Support for Indie Authors discussion

Hi,

I'm planning on releasing my series in a few months. I think I will do both eBook and print on demand. I was curious if any of you who have already published and maybe published several books, have you ever attended with your print books book signings, con type conferences, or promoted your book in a booth setting? I've heard of a few Indie authors doing so, but I'm not sure how someone would even go about doing something like that, or if you have to be invited.

Thanks,
Emily

I've never done it,but an author I follow did... She does it all the time. For the booth, you have to reserve and pay for it. No invitation needed.

Hi Emily,

I definitely have. It was through my local writers group, so the cost was subsidized. Going solo can be quite expensive. I think they can be a lot of fun, and I've really enjoyed doing the couple I've participated in but ... I think that has to be tempered by how much the fee is for a table and how much you really realistically think you can make. For example, at my last event because for table is $35. I made $38, but that doesn't count the cost to get print copies of my books and so forth. (Coincidentally, I did find a neat little way to sell e-books at a conference through something called dropcards which you can Google and look up.). The other part of going to conferences, though, is that a lot of networking still happens face-to-face, and they're pretty invaluable for that. Happy to talk more; that's just off the top my head :)

I'm a convention-goer, mainly to sell books. In my experience, you do not have to be invited, but you have to get to the con organizers early enough to buy a table in the dealer's room. So you have to plan 3-6 months (on average) in advance, especially for the bigger cons.

Thought I'd pop in and offer a success story of sorts:

This past weekend, I attended my first ever comic book convention: Hampton Comicon in Hampton, Va. I had a table, roughly 20 copies of all three of my novels, and a slew of business cards, flyers, and bookmarks -- both for my work and the work of some other self-published authors I enjoyed. From 9 a.m. until roughly 6 p.m., I sold far more books than I expected. I sold out of my allotment of BOUNTY (the first book), and I damn near sold out of BEHIND THE BADGE (the third book), too.

In all, I more than tripled what I paid for the table space.

But as great as the short-term gain was, what excites me most is the long-term potential. Just about everyone, whether they bought a book or not, took a business card and a flyer (which had my website, email address, Amazon link, and Facebook and Twitter pages on them). A lot of them perked up when they found out my books were on Kindle, and just about all of them loved the premise of the series.

So it'll be interesting to see what my online sales, website hits, and social media follows look like in the coming days and weeks. But I also made connections, meeting several other writers, discovering potential new works to check out, and maybe an artist with whom to work if I decide to dip my toe back into the comic book world.

One man approached my table saying he was looking for novels he could pitch to movie studios. He took a business card. Another man approached about potential TV series ideas. He also left my table with a business card. Will those go anywhere? I have no idea, but just having the conversation was cool enough.

These were conversations I wouldn't have had staying home.

So all in all, I had fun and clearly I've got a potential audience in the comic book and genre fiction crowd (which I kinda already knew). I have a library event later this month, and in May I'll be at Tidewater Comicon. I can't wait for both of those, and I love that I've sold so many books in-person that I now have to order another box or two of author copies.

So anyone who has events like this around them and never considered them before... maybe give them a chance. I grant my experience likely isn't typical, but it was eye-opening the way people seemed excited about my stuff.

*Squeals*
Ha! I said all along I thought your novel would make a great TV Series! Congrats and best of luck! Hope it happens!

Mel wrote: "*Squeals*
Ha! I said all along I thought your novel would make a great TV Series! Congrats and best of luck! Hope it happens!"

I keep envisioning a Netflix series, a la Daredevil or Jessica Jones. It'd be even better if I had a say in casting and they didn't tinker too much with the story.

Warning! Information flood coming!

I'm a con-goer and much like JD has mentioned, it's a great experience and is a major opportunity for networking.

So for going about doing it, just look up events in your area. Since I know my area fairly well, I have an idea for what events are happening when, but that wasn't always the case. My first event ever was in the basement of an art gallery with a dozen other authors. If you're not sure where to look, try www.everfest.com and see what events pop up. Also, just Google things like "book fair (insert city/state)" or "convention (insert city/state)".

Most areas have some sort of Comicon regarding everything pop culture. They're usually a little harder to get into simply because there are so many people applying, but you should still try.

When you apply, you'll usually be looking for a table in the "Dealer's Room" or "Artist Alley". That's where we generally fit in the best.

Sales are hit or miss. At Geek Girl Con last year I did really well, but this year I didn't make back what I put out for the booth. However this year one guy in our booth sold nearly 30 copies of one book, and several of his other books. You aren't guaranteed sales, but there are things you can do to increase the possibility.

