Book Fair Blues? Twelve Tips for MWSA Writers (and Others!) To Make Booths Better

By Carolyn Howard-Johnson



The spring season for book promotion will soon be upon us.

Don't rent a booth at a book fair.

Don't host an event.

Don't do anything! Not without assuring its success with a savvy marketing campaign. Here's how:

1. Join with other authors to cross-promote.

2. Send out invitations to readers and to the media.

3. Produce a catalog or brochure to give to the press in attendance and attendees. Try to give your gift more substance than a mere flier. It will beless likely to get tossed.

4. Tie sales to a charity relevant to writing or literacy.

5. Schedule book signing times even though you will be manning the booth for the full day. It adds credibility to your appearance.

6. Use signs, lighting and other effective display techniques.

7. Give a gift to those who purchase your book. Go to http://redenginepress.com for a journal that can be used to increase your profits as an add-on sale or as a gift-with-purchase.

8. Offer snacks to those who drop by.

9. Take photos for use in post-publicity.

10. Design a media blitz including queries, releases, and personal phone calls.

11. Schedule a special offering or entertainment in your booth. For example, at the 2008 LA Times/UCLA Festival of Books Rey Ybarra will produce introductory mini videos for authors at a special price. You could also offer a
children's story hour or a poetry or a performance. (If you would like more information on Rey's video service, e-mail me at HoJoNews@aol.com; put REY YBARRA in the subject line.)Learn more about a professional service at www.BestSellingAuthorTV.blogspot.com. Watch the videos there that he has done for me and other authors.

12. If you can afford to do it, give out totes or bags with your bookcover, logo,
and website printed on them. Toss in your bookmarks or business/postcards.

And, of course, get a copy of THE FRUGAL BOOK PROMOTER: HOW TO DO WHAT YOUR PUBLISHER WON'T for practical suggestions for hundreds of other ways to brand yourself and promote your book. Look up book fair related words in the index including "book fairs," "book signings," "book expos," but don't neglect related subjects like "media releases," "building a contact list," and more.

To help you prepare, follow the planning of a couple of Authors' Coalition's book fair booths—both successes and disappointments—at my book fair-focused blog, http://www.authorscoalition.blogspot.com . Learn more about book fairs and other promotion on the resource page at http://www.carolynhowardjohnson.redenginepress.com/book_fairs,_tradshows.htm .

Sign up for my newsletter, "Sharing with Writers" to learn more about book fairs and about every other subject that has to do with publishing. Simply send me an e-mail at HoJoNews@aol.com. Put SUBSCRIBE in the subject window. Or go to www.authorscoalitionandredenginepress.com.

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Carolyn Howard-Johnson's first novel, This Is the Place, won eight awards. Her second book, Harkening: A Collection of Stories Remembered, creative nonfiction, won three. An instructor for UCLA Extension's world-renown Writers' Program, her book The Frugal Book Promoter: How to Do What Your Publisher Won't is recommended reading for her classes, was named USA Book News' "Best Professional Book 2004," and was given the Irwin Award. Her second book in the How To Do It Frugally series is The Frugal Editor: Put Your Best Book Forward to Avoid Humiliation and Ensure Success is also a USA Book News award-winner as well as the winner of the Reader View's Literary Award in the publishing category. Her chapbook of poetry Tracings, was named to the Compulsive Reader's Ten Best Reads list and was given the Military Writers' Society of America's Silver Award of Excellence. She is the recipient of both the California Legislature's Woman of the Year in Arts and Entertainment Award and American Business Women's Association's Woman of the Year award., Her community's Character and Ethics Committee honored her for promoting tolerance with her writing. She was also named to Pasadena Weekly's list of 14 "San Gabriel Valley women who make life happen." She is a popular speaker and actor. Her website is www.howtodoitfrugally.com.

From MWSA member Vic Mills

Hi Joyce; Nice notice -- thanks! A few years ago I authored my first novel SNAFU and self published it. Barnes and Noble, Hastings Books and Amazon.com took on the book for several months, and held several book talks. Jeff Edwards penned two very nice reviews.

I've run into a few pitfalls that perhaps others have experienced as well.
1.) Most of the major book retailers will not take on a self published work, as there are so many offerings and they prefer well known publishers. Hastings Books are a large company and are among the few that do embrace us independents.
2.) One thing missing here in the Pacific Northwest are competent editors.
3.) A biggie for me is trying to get my book into the national organization, "The Military Book Club," who to contact.

Like others, I spent a lot of money getting my book on the market, only to discover, the market is closed to us.

That's all. Let me know if there are any talks planned for my area.

Best wishes,

Vic Mills

MWSA Member Offers Resources and More for Helping Troops

Have you ever wondered what you could do to support our troops and their families (other than sending well-meaning posts around on the web! (-: )

Are you looking for quotatons about tolerance?

Do you have a resource you'd like listed for those interested in the military to see?

