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For whom the jingle bells ring: testing the craft show market

Our Christmas craft show season begins with the first whiff of Thanksgiving turkey (October in Canada, eh?), but seasoned pros spend the entire year stockpiling inventory, planning displays, and banking vacation time from their ‘real’ jobs to enter the frenzied lottery that is the craft fair market.

Can booksellers tap this market? As a new author (first adult novel out a year ago, second just released), I am still learning to swim in the choppy waters of self-marketing, and took the plunge to find out. My test venue was an urban show of nearly 400 vendors that drew about 20,000 people.

The short answer is, I spent three days selling all of four books. Here are my numbers:

Cost of table: $410.00

Cost of travel: $37×3=$111

Cost of meals: $20×3=$60

Cost of supplies/decor: $50

Total Cost: $631.00

(prices do not include GST/HST as our company receives a rebate against tax owed)

Revenue from sales: $86.00

Revenue from sharing table/expenses: $250.00

Total Revenue: $336.00

Net: – $295.00

I lost money even though I found a fellow author to share the table: an author, by the way, who has been writing children’s books for years and sold 40 copies across her five available titles, more than paying her expenses. As ,umm, disappointing as it was watching her titles move while mine stared plaintively at folks who picked them up, admired them, then set them back down, that was a lesson in itself. In addition to my table mate’s voice of experience, here is what I gained in ‘qualitative revenue’:

– industry contacts: in my case, two other publishers who were in attendance. One in particular had a wealth of knowledge on new technology and sales trends.

– sales experts: trade show veterans offering advice on best shows, booth arrangement, crowd control

– market research: watching what people buy, what people are attracted to, how traffic flows. At this show, hot items were food, baby clothes, wooden decor, flowers, and more food. Most shoppers had young children or were shopping for young children. Very few were shopping for themselves; fewer still were avid readers.

– exposure: I know, writers can die from this if there is no money attached, but as a new author, there is no substitute for the hours of physical presence needed to build book, name, and brand recognition. For every book sold, I gave out dozens of business cards, practiced my pitch, and smiled, chatted or nodded to hundreds of more who passed by.

Comparison costs:

To reach this audience via print media: $400-$1,000.00

Broadcast ad: $2000.00 plus production

Market research: $10,000.00

Signings are free, but typically don’t draw crowds in the thousands, even if you’re an established author.

I’ll admit, my pride was stinging more than my back was aching as I lugged out nearly as many books as I had carted in. That sting was eased with the knowledge that I was also bringing home real-life experience on what does and can work for selling my books, and what does not: in other words, my expenses were not lost revenue but tuition for a real-life course in marketing and promotion.

Will I do it again? When my anguished pride completely heals and the cash flow recovers, I’ll weigh my ability to pay with my chances of improving the odds, and decide from there. At least when I do next year’s marketing plan, I will have much more information to work with. And if anguish is the writer’s fuel, I’ve got a full tank and then some 🙂

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Trick or Treat: What this writer is really afraid of

It’s the season of scare and I’ve already had my fill. Goosebumps erupted with a vengeance at the sight of snow on my deck during Sunday’s nor-easter. My hands gnarled in torturous anticipation of having to turn my demanding 10 year old into a watermelon superhero using nothing more than a shirt, a pillowcase, and an obscure prayer to the Patron Saint of Costumes.

But that is nothing compared to the terror we authors live with every day. So today, in honour of this most spirited celebration of the frightful, I invite you deep into my writer’s lair for a peek at what this author is really afraid of.

1. Not being read. It’s like high school all over again, throwing a party and the only ones who come are your grandmother, your brother because your parents paid him, and the creepy kid down the street who picks his nose to make his own pets. Except now you’re an adult, your grandmother’s passed on, your brother’s number is unlisted and the creepy kid is a lawyer charging $300 bucks an hour for public appearances.

2. Being read. After all, if people read your book, they may not like it and will forever ridicule you. Simple trips to the grocery store will become dashes through volleys of ‘you call that a book?’ and ‘you write like a girl.’ Okay, so the second one is actually a compliment; I make no assertions for the intelligence of said critics. On the other hand, if folks read it and actually like it, they will expect you to do it again, except better and in time for the next holiday gift-giving season. Who can possibly be creative under that kind of pressure?

3. The silence. It’s classic horror movie fare: no sound at all, until a sudden crescendo of horns, strings, and gushing blood hurls you from your seat and into the popcorn you’ve just sprayed around the room. But in the book world, the silence never ends: minutes tick to hours which drag to days of no one liking your facebook posts, no new follows on Twitter, no comments on your blog … you dash with newfound hope to the ringing phone, only to be hit up for a blood donation. As if you haven’t already given your heart and soul: they want your fluids as well.

4. The uncontrolled emotion. The Vincent Price-like laughter that erupts whe people ask how much money you make as an author. The writhing sea of green that churns every time the author on the news isn’t you. The tears that threaten to drown you and the wide-eyed ingenue who gushes: ‘You’re a writer? You’re living my dream.” Embarrassment and potential legal action aside, these outbursts pose great difficulty when trying to sucessfully find one’s way home, or trying to ensure one’s children don’t go dashing to the neighbours again because ‘Mommy’s got her writing face on.”

