by
Carla Lee Suson
Authors love to meet new folks and talk about their books.
However, unless you are a literary superstar, most readers are like timid deer
in approaching your table. They may shoot sideways glances at you, curious but
skittish, and often don't want a conversation. This reaction is worse when the
room is filled with over a dozen people hawking their particular wares.
So how do you attract people to possibly buy your book? You
make yourself stand out.
Designing your display takes planning and some shopping long
before the event. First of all, decide whether you want to promote yourself as
an author of multiple books or only your current publication. That decision
affects the focus of your display and the design of the giveaways.
Think vertically and
colorfully.
In terms of color, most library sales or bookstore events
offer a white tablecloth covering for everyone. The uniformity makes you fade
into the background. However, adding color by using bits of fabric, overlaying
different cloths, or featuring bright banners will make you stand out more. A
cheap way to accomplish this is to use nice tablecloth napkins (in hues that
compliment your book's colors) stretched out on the table and then place your
bookstands in the center.
In terms of three-dimensionality, one critical component is
to make sure at least one copy of your book stands upright so people can see
the cover from a short distance. Plate holders from craft stores are excellent
for this use. Keep them simple so people see the book, not the frame.
Other vertical elements can include banners across the front
of the table, three-dimensional models of some kind, and either posters on
easels or freestanding signs behind your table. These displays should feature
something more engaging than just the book cover but still play into the
overall theme of your writing. However, banners and telescoping signs are
expensive. Again, decide if they should represent either you or your book in
terms of how often you want to reuse them.
The Ailes Brothers of Terror have certainly mastered the
vertical technique. In any event filled room, their display clearly stands out
because of the large seven-foot banners and their use of symbols and colors.
They also feature a creepy doll and brains in jars. No one can mistake them as
anything but horror writers. Horror readers will make a beeline for their
table. However, notice that the knickknacks do not overpower the books. Each
book is upright, inviting the reader to check it out.
In this case, horror offers some easy ways to create a
themed display. Other authors may struggle a bit more. For example, Joyce Hicks
wrote Escaping Assisted Living, a
mother-daughter relationship book has an audience of mostly women from their
thirties and older. In her case, she needed props that would make customers
think in terms of the elderly. She chose doilies, slippers, and some knitting.
As women walked by, they saw the knitting and became curious enough to stop and
chat.
One way to grab a child (and their parent's) attention is to
feature toys that are somehow related to your books. The kids will stop to hold
the stuffed animal or play with the items, giving you that window of
opportunity to strike a conversation. James Dworkin uses this method for his The Dog and the Dolphin book.
Adult writers of mystery, thriller, and romance material may
have a harder time finding some display that makes people take a closer look. After
all, putting a knife or a gun on the table is simply a bad idea. In that case,
you should focus on what makes your book different. What is the core theme?
In my case, biological warfare wasn't an easy theme. I
didn't want to decorate with gas masks. In addition, I had several unrelated
books to sell and wanted to promote myself more than any one of my books. In my
display, my banner is about me so that I can use it as I publish more. It's
thriller theme is good for anything I write. I also write as the Texas Chick so
I use a cowboy hat as a symbol on my table. After a while, people were so used
to seeing me in it, that they would ask about the hat if it was missing.
Finally, you must find some way to engage the customer in
conversation. Some authors, particularly those in the children's genre, will
have a candy dish out. This seems like a bad idea to me because the children
will simply raid the dish by the fistfuls without even glancing at the book. If
they stay and eat, then you have the potential problem of sticky fingers all
over the book covers. If you choose to go with candy, then at least avoid
chocolate, particularly at outdoor events. Remember that it melts and has the
potential of messing up your merchandise and display.
Other authors offer complimentary pens, freebie items, and
merchandise contests (free t-shirt drawing) in order to promote their material.
Often this is used by those who have multiple items to offer. It can become
expensive if too many people raid the table without buying items.
To engage the folks walking by my table, I created a
"Do you survive?" game. The customer chooses a scroll wrapped in a
blood-red ribbon from a jar. The message tells them whether they would survive
an Ebola plague based on statistics and what their jobs are. Each scroll
features some fact about the disease or epidemiology. I encourage them to keep
the scroll and will offer the first chapter of my book. Usually people are curious
enough to try it and it gives me the opportunity to talk about my fiction book.
No matter what, have something to hand to people, even if it
is a flyer and your card. Whatever the material is, make sure it includes
important contact information such as the book's website or email and a
reference to Amazon or Barnes and Noble websites if your book is available
online.
So before your next author event, figure out what you can do
to make your merchandise stand out from the others. Draw the customers' interest
over to your table and you've won half the marketing battle.
__________
A Texas chick at heart, Carla Lee
Suson started writing after spending a few years in medical research at a
Dallas medical school. She then moved to South Texas and developed short
stories and articles on travel destinations, parenting advice, and science work
while raising three kids and a pack of dogs. After relocating to Northwest
Indiana, she obtained a Master’s degree in professional writing. Her first
novel is Independence Day Plague and
she has stories in Gods of Justice, Holiday Tales, and Night Light anthologies. When not sculpting scenes of ghosts,
murder, and mayhem, she dives into one of her many hobbies such as woodworking,
leather craft, or photography. For more information about Carla, her blog, or
her books, check out www.carlaleesuson.com.
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