Book Fair hawking

[wordwalker]

My writer's group has some booth space at a book fair this Sunday, and it's pretty much the first time (in my whole hermitish LIFE ) that I'll try selling my self-published book face-to-face.

Some of the copy I've written for SHADOWED (paranormal thriller) is

He can hear a whisper a block away… and can’t remember why.

Paul lives in hiding, struggling to control preternatural senses no secret is safe from–and certain that nobody suspects he exists. He searches the city for answers, using his power and a few self-taught tricks to outwit those who have something to hide–and still he cannot remember what drove him away from the people he loved. And now Paul must risk everything to protect the family he left, make peace with a woman he's wronged and face enemies more ruthless than his worst fears, to at last learn what has transformed his life.

Because the one person who knows, is the one who did it to him.

Any ideas come to mind about how to pitch something like this, or general tips about booth-based selling?

 

[Devor]

Smile. Be cheery. Approach people with ice breakers, not with offers.

Print your cover art on a big poster. Print the title on a table banner.

Bring something with your name to give people - pens, cards, page samples, etc. Have candy, too.

Sign copies in front of people, and plan a few nice-but-clever phrases to pull out on the spot. Have only a few pre-signed for people in a hurry.

 

[CupofJoe]

Smile. Be cheery. Approach people with ice breakers, not with offers.
Print your cover art on a big poster. Print the title on a table banner.
Bring something with your name to give people - pens, cards, page samples, etc. Have candy, too.
Sign copies in front of people, and plan a few nice-but-clever phrases to pull out on the spot. Have only a few pre-signed for people in a hurry.

I agree with all of these. Never sold books but I have done a lot of charity selling.
The only things I would add is to:-
Be interested in what people have to say to you [or at least look like it].
Don't get involved in arguments about the merits of your work or the state of the industry or violence in modern writing... you can't change their mind and you are trapped with someone who won't buy.
Probably less relevant but – get the kids and you get the parents – is a mantra for face to face selling. But it might be reversed here – scare the kids and scare away the parents...
And if book selling is like charity goods selling then you will quickly get the “eye” for who will buy and who wants to brows.
Good luck!

 

[MariMidnight]

~ if you have bookmarks, give them out to people, even if they don't buy anything
~ be friendly
~ let people browse (don't interrupt with questions or chitchat)
~ be honest

I don't know about book fairs but I do know that at conventions I've attended, it's not uncommon for folks to now and then stand in front of the booth (position yourself so you're not really blocking anything important) to hand out bookmarks and business cards. It's okay to now and then say, "Hi, how are you today?" Not often, because while you want to be friendly, you don't want to end up drawn into deep, long conversations and miss out on a sale you might have gotten from someone else.

When I sign, I always ask:

~ would you like this personalized?
~ could you spell that for me? (even if it's a name like Mary - because you never know!)

Always write as legibly as possible and put the date or name of the even beneath your signature.