My First Book Fair!

Oh, how I have looked forward to this. Weeks of preparation, as you all know. 100 days of lovely, hot summer days. Unseasonably dry.

Not on Saturday...The 7th Annual NW Book Fair opened to a drizzle, proceeded to a downpour and ended with a mist. Go figure...the best laid plans, right?

There is an up-side to all of this. I learned I could still prepare for an event. We had the best looking booth. We were organized. Between Russ, Cheri's wonderful husband, Daniel, my IT guru and friend, Sarah, my graphic designer, Cheri, me, and Angela, Cheri's 8 year old granddaughter, we put on a great show.

The Farloft selfie cut-out was a hit between rain showers. The dragon puppet, dubbed Spitfire, was loved by all and we sold our share of books. It's just that the turnout was limited.

I have another event on August 1st at Another Read Through on N. Mississippi from 11:00-2:00 and I will be at the Japanese Skosh Festival August 8th from 10:00-2:00 at the Gresham City Park corner of Powell and Main. I am hopeful the weather will be better for those events and you can drop by to visit and have your copies of my books autographed.

My Table

Cheri's Table

Both of our banners were done by Sarah Hyndshaw my Graphic Designer

The downpour outside out tent

Marketing preparations for the 7th Annual NW Book Festival

I have been accepted to the 7^th Annual NW Book Festival, July 25^th in downtown Portland at Pioneer Courthouse Square. Last year they had over 3,500 people attend with over seventy independent authors. I am excited to be involved is such a large event. It will be my first as a published author.

So how does one go about preparing for such an event? How do you make the most out of the contacts you will have an opportunity to make at a festival like this? How many books should you bring? (My books are print-on-demand, so books that are bought are out-of-pocket expense for me.) How will I get readers to come to my booth and, better yet, buy from my booth? So many questions that luckily, I have the background to answer because I have a history that includes ‘marketing.’