I will caveat all of this with, I am selling my self-published books at these events. I don’t have my romance debut in hand yet; it doesn’t publish until June 4. So this is me giving my backlist some love. Next year, when I have my traditionally published books, I’ll have to rethink some of these strategies. Maybe. Probably.

My mom used to take me to craft shows with her all the time when I was a kid. When she said her community was doing a craft show, I asked if I could sell books there with her, and it would be like the old days. Super excited. So I packed all my stock, asked if I could use some of her signs, and committed to doing cash only. And I did well! So, with it being a craft show at my mom’s retirement community, I’d say most people who passed by my table weren’t readers. I asked, “Do you like to read?” Some said “no, ew” – not my people. Some said they couldn’t read anymore because of their eyes. So I quickly made a sign promoting that all my books were also available as audiobooks. A few snapped pictures, so hopefully they followed up. Many were fine with cash only. And I sold out of my Enemies of Peace within 30 minutes. I sold more Nailbiters and Architects at first, and then a lot of my Infinite-Infinites and Alpha-Ninas.

With this audience not being specifically bookish, I did try to connect with – do you like to read, or do you know a reader who needs a gift? I’m signing these today. An autographed copy makes a great gift.

I was also fine-tuning my pitch on the fly to quickly convey what each book was about. Because under my M.K. Williams name, I have dystopian scary scifi, fun adventure scifi, and novellas. It’s not all one note, so I needed a quick way to get those details across. So with that success, I’m doing another craft show with my mom in the fall. We’re excited.

I am also doing a book fair this week. It is a book fair at the Oxford Exchange bookstore. These are bookish people. So I know everyone coming through will enjoy reading, it is just finding out what genres they like and are interested in. So I’m expecting to sell more. I did two separate restock orders (hedging in case one is damaged or needs to be redone before the event) I have also set up mobile payments. I’m hoping people will do cash – because no transaction fees, or use my QR codes for direct pay. I do have a credit card option set up with Square. But there will be fees. So. Yeah.
https://squareup.com/us/en

So I’m excited to try this. I’ve stayed behind my computer since 2020. I was content to be tucked away from the world. And I’m seeing now how much that was a mistake because I have author colleagues who have made wonderful connections. After all, they showed up in person at events. And, to be fair. There are events practically every weekend. I could be setting up signings at local stores much more frequently. So I’m glad I’m starting small because I don’t want this to take over the things I love in life. And some events I would need all-day childcare plus a helper. So if my husband is helping me, who is watching our kid? That’s been a limiting factor.

So those of you in the Tampa Bay area, if you see this today when this video goes live, you still have time to RSVP and see me at the Oxford Exchange Book fair on April 23rd at 6pm. You can follow me on Instagram to see how it goes, I’ll post my set-up, what sells, what’s working if you want to follow along from afar to pick up some tips.
https://www.eventbrite.com/e/1983547327452?aff=oddtdtcreator