Last weekend, I attended the Sci-Fi Summer Con, located in Atlanta, Georgia. This would be the first time I attending a convention/festival for my own books, so I didn’t know what to expect or how many books I would sell. I also didn’t know how I would do by myself, since I can count the number of times I’ve traveled by myself on my hand. But I took a risk, and went down to Hotlanta to see how I would do.
Everybody at the Con was so nice! I got to meet some fellow writers, such as D.J. Colwell, Jamie Marchant, Louis Puster, Jevocas Green, and Kase Palmer. I also got to meet some other great talents, such as Kevin Nichols and Bill Pacer. We spent a lot of time talking about each other’s experiences, gave each other advice on how to expand our readership, and traded books with one another. It’s always good to meet with other authors around the country, because they may provide some information the could be crucial in getting your book to sell even more. I, myself, learned about RaffleCopter, Lulu.com, and Vistaprint memberships, and I’ve already looked into those options.
I also learned something about myself during this event. Up until this point, I had not needed, nor had I created an elevator pitch for my new novel, Aluria. Everybody before either bought the book because it was me who wrote it, or they already had an idea what the story entailed. So I didn’t have to “sell” them on the book a lot. I quickly realized when walking into the Con that I had prepared myself in every aspect except figuring out how to seduce potential readers. It was a valuable lesson, and I have some work to do for my upcoming events.
When it comes to the actual reason I went to the event, selling of my books, I didn’t do so great. Out of the hundred books I took, I sold three. At least I didn’t come home without selling anything. That, and I know not many people made more sales than I did. But like I said, it was a great experience, and I enjoyed talking to everyone and getting new ideas for the journey ahead. Now, on to the Fanboy Expo…