Hi all.
Welcome to another blog! This one will focus on events 😊
Firstly – I’ve updated an ‘Events’ tab to my website. Keep an eye on it if you’re interested in seeing which events I’m planning to be a part of. It will sometimes have last-minute additions – for example – tomorrow I will be exhibiting at ‘Bedford Place Summer Festival’ in Southampton! Other things will be planned much more in advance (like ‘London Film and Comic Con’ in July and ‘London Comic Con Winter’ in November).
Between 24th-26th May, I was lucky enough to be part of the Writers Block area at ‘MCM Comic Con London’. It was a completely amazing experience. At that point in time, ‘Fyn Carter and the Agents of Eromlos’ had only been available for two weeks, and I didn’t know what to expect. For me, I planned for the experience to be very much about visibility over sales. I attended the event loaded with bookmarks and stickers (and books!), ready to see how things would go. I love a comic con and was excited to experience one from the other side of the table. Absolutely everything is a big learning experience for me at the moment and this was no exception.
When I arrived on Friday morning, I was full of questions. How would I pitch my book? What would be my approach to speaking to people? How would I set up the table? I quickly decided to go with the flow and be prepared to adapt. I made sure the table looked presentable and was well stocked. I had a sign up for pricing. I had sweets and freebies available for any visitors. When people asked what my book was about, I know at first my responses were a little wonky, but I continued to refine them, and it was a really great and friendly environment in which to do this.
By the end of the second day I had my pitch so well refined I could do it without thinking and even found ways to adapt it to the interest of different attendees. I also switched up my table a little each day to see what worked – in particular – I added a sign with review comments so people could learn more about the book, and I moved my cuddly ‘Henry Flame’ fox around, because it drew a lot of attention and noticeably more in different positions on the table. I was shocked at how much interest Henry Flame got and will be more aware of this in future…
It was great to speak to the other authors who were attending Writers Block. We were all at different stages in our journey, but everyone was very supportive of each other. We soon got to a point where we could recommend each other’s stalls to visitors and keep an eye on things if we needed a quick break etc. We shared different ideas to each other based on our experiences. Even I, as a total newbie, got to offer helpful comments to others at times, and I am super grateful for the input I received along the way. I am already hoping to see familiar faces at future events.
My favourite thing was speaking to readers. One of my favourite conversations was with a young girl who was extremely excitable about the idea of reading the Fyn series. She said something along the lines of ‘I really need another series to read. I’ve just restarted the Percy Jackson series and really want something to read after that so am excited to read your book!’. This made me proper glow inside. Likewise, one young teen visited my stall, and it was hard to tell what she was thinking. She walked away to another stall, and I thought that was that. Then, a few minutes later she returned and bought my book. Again – this made me really happy. I don’t want to be the kind of person who is pushy for sales at an event, and it was so nice that she looked around and still decided to buy a copy of Fyn Carter’s first adventure.
It was interesting to see how things worked out. The Friday was by far the quietest day for sales. This is because many attendees use Friday as their warm-up day. If they are attending over the weekend, they explore and work out what they could be interested in but don’t necessarily want to weigh themselves down with purchases on day one. Saturday and Sunday were much busier for sales. I think I did alright. I made back the cost of my table and sold a few more beyond that. I was grateful for any copy sold, but it really was about learning, meeting people, and getting visibility. I feel when looking at it like that, it was a very successful event.
As well as readers and writers, I got to meet educators, librarians, bloggers, and reviewers. I sometimes describe myself as an introvert with extrovert tendencies, and at first, I didn’t know how I would feel after an event like this with so much interaction. I needn’t have been concerned. In fact, by the end of it I remembered how I used to feel. I used to be nicknamed ‘Tigger’ because of my bounce and energy. Taking part in this event just lifted me up and gave me happy vibes, reminding me that I still have that fun energy within.
I have no idea what future events will bring. I know there will be ups and downs. I also know not to compare my experiences to those of others at the event. We writers are, after all, at different stages in our journeys. We have different audiences. We have invested different amounts of time in growing our reach. What I do know is I will look forward to attending what I can, meeting readers and writers, and learning to be a bit more ‘me’ again along the way.
That’s all for now. Until next time – thanks for reading!
Ian x
Ian Hunter Creates 