Visit author Carolyn Howard-Johnson's War. Peace. Tolerance and Our Soldiers at www.warpeacetolerance.blogspot.com. Her grandson is serving his second tour of duty in Iraq. This blog is her way of supporting troops regardless of your position on the war.
--
Contributed by Carolyn Howard-Johnson, author of the foreword for Support Our Troops, published by Andrews-McMeel. Find her at www.howtodoitfrugally.com.

Beware of Your Own Culpability: Writers’ Traps and Scams

I wrote this article a long time ago. However, I still spend time with new authors trying to prepare them for the world that awaits them -- whether they publish traditionally, with a subsidy publisher or self publish. I still see people rushing to sites that allow them to vent their frustrations. However, I think folks forget that companies are in business to make money. People work for those companies to take home a paycheck. That doesn't make business the great, monolithic "Evil-doer." Libelous comments, even though they are indicative of frustration, will be a mere ripple in the pond if the complainers are lucky. If they are loud enough -- and nasty enough, they might find themselves facing lawsuits. Whereas it's a free country and we can say what we wish, there are limits and responsibilities associated with free speech that are being tested everyday.

As authors, we have to understand what's involved in publshing and selling a book. Companies like Amazon make decisions based on many issues -- "cheating" publishers using print on demand printers isn't likely to be one of them. Anyway, here is an article I've published several times in several places. I hope you find it useful.

Joyce Faulkner

Beware of Your Own Culpability: Writers’ Traps and Scams

Many folks dream of making it to the top of an enormous pyramid of literary talent where they will rub shoulders with the likes of F. Scott Fitzgerald, Harper Lee and J.D. Salinger. Others fantasize about writing a runaway best seller and becoming the next Stephen King or Dan Brown.

For most, fortune is an elusive pixie that dances just beyond their fingertips. Not everyone with a story is talented enough or persistent enough to finish a book. Not all of those who do end up with a professional, commercially viable product. For the gifted, determined few who complete publishable projects, the industry is a maze of questionable opportunities, u-turns and dead-ends. The odds are against any one writer being at the right place and time with the right book. No wonder many would-be authors end up frustrated and vulnerable.

Impatient with the seemingly endless process, hopeful writers sometimes pay to see their work in print only to feel cheated and embarrassed by the effort later on. It happens so often that bookstores and writers’ sites feature books, websites and magazines filled with advice and warnings. Watch out for fraudulent agents and publishers, they say. Stay clear of anthologies that ask accepted authors to buy several copies. Don’t pay reading fees. Be careful of publisher referrals to editors who expect payment. Don’t write for free. The laundry list goes on and on. Given that so much of the traditional approach is out of the author’s hands, these cautions make non-traditional routes seem all the more treacherous. There are so many ways to slip up, it seems.

Certainly, there are scam artists out there who take advantage of those who dream of being ‘published’. Swindlers rely on their victims to participate in the double-cross which makes the result all the more humiliating. However, not all unhappy endings come from fraud. Some new author grief has to do with unmet expectations. One writer thought that once his book was accepted all he had to do was sit back and wait for the royalties to come rolling in. He learned otherwise when his handsome, well-written novel sold very few copies. Another author paid $500 to a publicist who told her that he’d present her book to the chain bookstore buyers. She imagined dozens of books on the front table at Barnes and Noble. There are no guarantees, she learned. Neither of these writers were duped. They didn’t understand the book business and their decisions were injudicious.

Regardless of which publishing approach an author pursues, here are a few attitudinal perspectives that might make the process less stressful.

· Adjust your expectations. Understand why you are writing and set goals based on that understanding.
· Evaluate your work with an eye to understanding who might be interested in reading it. Creativity is a wonderful thing, but if you aren’t speaking to an audience there will be no one to buy your book. As elementary as that sounds, garages full of unsold volumes abound.
· Understand that regardless of how you publish your book, that’s only one part of the process. You must dedicate yourself to selling it. Don’t expect anyone else to do this for you although larger publishers have more resources to help you than smaller ones.
· Focus on the art of self promotion. People won’t buy your book if they don’t know who you are. There are many books to help with this. One of the best is “The Frugal Book Promoter” by Carolyn Howard-Johnson.
· Network with other writers and learn from their successes and mistakes.
· Have a plan and make tactical decisions that support your strategy. For example, if your goal is to make money from freelance work, don’t give away articles but if your goal is to create audience for your books, writing in exchange for ad space may be a smart move.
· Understand what services you are buying. For example, are you buying results or time? Are you paying for expertise or for a task?
· Understand how you are paying for services. Are you paying by the hour? By the project?
· If someone with a deal that sounds too good to be true approaches you, it probably is. It’s a cliché but it’s true.

Most of us have been disappointed by what we perceived as broken promises. When this is the result of fraud, call a lawyer and take action. Warn others. When it’s the result of misunderstanding, making decisions based on inadequate information, or choosing the wrong service, there are fewer legal or moral recourses. However, assess why the results were less than you expected. Experience is a great teacher. Too bad it’s also a painful one.