Fun at the RT Book Lovers Convention

-
Yours truly surrounded my romance
novel cover boys.
Post conference reflections and lessons ... here we go. First, you never know the "personality" of each conference. I had author Scott D. Roberts with me who was signing his brand new thriller Vengeance is Now. It was his first book conference, and he learned the valuable lesson, too -- each day of a conference is different. From sitting there one day with books selling like buttermilk pancakes at a Pancake Day to boring quiet, that is how it goes. Last year, the final day of conference was flat and boring with a trickle of sales. This year, we could barely keep up with sales we had so many people stopping and buying. We moved almost 150 copies of both Vengeance is Now and my second book in the California Girl Chronicles series, Brea's Big Break. I have done a number of conferences over the years. If you are considering participation in a conference, please keep these principles in mind.

#1 Conference attendance is key -- you want to ensure that if you're paying for booth space or a table, you will be assured of decent attendance. This year's Book Lover's conference attendance was down, but on the last day many people came in for the big-name authors. So, the last day of conference, the attendance numbers increased as did sales. New conferences are always a crap shoot, so you might want to stick with well-known conferences if you're running a tight marketing budget.

#2 Buying mood -- sometimes it doesn't matter how many people show up, they are just not in the buying mood. This can be driven by the time of year, economic mood, and even the weather. I know it's crazy, but realize you have no control over the mood of the attendees. One day of conference, they might buy like crazy and the next day, nothing. It's completely unpredictable. Just be prepared to go with the flow.

#3 People say the rudest things -- grow a thick skin. Some people have no sensor on what pops in their brains and out their mouths. I guess when people don't know you, they just don't care what they say ... mmmm-hmmmm LOL (and that is a private joke and shout for Scott D. Roberts to chuckle over).

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

Step-by-Step Building Sexual Tension Between Characters

-
We'll do a kind of mini-workshop on the blog to show you how to build sexual tension either in a book or script. Watch the two methods I employ between Brea and her love interest Drew. Read it below, and I will deconstruct it for you to show you the slow progression and build up. Please notice, I know the entire storyline between these two, so I'm working by making subtle gestures that only an informed audience would notice, which is why you need to know where your story is going and how you intend for it to end so you can build the foreshadowing into the story. I'm not suggesting you don't let some parts of the story organically evolve, but I do know that to build the story arc you need to the end game and character flaws and motivations. So, let me deconstruct that scene for you. Notice a lot of looks pass between them (keeping the focus on the eye-to-eye contact, which is one of the keys to building sexual tension). And mind you, nothing is sexier than a forbidden
Read more

Can I Pick Your Brain?

-
I am blogging about this in response to another blog I saw on the subject. I didn't completely read that author's total opinion, but I read enough to post a big, "You tell 'em sister!" In my line of work as a publisher and marketing specialist, I run into prospective clients who basically through the excuse of preliminary research, put my staff to work to put together proposals, get print quotes, ask endless advice, ask for multiple meetings, etc. -- all under the guise of "picking our brains" and potential business. While we've gotten better about discerning the difference between real business opportunities and those who make endless requests only to spend time drinking coffee with us and going nowhere fast ... except off to either another publisher with our materials (usually one that in their minds is less expensive) or to try and self-publish (again, using our materials). Whether people set out to deliberately use and run, isn't the point.
Read more

In Loving Memory -- John Andrew Gamble, 1962-2011

-
Image
I rarely discuss my private life on my blog, but I wanted to take a moment to pay tribute to my brother who passed unexpectedly sometime in July in Wasilla, Alaska . John was a true mountain man. He wasn't the least bit materialistic and never cared about worldly possessions. In the last 20 years after he moved to Alaska, I saw him three times, so we were not close; but I admire that he decided to live life his way up in the wilderness fishing for endless numbers of day. I always wondered how he seemed to never bore of it. He would catch so many salmon, he would live off fresh fish year round. He loved to cook, and I honestly have no idea why he got a degree in marketing from Sacramento State. Looking back on it, I think he would have made a terrific ranger. From an early age, he loved nature. He used to catch trout with his hands up at our family cabin. We would wander the forest together. When we were little, we spent sometimes two to three weeks up there, hiking around the w
Read more