So, I survived my first convention with minimal wear and tear. That’s if you don’t count the drive and getting lost at one point. Also, I think all GPS units should have a voice sensor that reacts to ‘Shut the f up, Robo-Bastard!’ I choose that phrase because it won’t get said in side conversations. So, here is a pro and con list to make things easier for me to combine my thoughts:
Pros
- Reconnected with some old acquaintances and spread the word that I had published a book. Apparently, this was a mystery to everyone.
- Made friends with Scott Barker and got to talk shop for a while. It’s always great to make new friends who are into the same things and are striving for the same goals.
- Gave away a few CD’s and other swag.
- My laptop was made a bit more efficient in terms of getting it onto the internet.
- I got some cupcakes.
- This was a major learning experience for the next time. This is the big pro here.
Cons
- Due to the minimal foot traffic through the vendor room (I was in room 2), there wasn’t much. Not being used to this type of thing, my energy drained rather quickly when nothing was happening. I have to learn to keep my energy up at these things.
- Nobody knew what I was peddling. This is probably the biggest thing because I forgot to bring a physical copy of the book. I left it behind because my dad had started reading it and forgot that he offered it to me. Worst part of this is that a friend with a physical copy was hanging out most of the time and had the book in his bag. The thing was 5 feet away and I didn’t realize it.
- Bookmarks should NOT be made at the last minute. We were in such a rush to get them ready that we didn’t realize over half of them were barely readable. They look great on the computer, but the website vanishes when printed out and there was far too much on there. We need to streamline and lighten things up.
- I’m horrible at sales pitches and always sound like I’m caught off-guard. Though, by the end of the event, I tended to be rather surprised anyone walked up to say anything.
For Next Year
- Going to have physical copies of each book. Aiming to have 4-6 of the books released by then. The physical copies might not be for sale, but for display.
- Sell the CD compilations that will be made BEFORE the month of the convention. We need to stop using such colorful things too because the words are routinely printed too dark to read.
- Make a display with more explanation and lists the books. Again, people need to know why I’m there.
- Perfect bookmarks. They will probably be the series instead of a single book like this time. Thinking of just having the title with the website and a QRC code. We have to master putting a back on these things too. Though, we can be smarter and simply order some. Should have the money for it by then.
That’s really the big thing here. I learned what to do and what not to do. Unfortunately, it was a lot of what not to do. My reason for being there was unclear, I let my natural shyness take over, and people really didn’t seem too interested in a CD. Might work better if there was more than one book on it, but I’m only going with 50 next year. Possibly 4-5 of each physical book since I get them cheap.
Legends of Windemere 
Hey Charles!
I am glad you were able to learn so much, although I imagine the “cons” to the trip were not so exciting. =/
But at least you went and got some experience, next time you will be more prepared and know what to expect, and you will be equipped and ready to conquer the event!
You are certainly more brave then I will ever be.
My anxiety would of prevented me from even thinking of doing such a thing.
You have a great book…with more additions to the series on the way so there is still plenty of time to get everything done! I refuse to accept that such a talented writer and author who is also an outstanding human being will be anything but successful…the world has a way of making things right and I know your time is coming just keep fighting and working hard!
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Thanks. I have a while before the next convention, so my focus is to keep the momentum of the first book going until the second is released. Not sure how easy that’s going to be, but I’m hoping the free weekend helped out. So far, I haven’t seen anything sell since it went back to .99 cents, but it’s early in the day and week. Maybe things will pick up tonight.
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Well, cons aside, sounds like it was still a valuable learning experience 🙂 I can just imagine your reaction when you realized your friend had a copy of your book. I suspect it was something along the lines of “Well … $%&#”. Still, spreading the word is half the battle, and it sounds like you pulled that off!!! Congrats 🙂
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I didn’t realize it until I got home and was talking to him over FB chat. As for the spreading of the word, I did accomplish that. I just need to hope it pays off. The sales numbers haven’t moved since my book went back to .99 cents, which has me anxious.
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Well, releasing the next book in the series will definitely boost sales of the first book! Maybe that should be your next major focus? Although I clearly have no idea what I’m doing with marketing, so you probably shouldn’t listen to me, lol.
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The second book is going to be out either end of May or early June. Depends on when the cover art is done. For this year, there’s probably going to be 3-4 months between book releases. It’ll slow down once I run out of completed manuscripts.
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Although it might not have felt as successful as you wanted, I would classify this as quite successful. You identified clearly things that can be improved and already have plans in place to make sure it doesn’t happen again. To me that is success. I’m excited that you got to go out and do it too, it seems like a good experience all around. Keep up the great work! 🙂
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I was calling it a learning experience for a while. I figured I wouldn’t do a lot of ‘business’, but I did hope for more than what I got. We tend to build things up in our minds anyway. Now, I just need to see if I can keep the book selling until the sequel comes out.
