book fair + author fest: prep

My introvert is officially hating me. For SIX HOURS tomorrow, I will have to be outgoing and sunshiny, and I will have to have my saleswoman pants on.

The joys of a writer who actually wants to share their stories. ¯\_(ツ)_/¯

Why couldn’t I have been one of those writers satisfied with just writing the thing?

I’ve said before on this blog that it was my dream as a child to write a book and someday see it on the shelf of my local bookstore (which I have) and my local library (which I also have). Past me, little me, didn’t really think through the process of getting there. Sure, I can dream up stories and type them out and spend way too many hours obsessively revising and even more hunting for typos (and then STILL find some in the book…). But little me didn’t anticipate the number of people I’d have to then talk to in order to get said book out into the world.

If you’re not an introvert, this post might be incredibly confusing (what do you mean you don’t relish the idea of meeting strangers and talking to them for SIX HOURS??). As an introvert, I’m already worrying about how exhausted I’m going to be at the end of the day. I’m worrying about all that small talk I’ll have to make.

I’m also worrying about all the things I didn’t consider while I’ve been ignoring the fact that I committed to this even several weeks ago. Like – I don’t have a square (or other device) to take credit cards. (I do at least have Venmo.) And I’ll have to run to the bank to get singles for folks who have cash but don’t bring anything smaller than a twenty. And I need to make signs. And I need to come up with something quick and clever to include with my signature. And I’ll need to have my elevator pitches at ready. (Do you know how hard it is to distill an entire novel in a few seconds?

And I need to prepare myself for the fact that I may do all of these things, and no one will buy a single copy. So. There’s that. *laughs through the tears*

So here’s some tips if you ever want to embark on such an adventure:

• Get a Venmo account. If you use it ‘carefully’, you won’t have fees. (I started using it for royalties from my local bookshop – if you are ok waiting a couple days for the money to transfer from your Venmo to your bank, they don’t charge a fee for it.) Profit margins on books aren’t great, so it’s important to watch those fees.
• On that note, I just started looking into Square – because I do worry about what if someone only has a credit card? I know I rarely have much cash on my these days. (I have a miles advantage card, so I’m #TeamChargeEverythingAndPayItOffEachMonth. Gimme those miles, bay-bee!) There are several devices and apps and such – I’m just most familiar with Square and have watched my friend use it for ages. (As I said, I do not currently have one, nor am I receiving any money for talking about them here.)
  
  There are a lot of levels of square devices, and I assumed they would all be expensive. I was a bit surprised to see that the square you plug into your phone is ten bucks* at my local electronics shop (this is a swipe-only device; there are ones that can tap and accept chips, which cost more – take some time to look into the risks of a swipe-only system before making any decisions). According to their website, their fees are as follows: 2.6% + 15¢** for magstripe card transactions, chip card transactions, and contactless (NFC) payments. 3.5% + 15¢ for manually entered transactions (which I assume means you can skip buying the device, download the app, and manually enter everything). So take all of this into consideration for how often you might use the thing.
  
  Let’s say your book is $15. Square is going to take 2.6% ($.39) plus another $.15 (for a total of $.54). (Make sure you also take into account what it cost to print and ship the book when figuring your profits per book to decide if the fees are worth it.) (If you manually enter, that transaction will cost you $.675. In this scenario, the break even for just buying the square versus entering manually would be seventy-four sales.) All in all, not as bad as I originally assumed.
• Some people will pay cash. So take into account what sort of change you might need. If your book is a rounded number, you won’t need coins. (Mine all end in .99, so I’ll be bringing pennies [facepalm]). If your books aren’t evens of ten or five, make sure you have singles. Don’t forget to take into account combinations of your books – if they buy both or all, what is the total? Mine are 15.99 and 11.99, so I will need plenty of ones. (Also consider if you want a full-on cashbox or if one of those blue, zippered canvas bags banks use will suffice. Just have a plan for organizing your dough.) You can consider rounding numbers down or offering sales for in-person since when you sell direct, there is a bit more of a royalty than if you sell through an online or brick-and-mortar store.
• Also, when considering your break-even, also consider the cost of the event. There was another event a friend had reached out and told me about – but the booth fee was forty bucks, and they required a seller’s permit, which is another twenty. (I’ve not sold enough yet to warrant needing one, so this was an added cost for me.) Make sure you take that event total and divide by the royalty per book – this is how many you would need to sell just to break even. For me, it would have been fifteen books. Not worth it.
• Consider how the table will look. If you’ve got the personality to just draw people in, to chat with complete strangers and pull them toward your table, a pile of your books might suffice. For others, we may need our tables to work a little harder. Consider a display. Using Canva, I whipped up a flyer for each of my books (I kept it simple – cover and tagline). I bought some 8×10 foam core from my local craft shop, as well as a couple stands to hold them up. (I bought stands that are sturdy enough and have wide enough ledges that I could also use them to prop up a book in case I ever need them in that capacity. These came from the same craft shop.) I plan to print them later today at my local print shop so that they are clean and crisp. I also created pages with the back blurbs, which I’ll laminate. Figured better to have these on the table than folks getting their fingerprints all over copies of the book. ¯\_(ツ)_/¯
  
  Consider also ‘extras’. I have in the past printed things from Vista – if you have the time to watch for sales, do so. I’ve gotten some good deals on bookmarks, which I’ll have on hand tomorrow, as well. Don’t go overboard with giveaways – remember, they eat into your profit, too. They can also aid in catching a customer’s eye.
• If you are going solo, consider what you might need to bring (water, snacks, lunch, etc.). This event has a drinking fountain and bathrooms on the premise, and they are offering some author snacks (though if you’re like me and don’t eat things certain things, like meat, it might still be best to bring something just in case). Also, it can help to make friendly with the folks on either side of you, so you can watch each other’s stuff while you run to the bathroom. If you require anything for accessibility purposes, don’t be afraid to ask and advocate for yourself. If they wish this event to be a success, it needs to be accessible to any who wish to participate or wander through. (This event included a note that if we need a power supply, we’ll have to provide our own – not something I would have thought of, but a good thing to include in your list of questions if you are creating one. Which, on that note, make sure your phone is charged and ready to go if you do go the Square route.)

I’m sure there are things I’m forgetting (or don’t even know about because this is my first event of this kind), so feel free to add tips and tricks in the comments if you have any to share!

Meanwhile, wish me luck. [strained smile]

*I’m updating this because I’ve now gone through the process. If you sign up for the Square app, there is a prompt where you can order and be sent a magstripe Square for free. In addition, during the set up process, if you have an Apple phone, you can set up Tap to Pay through Square, which means you don’t need the magstripe reader (but probably good to have on hand just in case). In this instance, once you get to the appropriate screen, they tap their card to your phone to pay.

**Square also allows you to send invoices. The fees for that are 3.3% + 30¢ per invoice when customers pay with credit or debit online.