Always be ready to have a conversation. Doesn't matter what about. If you're at a con, compliment someone's cosplay. Decorate your table and put out candy (yes, candy is the trap that lures a lot of people in). Offer bookmarks to people who pass by and when you have them there chat them up about reading in general. If you find out what they like you have a much greater chance of connecting them with your book. Even if it's not in their 'usual' reading category, they may still branch out. Being a con-goer is all about building connections, both personal and professional.

There's a lot more to it all, but the biggest piece is to take a chance and be outgoing. :)

Thomas wrote: "Warning! Information flood coming!

I'm a con-goer and much like JD has mentioned, it's a great experience and is a major opportunity for networking.

So for going about doing it, just look up even..."

That's a lot of really exciting info, Thomas. It sounds like it was well worth the trip!

J.D. wrote: "Thought I'd pop in and offer a success story of sorts:

This past weekend, I attended my first ever comic book convention: Hampton Comicon in Hampton, Va. I had a table, roughly 20 copies of all th..."

Good job, and congrats! I also think the conversations (whether with potential readers or potential movie directors) would be so much fun regardless of sales.

I've been thinking about posting again on this topic and I wanted to provide a list of things people should really consider bringing for their booth.

1) Your book(s) - This is obvious, but there was one time where I was on my way to an event and had to back track home to get my books!

2) Banners/posters - You need something to draw people in from farther than a few feet. If you have a banner with your book(s) on it, people will see you better. Likewise, using posters on foam board also act as a great draw.

3) Bookmarks/Business Cards - These alone will generally not lead to sales, but you need them anyway. Why?

Because they're a conversation starter. "Hi, would you like a free bookmark?" I've found that roughly 85-90% of people will not pass up a free bookmark. Those who do either didn't hear you offer or just aren't interested.

Also, you're going to have your contact information on it in case people do remember to look you up. Cons/having a booth is both about selling and networking with others.

4) Other promotional material - A couple chapters of your book, the cover with just the description inside, a clever postcard tied to your book. These are all conversation starters.

5) Tablecloths - Seems odd right? But there are many venues who just provide the table and chairs and it's your job to decorate.

6) Candy - This is a dirty and cheap trick to get people to stop, but it's effective. It's a draw to your table and from there you have an opportunity to start a conversation. Based on my experiences, expect to spend about $5-6 on bulk candy per day.

7) Buttons - Small pins or buttons are also a great way to draw people in. This is a cost you'll need to eat because these are just something to attract people to the table.

8) A way to sign up for your mailing list - I'll be honest, I let my mailing list drop and haven't been collecting e-mail addresses. However my friend always has hers out and to get people to sign up she puts their name in a drawing for a $10 Amazon gift card.

9) Square or PayPal Here - You should really consider doing this. They take a small fee from your sales, but it's entirely worth it to be able to offer someone the ability to pay with a card.

10) A sign for payment methods - Seems silly, but if you have a sign that says you accept cards too you'll generally avoid someone asking "Can you take cards?" and skip right to the question "Do you want to pay by cash or card?" when you make a sale.

11) A stand to display your book(s) - Having the books out is key, but having them upright/standing is better. It's more inviting for people to take a copy from a stand than a stack.

12) Attitude and personality - Okay, this isn't a tangible item, but you need to make sure that you put on your best outgoing attitude possible. These are social events and if you just sit behind the table hoping someone's going to start a conversation get ready to be disappointed. Some will, but you need to be the one to reach out.

13) Something to haul all of your stuff - I use a suitcase, my friend uses a giant closeable bin with wheels. Either way, you're trying to save your back. Don't carry boxes of stuff in your arms!

14) Pens - You need to be able to sign your books.

15) Gum or breath mints - With all the talking you're going to be doing to people, this is probably a good idea.

I'll update if I can think of any more.

Thanks for this post some great ideas!

I can vouch for everything Thomas said.

A note about the business cards/bookmarks/postcards/flyers: Vistaprint is a great outlet for creating these things; I got 500 business cars for around 10 bucks. Make sure these things have some of the following info on it:

-Your website
-Your email address
-Your social media platforms
-Wherever else your books are available

Sure, you want people to buy your work right then and there, but at my Comicon last weekend, I had several people tell me they preferred ebooks and asked if my work was available in that format. Handing them a postcard, I mentioned that all of my work was available on Kindle (including a Kindle-exclusive short story that wasn't at the table).