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Sorry Charles, but what was on this CD?
I think I may have missed something… 🙂
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The book was a PDF on CD for the convention. People thought it was music, so it fell to confusion.
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Well, we all learn from our mistakes. It takes a very brave person to put themselves out there like that, so congratulations! *standing ovation*
And I know next time is going to go MUCH better! 🙂
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It should. I’ve got a year to prepare for it. 😉
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I’ve noticed some Authors are using “Trailers”? Like maybe a PowerPoint or video presentation running on the computer, projected on a big screen for everyone to watch? If you have a musical friend, or if you can pluck at the keyboard or piano a little, make some John Williams-esque music to go with the presentation to draw people in. I was confused by the CD’s myself.
Why weren’t you in Vendor room 1? Or have your wife watch the kiosk while you browsed through the busier room, saying howdy and pitching the series. Have a button on your shirt or jacket, something like “I’m an Author, ask me how!”.
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I lack musical friends or enough images to make a decent trailer for now. I was thinking of making one down the road for the overall series.
Vendor room 1 seemed to be the vendors that have been showing up for years and take up a lot of space. My wife went in there to look around and didn’t come back successful. I walked in there and the author in that room talked to me about buying his books, but not really about my own stuff. I hate to say that it was a bad set up, but it definitely didn’t help those of us in the second room. I agree with one of my friends that at least one of the regulars should have been put in the second room to help the others with traffic. Though, Rayne with her cupcakes made a killing.
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I think these are very self-aware and honest observations Charles….and exactly the kinds of things that all of us would have probably done and experienced our first time around. Most authors are not natural salesmen, so a lot of those details- the pitch, the communication, the smaller details- are things we can only learn through experience. But, as I am sure you know, an experience is only worth if if you learn something and you have some excellent takeaways here. Great job putting yourself out there and stepping out of your comfort zone! I enjoyed your weekend updates.
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Thanks. I’m happy that I have a while before my next attempt. Now I can focus on preparing for my sequel in a month or two and getting my book to sell again. It’s kind of stopped since it went back to .99 cents. Not sure what to do.
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Maybe keep it set to free until the second book comes out? I’m considering that strategy for my second book release, as I’ve read a lot of self-published authors get success that way. Not sure, though.
Did you get a lot of downloads over the weekend?
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I can only do 5 free days within the 90 day KDP Select period. At least that’s what I was told. I can’t really afford to put the book at free for so long either.
I got over 2,000 downloads, so it was successful. I was just hoping that the momentum would carry over to when it went back to .99 cents.
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That’s a lot of downloads! How many places did you advertise that it was free, other than WP?
Smashwords allows you to create coupons (set as low as free) with flexible end dates, and that’s what I’ve been using for my book giveaways. I see what you mean about not being able to afford to, but if it gets you a lot of new readers and sales of the second book, the ROI might be better than you think. Of course, any marketing strategy is a risk, and you never know if it will pay off.
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I got onto another site, but I did it last minute, so I didn’t have much. Since I’m KDP Select now, I can’t use Smashwords and Nook. I did do a free week early on with Smashwords and it didn’t go well. 18 sales over the entire week.
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Learning is important and you got cupcakes, right?
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Yup. Chocolate, Vanilla, Pina Colada, and Strawberry Shortcake. It was the highlight of the weekend. 🙂
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Hi Charles,
Sounds like it was a steep learning curve. It must feel like climbing to the top of the mountain (finishing a novel), only to find that there’s another, bigger mountain behind it. Just my opinion, but if I were you, I would be heading to the convention next year with a stack of books. A lot more than 5 of each. Nothing says “I’m an author and I’ve got a book to sell” better than a pile of shiny, unopened books! And don’t underestimate the value of having the author sign a physical copy of a book. I know some people don’t think its worth much, but I LOVE getting a signed book, especially if I have had a chat to the author right before I bought it, and he/she has put my name in it! Anyway, that’s just my opinion. A bit tired today, stayed up too late last night reading this great little book I just downloaded called “Beginning of a Hero”…. Can you believe the author was giving it away for free? 😉
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I was actually signing the CD’s. The difficulty with physical books this time around is that I’m low on cash. Next year should be easier to get physical books to sell. I’m just not sure how many to go with since many people simply took down the name to download the free one.
Glad you’re enjoying the book. A lot of people keep telling me they’re staying up late with it.
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