An Idea Came to Me at the Downers Grove Public Library

So I've promised a recap of the Downer's Grove Public Library author fair for a few weeks now. 

The fair was very well-organized, offered a wide variety of genres to the community, and provided a platform (time at the podium) for us to speak or read from our pieces.

However, the author fair itself followed a format common to many author fairs: Traffic and sales are lighter than what we secretly hope; the other authors are friendlier than we ever imagined; and few gather when it's time for us to speak.

But sales is not the entire point of the fair. Authors fairs are really an opportunity to showcase your wares before a new audience. Think of the reason why industries spend tens of thousands fora  booth at a major convention. Think of sales at author fairs as getting paid to market. 

At this particular author fair, I sold some books, met new people, and read an except to about half a dozen who gathered near the podium. We forgot some of our materials at home (we always forget something), and I got to hang out with Timothy and Rebekah. I wasn't nervous speaking, the result of participating in WriteOn Joliet's radio play in April and September, a real win for me and one on which I can keep building for future events.

As I made the rounds of the other tables and chatted with authors eager to talk about their books, I started collecting bookmarks with the goal of passing them along to friends who read those particular genres.

Then I had a better idea...and a bit of a resolution.

In 2024, I'm going to collect bookmarks from other authors and other artists when I'm at various events. Then when someone purchases a book from me at other events, I'll add a couple cards to the bag, to give the customer the opportunity to discover someone new.

That sends the authors/artists even farther into the universe with zero addition effort on their parts. And by letting them talk, I'll learn valuable information about them and their books, so the right cards go to the right customers (I typically talk to my customers about what they like to read). 

Maybe you even see something in this photo right now that interests you. If you can't make out the information. message me at bryonyseries@gmail.com and I'll send a larger image of the card or bookmark.

Have a great Tuesday!