People liked the idea of there being an exclusive story out there that wasn't available at my table. Almost like it was a secret they were in on or something.

The returns on the business cards, et al, will not be immediate -- but I can tell you, from the sheer number of business cards and bookmarks I picked up from other tables, there is a good chance that in the days and weeks following a con, people can come across these materials again and decide to check you out.

There is both a short game and a long game to this.

I have a cousin who foregoes POD and has his own copies printed which he sells through his site and at booths in cons. Seems to work for him.

I would like to sell at Geek Girl Con next year.

CL, you should definitely apply. Keep an eye on their site early next year for the application. GGC is a really fun event in general.

Thomas wrote: "9) Square or PayPal Here - You should really consider doing this. They take a small fee from your sales, but it's entirely worth it to be able to offer someone the ability to pay with a card."

So much this.

I had someone tell me before my con that most con-goers bring cash, as it helps prevent them from overspending. If my sales are any indication, that advice was wrong. I did a lot more sales where people paid with cards than cash... and I don't want people to lose out on potential sales because the option isn't there. Square is so simple to set up and use, and the fees are small, so it's probably the best way to go.

That and if you have people paying with cash, you have to worry about having change. As someone who rarely, if ever, has cash on-hand, the card reader was an extra godsend.

I love attending cons/festivals/expos and do quite well (selling between 100-250 books depending on the venue). Definitely shop around your area to see if there is a reasonable priced one to get your feet wet. Does your town do an annual book festival? What about a Saturday market? Do you have any author friends who would share a booth with you and split the cost?

Once you decide to go, get prepared. Go with bookmarks in hand and be ready to talk to everyone who will listen. After my first couple of festivals, I decided to forgo candy and focus on bookmarks. I created a template in Publisher where I can print 10 on one sheet which drastically reduces the cost. (I'm happy to share this. If anyone wants a copy, just message me.) Being in the artist alley at a recent ComicCon, I gave away 7,000 bookmarks (attendance was pegged around 50,000).

I ask anyone and everyone that I can if they know anyone who likes to read fantasy, or is looking for a new book, or if they'd like to hear about a new book. If you can do this while standing, you're much more approachable. I've found asking if they want a bookmark results in giving out a lot (which is great) but doesn't instantly engage them. Most of them will take the bookmark and keep walking. Asking the questions above makes most of them stop and think before just passing by. A large number of potential customers who answer yes to these questions will stop and listen to my sales pitch. If you aren't comfortable doing this, find a friend or two that is and pay them to join you. It will be worth it.

My thoughts on setting the price and accepting credit cards. 1) Buyers love getting a discount. Our middle-grade fantasy paperback's list price is $12.99. I reduce it to $10 for expos, etc because it gives them a deal and is easier for me to collect $10 than $13 and simplifies the change I need. 2) I cover the sales tax on cash sales. It's much easier than calculating and collecting it on every cash sale. Yes, that means I make just over $9 out of my $10 but then I'm not asking or dealing with $10.63 and it's easier for the customer. 3) I charge sales tax on credit card sales because the app calculates it for me. This offsets the credit card fees.

I love talking with people at expos. Getting our names out there is key. I hope you find an expo or festival that is a good match for you.

J.S. wrote: "Buyers love getting a discount. Our middle-grade fantasy paperback's list price is $12.99. I reduce it to $10 for expos, etc because it gives them a deal and is easier for me to collect $10 than $13 and simplifies the change I need."

THIS.

My paperbacks run from $12-14 on Amazon. But in-person, I sell them for $10. It's a win-win; they get a discount, and I get to keep a higher percentage of the money than if they had ordered from Amazon. Also, I further discount if they buy all three books at once (at $10 a pop, that would come out to $30 -- I only charge $25 for all three).

That deal, so far, has proven quite popular.

J.D. wrote:I had someone tell me before my con that most con-goers bring cash, as it helps prevent them from overspending.

I know that as regular attendees at Emerald City Comic Con, we DO bring cash... and then keep spending on credit card :-p

I've thought about setting up a booth at comic con but wasn't sure about it because my genre is thriller/suspense. I figured fantasy or sci-fi would be a a more appropriate genre for a con but maybe I'm wrong. Anyone in my genre have experience with conventions and sales?

C.L. wrote: "J.D. wrote:I had someone tell me before my con that most con-goers bring cash, as it helps prevent them from overspending.

I know that as regular attendees at Emerald City Comic Con, we DO bring cash...and then keep spending on credit card :-p..."

