \u201cI almost always meet someone who offers me an opportunity of some sort.\u201d The author might then reply, \u201cOh yes\u2014there was this guy who came by my booth. He gave me his card\u2014what did I do with that? He said that he was in charge of buying goodie-bag gifts for conventions coming to town and he wanted me to give him a bulk discount price. I guess I forgot to contact him.\u201d<\/p>\n
Hellllooooo! That\u2019s called an opportunity.<\/p>\n
Some authors recognize the opportunities that occur at book festivals and still don\u2019t consider book festivals worth attending. I know one author who met the producer of a syndicated radio show who wanted to put him on the air with his book. And another who met a man who later filmed a documentary around the theme of his book. <\/p>\n
New authors ask me what to expect at a book festival. I have attended around fifty book festivals over the years\u2014large ones like the upcoming Los Angeles Times Festival of Books and small ones. And each of them seems to have a personality of its own. The thing is, you just don\u2019t know what to expect at a book festival. You might sell numbers of books and meet up with many opportunities or you may sit alone for most of the day and sell nothing. <\/p>\n
I\u2019ve seen authors turn what could have been \u201cnothing\u201d days into good days. How?<\/p>\n
\u2022\tThe author engages people as they walk past their booth. If she has a children\u2019s book, she might say, \u201cDo you know a child who likes to read?\u201d She may also ask parents with children, \u201cMay I read a short story to your child?\u201d Try this and you will sell copies of your charming children\u2019s book.<\/p>\n
\u2022\tWhen someone seems interested in his book, the author talks to the visitor about benefits not features. (What can the book do for the potential reader?)<\/p>\n
\u2022\tThe author knows how to listen. Sometimes the visitor just wants to tell his story or rant about his experiences related to the theme of your book. If your book addresses some of the issues he brings up, let him know this and he may become a customers.<\/p>\n
\u2022\tIf there is nothing happening\u2014it\u2019s a really slow day\u2014the author might walk around the event with his book and show it to other book festival participants. I often sell copies of my publishing\/book promotion-related books to other authors at book festivals. And I buy books, as well.<\/p>\n
\u2022\tAuthors who maintain a good attitude even when they aren\u2019t selling many books will sell more books than those who appear disgruntled.<\/p>\n
Tomorrow, I will report on the flavor of today\u2019s book festival, the type of visitors, the organization of it and the opportunities I received or observed others receiving. I\u2019ll also report on the challenges. Oh my, the challenges. <\/p>\n
Today, for example, there is a chance of rain. Yes, the event is being held outside. I have attended book festivals in all kinds of weather, except snow. The wind is a real problem for these events. I try to have my booth placed away from entertainment. It is difficult to pitch a book over the sound of loud music. This is a fact that escapes many event organizers. One year at a usually well-attended book festival, the advertising brochures did not arrive from the printer until the day of the event. These were supposed to be available in stores throughout the city all week. Attendance was very weak that year. That was a shame.<\/p>\n
Wish me luck!<\/p>\n
And if you would like to attend a major, major book festival next month, there is still room in the SPAWN booth for authors who want to get exposure for their books before a crowd of 140,000. Contact me at Patricia@spawn.org.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
Book festival season is upon us. Most book festivals are held in the spring and fall. The first one on my 2011 schedule is today\u2014here in Ojai, CA. It\u2019s part of the Ojai WordFest. Have you ever sat behind a display of your very own books at a book festival, greeting visitors in hopes that […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":5,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":[],"categories":[22],"tags":[],"aioseo_notices":[],"aioseo_head":"\n\t\t\n\t\n\t\n\t\n\t\n\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t