WOO!! Okay this might get a little long because I am bursting with ideas (some of which I've done, some of which I'm improving on, and others I want to do in the future) BUT!
A few things I have noticed is if you have more than one book, it's easier to get people to buy, but I have successfully sold out at a show with just one book published, and I've even sold books with nothing but a pitch and a QR code because my product didn't arrive in time.
Speaking of which, when your book is published and you have an event selected, make sure you order copies at LEAST 4 months ahead of time. Especially if from Amazon who is notoriously slow at sending author copies and more than once I've had my shipment lost or severely delayed and I had to scramble to get another shipment or just use what I had left over.
Things that help with display:
Picture stands. These prop the book up, are relatively cheap, come in all sorts of styles, and draw attention to your works.
This one is from Walmart and is like $0.59. If you have a metal one and are crafty, you can actually dress it up to match a theme in your book. Which will draw more attention! I noticed you have a lot of hands on your cover - a cool idea would be to get one of those wooden hand references artists use, get some cheap air dry clay to make skin, and use some paint to make it look like a creepy hand holding your book in place. I've even seen other authors have a miniature bookshelf on their table that looked like this:
It's simple, but it displays them in a neat way that you can actually decorate with props to draw in more attention.
Another thing that catches the eye that I've noticed a lot of people don't think about is the table cover. I found a purple dragon scale blanket that is the softest thing I've ever touched in my LIFE and it matched my purple scale cover of my first book and I got endless compliments on it.
Side note, there's a talking dragon in my book nicknamed Charlie by the main character, so I grabbed a purple dragon off Etsy as a prop and this was my first attempt at a table (it's a little sad, but I've grown my skill since then lololol). I've had SO MANY requests to buy Charlie too. Stand strong. Do not sell your props 😂😂😂 One guy I meet often at the local shows who writes about redneck meth wizards has a possum prop named Horace and I love him. My adoptive dad that I go with sometimes uses swords as props to promote his books that have a dnd feel to them as they are often based on some of our pathfinder adventures.
Next thing is character art. If you have a short line or two of dialogue or a narration line that you love that goes with a character's face or you have a scene in the book you can get art of or draw yourself with that line/dialogue from the book, absolutely print it and frame it at your table for others to see. This will give them some insight into your story.
One lady I went to a show with had a book about bloodline traits so she actually ordered different colored blood pens in the shape of syringes for people to take. They also had her book printed on the side! REALLY cool idea!
Speaking of tiny props - I've seen multiple authors make miniatures of their books (like 1 to 1.5 inch tall fake books that can also be turned into jewelry) and they are the CUTEST things!!!
People ADORE these at events! I want to get some made for myself.
If you have something in your book you can turn into a prop to help promote it, jump on that with BOTH feet and a claw and a wing if possible.
Another thing is having a pitch is great - I have a one line pitch for my first book that's quick, grabs the attention of a passerby, and makes them pick up my book to look through. That being said, sometimes when one person engages with you while another person comes up to your booth, you can't always catch their attention in time. So! Another author gave me an idea to get stylized little cards or print out little signs that I can stick on a book mark or an actual stick (I used wooden kabab skewers once) and put it inside the book that it's about so it can sit above the book and advertise it for me.
The last event I went to, I found out the night BEFORE at like 8pm that someone wasn't going to be able to make it to a show that started at 9am (that was 2 hours away from where I lived) and wanted to gift me their table, so I scrambled, found 3 physical books total, put together a display, and sold e-books. It wasn't the most glamorous but I managed this:
I will absolutely be refining the tags that stick out of the top of the book to look more graceful but given that I stopped at a dollar general on the way up to get most of this stuff, and had to fight god to make my printer work until 3am, I feel like I actually managed to pull something off! (Never mind the fact I looked as haggard as poor Charlie there.)
Side note: I actually made the custom fleece blanket with my cover art on it for the second blanket btw! It was like $40, but it's SO SOFT and SO COOL and I highly recommend it if you can swing it.
Also, if you have a newsletter that goes out, print out a sign-up sheet for names and emails so that people can sign up for your newsletter while they are at your table. If you are at an outdoor event, I recommend a clip board and a cute paperweight because the wind is a gremlin that knocks your stuff off the table like a cat with a grudge. I know the wind can't make eye contact like a cat can, but you can feel it in your soul.
When selling, make sure you have not only cash on hand, but QR codes for all payment styles you take. I have cashapp, venmo, paypal, square, and one that links to both my linktree and my Ko-Fi shop (the latter where I let people know that I sell my books for cheaper than Amazon and make more proceeds from it. I also mention that they go through paypal for those not familiar with the website to relieve any uncertainties.)
Stickers ARE a lot of fun and so is purchasable art (as well as just display art) but if you know someone who can do t-shirt prints and you wanna go the extra mile, people get excited about t-shirts with cool prints. My sister does t-shirts and once printed out art from one of my favorite fandom artists (with their permission - they wanted a shirt too and we made and sent them one):
(EraserMic fans can I get a hoiyah?) This is an above and beyond move, and I haven't done it yet, but I'm considering doing it if things ever take off. I've straight up seen people cosplay characters from their books and it REALLY gets people invested. So that's another idea to keep in mind!
Also!!!! Book marks are a surefire way to both advertise your books and make people look forward to if you have other stories coming out. Here are some I've made on Canva:
I make sure to have a QR code to my linktree so that they have access to all sorts of social media that I want to share on.
