A Tale Of Two Authors Selling Their Books

This is a tale of two authors. One sold a lot of books at an author event, the other sold almost none. What was the difference? Read on….

In a prior post, I shared how you, as an author, could find and take part in author fairs. But simply being at the event and having a table isn’t enough. You have to engage the readers in a way that is effective. Otherwise, they won’t buy your books and you’ve just wasted your time (and any fees that the event may cost).

I just finished an author event, eight days straight at the Oregon State Fair, as part of the Oregon Authors tables, and I’m happy to say that it went extremely well. I sold double the number of books I thought I would! So much, in fact, that I had to put in an emergency order for more author copies to sell for further events, having sold out of two of my five book titles. One day I sold 32 copies.

But there was another author at that same event who didn’t do so well. For the sake of anonymity, let’s call him “Bob.”

Why didn’t Bob do well? Like me, he specializes in speculative fiction, with three science fiction books, so we had much the same audience. Despite that, the same day I sold 32 copies, he sold zero.

So I took a moment to watch Bob as he sold his books, and I saw that he was doing everything wrong.

Here are some important pointers that I recommend, when you are an author doing in-person table sales, comparing and contrasting me with Bob:

Be attentive. When I’m at the table and potential customers are walking by, I’m watching for potential customers. I’m not doing something on my phone. I’m not having conversations with other authors. I’m ready to engage. Bob, on the other hand, was often looking down at his cell phone or just zoning out.

Be engaging. When a potential reader is close to the table and seems interested, or is wearing a tee shirt or something that has science fiction or fantasy themes, I meet their eyes and talk with them. “Hi!” I’ll say, “Do you like to read scifi or fantasy?” Bob, on the other hand, simply sat there as people walked by, waiting for them to talk first.

Be courteous and fun. Remember, a potential reader sees you as a source of entertainment. If you aren’t courteous or entertaining to them, they’ll move along to someone who is. When a reader comes to my table, I’m animated. I smile. I have big hand gestures. I laugh if there’s a funny bit about a book, or I get wide eyed at the exciting bits. And I don’t hawk my books from across the room, talk too loudly or too softly, or call out to people while they are in the middle of a conversation. Bob was courteous, I’ll give him that, but in a stuffy way, with none of the animation. It was as if he were selling them a vacuum cleaner or accounting software or something.

Dress the part. This event was a fair. People were there for excitement. I dressed in colorful shorts and short sleeve tee shirts. Another author, who sells swashbuckling naval adventure novels, actually dressed in pirate attire. Some festivals are even “louder,” such as the Eugene Pride Celebration, where it’s expected to wear rainbow colors and LGBTQ pins or flags. If the event were a more formal occasion, such as a table at a winery event, maybe semi-formal attire might be best. When I did a table at the Spirit of Bohemia Mining Days, I actually dressed like a 19^th century miner. Bob, though, at this fair, wore a dowdy button-up, long-sleeved dress shirt and dress pants, as if he were going to church.

Have a table display. My table had a cloth banner draped over it with a graphic that advertised my brand and my book covers. I had a little toy dragon for kids to play with, dragon bookmarks to give away, and stickers with dragon designs or “reading” designs to give away. Behind me was a massive poster advertising my fantasy books. And I wore tee shirts that were themed with reading messages or my branding. Some people have props that are in line with their book themes, and colorful tablecloths. I also have little displays that have five-star quotes about the books, left by readers on Amazon. Bob, though, had none of these things. All he had was a plain table with his books piled on it.

Have an effective pitch. A “pitch” is the quick summary of your book that hooks the potential reader. It needs to be on-point with the theme and genre of your book, create excitement, and give the stakes that the protagonists face. It also needs to highlight how that book is different from any other book in that genre. Each book needs its own pitch. When I talk to potential readers about my fantasy book, Dragon of the Federation, I lead off with “This is a fantasy told from the point of view of a dragon.” I pause a fraction of a second for that to sink in, and watch as their eyes light up, then I continue by saying what the protagonists are there for, an exciting event that sets up the plot, and then the dangerous and world-shattering stakes that the protagonists face. Bob, on the other hand, mentions something about a couple of specific technologies in his scifi books, but none of the plot points or stakes involved. It gave me the impression that it was a science fiction, but nothing else.

Have something more for the customer after the sale. When the customer buys your book, don’t let that be the end of the engagement. I say “Please feel free to take bookmark and a sticker. My card is in the book with my website and links, in case you’d like to follow me on my social media or sign up for my mailing list. And I urge you to leave a review on Amazon or Goodreads.” Have swag. This way, they are getting something more and have something to do even after they finish the book. I’m building a community around my books, you see. Bob, though, does nothing of the sort. He just sells the book and says “Thank you.”

Make sure your books have effective covers. Maybe a tad off-topic here, but you want to make sure your book covers are effective. They need to be instantly recognizable for what genre they represent, have a compelling title, and be original. For instance, my science fiction novel, The First Nova I See Tonight, has a cover that features an otherworldly planetscape with stars and a nova in the sky and three figures on it that represent the three main characters (including a feline alien, a space rogue, and a cyborg). My horror collection, Around the Corner from Sanity, has a cover with bloody handprints in the window of a dilapidated building. Bob’s books, however, feature pictures of pretty waterfall or a cliff face with ice. The titles also don’t suggest anything scifi-ish. Looking at the covers, one would have no idea what genre they fit at all. 

[Related: here’s a prior post I wrote about how to get an effective cover as an indie author]

Hey, I get it. Many of us writers are introverts. We just want to write our stories. But remember, your job as an author doesn’t stop after the book is published. Maybe that was the case 50 years ago, but these days you have to do so much more. You have to get out there, where the readers are, and engage them, both digitally and in-person. And even getting out there and doing in-person events isn’t enough. You have to market your books with enthusiasm. You’re an entertainer. Don’t be afraid to be a “people person” and get animated, at least for as long as your event is. Don’t be a “Bob.”

Cheers and happy reading!