Ha sounds like what I do everywhere. I can definitely see the value in taking credit cards!

Square is a really great app for taking credit cards, especially when the venue has spotty wifi. You swipe their card like normal, but the app stores their encrypted information until a better connection is established, and then puts it through. This saved my life at my last event!

Evan wrote: "I've thought about setting up a booth at comic con but wasn't sure about it because my genre is thriller/suspense. I figured fantasy or sci-fi would be a a more appropriate genre for a con but mayb..."

I had booth neighbors selling this genre at my last Comic Con. I don't know how they did in sales, but people were stopping at their booths.

Does anyone know of cons taking place in Chicago that are good for indie-authors? Have you ever attended one? Besides bookcon! I know about that one :) Thanks!

@Micah, check out this one called Printers Row Lit Fest. While it may not be a traditional convention, there is still opportunity to be seen.

https://www.everfest.com/e/printers-r...

I had an indie author try to convince me to go to a con to sign books. She had tried it, but only found that it was a break even venture for her. I think this may have been because besides the booth fee, she stayed in a hotel for three nights, then there was food and travel expense, plus her books are seriously underpriced. However, even though she only broke even, she thought it was a great venue to sell books.

I personally do well at craft festivals and Christmas bazaars.

James wrote: "I had an indie author try to convince me to go to a con to sign books. She had tried it, but only found that it was a break even venture for her. I think this may have been because besides the boot..."
I'm glad craft festivals have been a success for you. I'll be attending my first one, hopefully, in February. I'm hoping it does pretty well!

James wrote: "I had an indie author try to convince me to go to a con to sign books. She had tried it, but only found that it was a break even venture for her. I think this may have been because besides the boot..."

My personal opinion is that breaking even is a good thing. My reasoning behind this is that though you're not pulling a profit, you are getting your book(s) out there more. If you have to eat it a little, that's a price worth paying to hopefully gain fans and people who continue reading your work.

Evan, I think what works for festivals is that there usually aren't a lot of authors at them. People are there to buy so your books will be something fairly unique. At my best two-day festival, I can sell close to 200 books.

Breaking even is certainly better than losing money, but I write full time so I need to turn a profit. I think she could have turned a profit by pricing her books at the market price and watching some of her expenses on the trip. She treated it like a vacation and so she had more-expensive hotel and ate at the fancier restaurants. I always run a cost-value analysis after an event in order to free up weekends where I'm going to less-effective venues to fill with a better event. Just from her description of her weekend at the con, I saw where she probably could have made it profitable.

James wrote: "Evan, I think what works for festivals is that there usually aren't a lot of authors at them. People are there to buy so your books will be something fairly unique. At my best two-day festival, I c..."

Wow, that's amazing. Very valid point as well. I can only hope I have close to the same success as you!

My success varies from festival to festival. The biggest problem you'll hit is that you can't plan for the weather. I had a festival this year where I usually do really well that had steady rain throughout the day. My sales for the weekend were only a third of what they usually are. What will help you, though, is if you continue to put out new books every year. I have people who stop in to see me at festivals where I go year after year just to pick up whatever is new since the previous year. Good luck!

I picked up a novel from an indie author a while back before I self published my first book. I never got around to reading it as my partner said it was pretty bad. It also made me rush my first release through the editing phase as it was more polished than 'that guy we bought a book from'. Fortunately us self pubbers can go back and fix our mistakes, leaving minimal evidence of what we had done! I later had the book edited properly and rereleased it!

Besides that, I had a nice chat with the bloke and it was exciting hearing about his path to self publish his first book. I would imagine hosting a booth, regardless of sales, would be a great way to spread word and have fun. I'd just recommend that you're happy your book is completely edited and beautiful so that anyone who buys it, will rush to find you online, follow you, and buy your future releases!

This is a great thread. It's a topic I've often pondered. Thanks you guys for offering up such wonderful, detailed info. :)

Thomas wrote: "I've been thinking about posting again on this topic and I wanted to provide a list of things people should really consider bringing for their booth.

1) Your book(s) - This is obvious, but there w..."

Thomas, this comment is beyond helpful. I've been looking into festivals recently and this list was exactly what I needed to see. :)

Is anyone on this thread from the Uk? I've been looking for conferences and festivals in England, but am struggling to find much information.

Cameron, I agree the best part of doing a booth is the people you meet. Sales are the icing on the cake. I've arranged author visits, learned that people want an audio book, met my audio book narrator, and talked to a lot of excited readers, just to name a few things, all from talking to people while doing a booth.