Speaking of Canva! Also make some business cards on there - you can get a box of 100 for like $20. When displaying them on the table, use a business card holder to make it look professional! On my card, the front is my banner logo, and on the back is my linktree address as well as a QR code leading to it, and my author signature and picture. You can design it however you want, I went through a bunch of different designs before I settled on this, but I'm pretty happy with it.
A couple of other things that are useful to get people's attention are banners. One to go across the front of the table, and/or one to stand up behind you. I'm planning on getting mine here: https://www.bannersonthecheap.com/vertical-banners for when I actually have time/money to design one/get someone to design one for me.
Now, for some things that don't always get thought about when going to an event:
Check to see if they provide the table or if you'll need one, and what size they allow.
Same with chairs. You're going to be there for hours. Make sure you are comfortable!!!
Bring an extension chord - preferably one with lots of plugs to use because there is no guarantee you'll be near an outlet
If you are at an outdoor event (or even an indoor one actually), bring at least 2 battery chargers for your phone. Preferably 3. I've had it happen where I get there with 3 charged battery packs, and 2 of them quit on me out of nowhere. Brand new.
Chords!!!!!! For everything - phone, computer, battery pack charger because you never know if you can use it, medical devices, etc.
A card reader device like for Square - I have one that plugs into my phone, but it needs a cable converter from a 3.5mm jack to a USB-C to work on my phone.
Print a page of QR codes (preferably in a picture frame) that are labeled for what they belong to so that people can pay you without you having to search on your phone for the payment method.
Keep a box for cash, don't just keep it in a pocket or in a bag. Having a box helps with organization and you can lock it for safety.
Bring water or something you can drink if you don't want water. And I mean bring a big ass obnoxiously sized bottle because again the event is usually hours long and if you get good foot traffic to your booth, you're not going to be able to leave very often.
A booth buddy for the inevitable moment when your bladder has decided to revolt.
Snacks. Sometimes the event provides lunch, often times they do not. Bring snacks and a lunch just in case
A wagon. The more props and items you have to sell, the more trips you'll make to the car. Save yourself the back pain if you plan on doing this a lot and get yourself a wagon. If it's a one off event, don't worry about the wagon, maybe get a hand truck from a friend. But if this is going to be a repeat move, definitely invest in yourself.
A sturdy tool or craft box that you can carry your books and props in so they don't get injured in transport.
I recommend bringing a computer or crafts for down time, but if you get good foot traffic, you won't really use it/get to them.
Clipboard and pens for when people sign up for your newsletter. People will accidentally (or on purpose) steal your pen. You can either have multiple, or get one that attaches to the keyboard by a chain. Or get one of those like they have attached to the counter at the bank and adhere it to the clipboard. They sell them at Office Depot.
Simple print out for your newsletter sign up if you have one. You can even get a binder and have print outs of your actual newsletters to display for people to look through and see what they'd be signing up for. Put them in plastic sheets for easier viewing and so people don't accidentally tear them.
A pitch: This is important. I'll explain why in just a bit, but you need a good pitch.
Price tags. People will constantly be asking you "How much is this?" and if you are engaging with one customer and another doesn't want to interrupt, price tags are an introvert's BESTIE because they can look at it, prepare themselves, either pay via QR code and let you know "Hey I just sent you this payment, this is what it's for, I'm grabbing it!" without making it a huge ordeal, or just have the cash in hand to throw at you (metaphorically, hopefully 😂). Because, and I cannot stress this enough, you WILL get TALKERS who do not pay attention to the fact you are trying to engage with a wider audience.
Now, about that pitch. Some events I've gone to, people will wonder by and be hesitant to engage (idk why, we were all selling books, it was a book show, but people will be people, so I learn to roll with it). So I've adjusted my approach. Sometimes I ask "What do you like to read?" or some other open ended question that gives me insight on if I can hook their interest. It's important to NOT ask questions that can be answered with Yes or No because that shits down conversation quickly. You want them to stop and think of a response. If it's something you can work with, latch onto it. If it's not something you write, but you're booth neighbor does, absolutely direct them to your booth neighbor and your booth neighbor will get the idea and hopefully help direct people your way too. It's worked every time with me and other indie authors, we are all out here cheering each other on, and it's gotten us both more foot traffic. I've even had a booth neighbor have to step away and really interested customers stopped by and I'd heard enough of her pitch to tell them about it and they bought a book. Look out for your neighbors and they will look out for you! This also gets customers to stop at your booth in interest because you've already started to engage with them.
Another thing to note: When you get people talking about your book and are pitching it to them to gain their interest, DO NOT tell them the whole plot. I've watched a man tell every person that came to his booth the entire plot of his series book by book and made zero sales because they already knew everything that happened and were no longer interested in buying. Give them enough to pique their interest. Let them flip through the book and read the blurb because that's what it's there for. You make more sales with less information than you do giving it all away at once.
My pitch for my first book was "It's about a young elf princess that loses a weapon of mass destruction in a bet and has to go on a quest to get it back before her parents find out and ground her for a millennia." I often get a laugh and some comments. If they are still look like they're not entire sold, I'll add "It's got a talking dragon, conspiracy theorist elf, and lots of shenanigans." That usually is enough to convince them if they are considering it.
If you can't get an immediate sale, tell them to take a business card so that if they can't buy today, they can check you out online and buy another day or share it with someone they think would be interested.
Keep in mind, you don't have to do all of this at once - especially not on your first showing, but when you do go to an event, look at the other displays and see how other people present their products. See what you can apply to your own stuff and see what doesn't work for you. It's always okay to change things around or grow things gradually.
Hope this helps!!!! Above all: HAVE FUN!
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