5. An end to the insanity. Because when the tears are dried, the book is written and every last drop of wine is drained from the bottle (and sucked from the cork), the writer’s life is one that chooses us, and that we choose to accept. I mean, quite frankly, in what other profession can all your fears fuel something as cool as a woven tapestry of the written word?

So bring on the monsters. Mine are bigger. Might as well have fun with them.

Happy Halloweeen, everyone!

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W-Day: A Fresh Start

In cyber-time, I haven’t posted a new blog since I-Pad 1s ruled the Apple store, so this is long overdue. I’m easing in slowly, committing one day a week. Wednesday. W-day, for cool women I’ve met or hope to meet.

As fate would have it, I attended an awesome event last night combining two of my favourite things: reading and well-appointed bars. More than a Reading Series debuted Oct. 18 at the Economy Shoe Shop in the heart of downtown Halifax. I got to meet three other authors, two of whom were newbies like me. I got to enjoy the company of good friends who came to cheer me on. I was able to introduce Little Jack and his compadres to a new crop of potential readers.

And I got to do this through the stellar efforts of the keen lady of the day: Kathleen Healy, Editorial Director of Bryler Publications Inc.

I hesitate calling her a lady, only because at age 24, she’s young enough to be my daughter. Like I ever thought I would hear myself saying that. However, she already has a very proud mom and for good reason. At an age when many of her peers are languishing at home bemoaning their futures between texts, she has rediscovered her passion and set out full-tilt to earn a living at of all things, publishing books.

I know. Kids her age aren’t supposed to be reading anything not posted, tweeted or broken down into initials and here she is, devoting her life to the creation and promotion of the ultimate printed tome. My daughter is clamouring for an I-Pod Touch for Christmas and Kathleen wants bookshelves. Young enough to be my daughter, maybe, but definitely her own person.

She admits to taking a few detours. Academia was her calling, she thought, until she realized over time that the pursuit of higher knowledge was depleting her deeper calling: that of writing, reading, and thoroughly enjoying a good story. She switched her higher education gears to publishing, then set her sights on a new company that she believed was so perfect for her, she spent six months working for free to prove her point. Now, she is living and working in rural Nova Scotia in her chosen field, as well as one or two others to subsidize her passion. And if her days aren’t busy enough acquiring manuscripts and working with authors to make their writing dreams come true, she has taken on this new reading series to help highlight the work of not only her employer, but other regional publishers as well. She issued invites, set the lineup, read all of our books, wrote the questions, and delivered everything with the relaxed glee of someone doing what she truly loves.

Books are dead? Not as long as there are folks like Kathleen. It makes this new author and old fogey have hope that even if I can never afford an I-Pod Touch on my book earnings, I can still do what I love and make a difference.

Now if I can figure out how to wrap that up for my daughter …

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Mommy, Where Do Novels Come From?

Writing a novel has often been compared to childbirth. Having birthed three children and written one novel, I think the comparison is a bit of a stretch – no pun intended 🙂

However, as Finding Maria finds her way onto shelves, into stores, and in the hands and discussions of readers, I have to admit that I am considering a sibling. Perhaps it is the thrill of seeing a book come off the press, or maybe it’s the great excuse a book launch provides to have a good party. More likely, it is that the characters in Finding Maria have just begun to feel the sun on their faces, and are bursting with more stories to tell.

Whatever the reason, I am excited about the prospect of writing again, but a little timid of entering into the solitary writer’s lair that can be the creative process. This time, I I’m going to try writing with the office door open, just a little, in case you’d like to chat, get a glimpse of a work in progress or learn a bit about this process that gets a novel to paper. Snippets of new creation, reflections, or whatever the day brings will be posted here. I invite you to share as well.

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The new journey

We are officially launched! Finding Maria had its coming-out day on Wednesday, Nov. 24, 2010. Supportive crowds at both the NSCC Pictou Campus Library and Museum of Industry in Stellarton, Nova Scotia. Jack, Rose, Aunt Georgie and Gwen have been introduced, their lives springing to life as folks begin reading the book. Be sure to post your thoughts! The best answers in life are found at the bottom of a good cup of coffee, and amid good discussion.

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Finding Maria first blog post

Welcome! This is an event of firsts for me.

This is my first blog posting, on my first web site, to invite you to share in the release of my first novel, Finding Maria.

For the past 20 years, I have earned my living as a non-fiction writer. The only things I wrote purely for enjoyment were invoices and bank deposits.

To describe the writing of a novel as enjoyable is to describe barreling down Space Mountain (or any other of those terrifying roller coasters) as a Sunday drive. However, getting to know Jack, Gwen, Rose, and Billie, as well as Rover, Joe, Gus, and the others who played an integral role in Jack Brandugan’s life has been much the same: intriguing, heartbreaking, terrifying, and yes, fun. I hope you agree when you read the book.

I look forward to your thoughts on the book, the web site, the writing process, or the world of books in general.

– Jennifer Hatt