I'm trying a new one (for me and the first year of the expo) in Salt Lake City next month. It's call Wizarding Dayz. As the name suggests, it caters to fans of Harry Potter/Lord of the Rings genres. I'll let the group know how it goes.

I am just getting started in the face-to-face selling but here is what I am doing this year. In 16 days I will be doing my first face-to-face at a fundraiser event set up for a woman that was in a car wreck. The upside for me on the selling side, is I know a lot of people in that area. Then in May I am set up at the Go Blues Festival. Now for the fun event.

There is a biker rally later in the summer. My husband wants to go but I was leery on setting up a vendor booth at a biker rally. But I reached out to the guy that runs it and he told me that romantic suspense novels would go over well with the women there. So my husband gets to go and have fun (tax write off) while I sit and try and sell signed copies of my books.

So in a nutshell. Search for all events in your area. You might be surprised what types of events you can get a booth at that allows you to connect with new people and find a new readership for your books.

There's a craft festival in my area coming up in March. I'm planning to go to that and hoping for some others as well this year. I'm sure the best part is networking with people rather than selling a book. But some of the booths at cons are pretty pricey and it's hard to justify the price just for networking. I know it's important to network and that should be top priority but it feels like if you're going to spend that much money you would want more of a return. Any thoughts on that?

I do agree that it's nice to see a return on the cost put out for the space, but it's not something you can guarantee. You may end up operating at a loss. I have.

If price is prohibitive, sometimes sharing a table/booth with someone else will help alleviate that by splitting the cost down the middle. Otherwise it's going to be picking and choosing which event you feel you would be most successful at versus the cost to have that space.

The cost of the booth is definitely something to look at when considering the benefit of networking. Spending $300+ for a handful of contacts can be hard to swallow. I recommend searching out lower priced booths, such as local markets, to feel out your own sales routine. A booth needs a way to draw potential customers in. I tend to talk to everyone I can as they pass by which usually leads to decent sales. Not all authors are comfortable with that. Lower priced booths are great practice for finding your booth personality while still starting the networking process.

J.S. wrote: "The cost of the booth is definitely something to look at when considering the benefit of networking. Spending $300+ for a handful of contacts can be hard to swallow. I recommend searching out lower..."

I think that's where I'm at right now. There's a few local markets and craft festival coming to town and I'll be starting with those. My goal will be to work up to conventions and such.

Speaking of booths, I'm going to an author expo in a couple weeks and it includes a 20 minutes session in a room where authors can talk about their books. This will be my first time public speaking about my book. Anyone have tips for what to do and say?

Great thread! Thank you to everyone who has provided advice. I have been thinking about doing a booth and this gives me a lot to consider. Good luck to those of you with upcoming events.

@Evan, It really all depends on the format. Are you going to have time up in front of an audience with their full attention? Or are you going to have a space where people can come talk to you individually?

Thomas wrote: "@Evan, It really all depends on the format. Are you going to have time up in front of an audience with their full attention? Or are you going to have a space where people can come talk to you indiv..."

From what I understand, it will be me up in front of an audience with their attention

Having an audience gives a lot of leeway to talk about whatever you feel like. I definitely wouldn't make the whole thing about your book though. People like to know about people.

My preference would be to lead in with an introduction of myself, my interests, and the influences that led me to writing. I've found that if you establish some common connections with people, even at the most basic levels (example: He like's unicorns too!), they're more likely to pay attention while you talk about your book.

Other than that, go nuts. Talk about why you write, or where the story came from, or your characters and why you made them the way you did.

Tip: If all those speeches in high school taught me anything, it's to prepare some note cards with talking points, just in case you get stuck. It works.

Thank you very much! That's extremely helpful! I've been struggling to figure out how to start even. This should get me on the right track. Thanks for the advice!

Does anyone know of any good conventions/festivals in the Colorado/New Mexico area that are geared more towards fantasy rather than sci fi (though sci fi would work)? And does anyone have a good rule of thumb as far as how many books you should bring minimum? I just graduated college and I've done a few writers workshops or book giveaways, but usually within my means and I would like to start saving money in order to go to a convention/festival.

Evan wrote: "Speaking of booths, I'm going to an author expo in a couple weeks and it includes a 20 minutes session in a room where authors can talk about their books. This will be my first time public speaking..."

I've done a few writers workshops with local schools, but never anything too big...but I usually talk about how I got started on writing, a little background about my book, and then a little about the process and challenges along the way. I would suggest maybe introducing a character that your readers have enjoyed.