The short answer : Absolutely.
The long answer : That depends on your goals and what you hope to achieve.
Let’s look at the Pros and Cons.
Pros.
You sell books.
More people are able to read your books.
You gain exposure as an author.
More photos to post on your socials.
You get to catch up in person with other author friends.
You make new author friends.
You make connections within the industry.
You can learn from how other authors promote themselves.
It’s great to meet and chat with book lovers about your books.
Lots of books for you to purchase too.
Sharing a stall with a friend helps reduce costs and gives you fabulous company to share the experience with. I shared my stall with the amazing Jacqueline De Rose-Ahern .
The Book Fair meant a great opportunity to have dinner and catch-up with wonderful author friends.
Cons.
The cost of your stall can vary for the type of event, from next to nothing to quite expensive.
You have to weigh up in your mind whether the cost is worth it.
You may not sell enough books to cover your costs.
If the event is not in your home town, you have added costs of travel and accommodation.
It’s hard to know how many books to take. Not enough and you may sell out before the end of the event. Too many and you may bring most of them back home.
Books are heavy to transport.
This weekend I attended the inaugural Book Fair Australia in Sydney at Sydney Olympic Park. I don’t live in Sydney, so this meant travel and two nights accommodation. Did I find it worthwhile? Yes. While I sold enough books to cover the price of my stall, I certainly didn’t cover the cost of accommodation. Did that matter? No. It was a great weekend away and a wonderful experience. I enjoyed a great girls weekend away catching up with friends I hadn’t seen in years because of Covid. Spending time with your tribe is so important to your mental health. I enjoyed talking to people as they wandered passed our stall and selling books was an added bonus. Meeting other authors and publishers was a fantastic networking opportunity and seeing the quality of printed books first hand is always helpful for future reference.
I had the opportunity to read a segment of Fossil Frenzy to kids in the children’s corner. It was a small group, but that meant I was able to engage with them personally. Connecting with kids is what being a children’s author is all about.
On Sunday afternoon I even joined the panel discussion on Engaging Curious Minds in Kidlit. I was both surprised and delighted when I read I had been selected to join the panel. I admit I was also somewhat nervous about the idea. But that didn’t last long once the discussion began, I relaxed into it and actually can say I enjoyed it. It was another marvellous opportunity to engage with my reading audience and their gatekeepers, their parents and carers.
Will I return next year? I haven’t decided yet. I would like to, but I need to consider my options. Perhaps market stalls closer to home where I don’t have travel and accommodation costs are better. However, as James Bond once said, ‘never say never.’
Our Panel Presenter was most excited to learn that I had written a middle grade adventure set in Indonesia that incorporated some Bahasa Indonesia for kids to learn.
Our Panel Presenter asked some thought-provoking questions on Engaging Curious Minds in Kidlit.
Have you ever appeared at a Book Fair or done market stalls?
Did you find it worthwhile?
Would you do it again?
Please let me know in the comment section below, I would love to hear your opinion.