Book Profile - Working the Table

This book written by my friend Jeffrey Cook and his partner Lee French is definitely an industry book. Within months of my first book being released I held my first signing. It was a very small turn out but there were people there and nothing quite like the feeling of sitting at a table signing copies of my very own book. It was immensely rewarding.

Then later that same year as I was preparing for the release of my second book, the first in my charity series, I got on a plane and headed back to the mid-west to do a series of signings in Ohio and Michigan. It was the first place that I set up a booth at a show and the first timeI sold a copy to someone other than a friend or family member. That was a thrill I couldn't begin to explain. It was addictive and I wanted to set up more signings and shows as soon as possible.

As soon as possible turned out to be almost a year later when I held the signing and launch party for Survivor at the world renowned Venetian Hotel and Casino. A crazy little idea I had that kept picking up steam until it became a reality. I learned a number of things from each of these events especially the lack of reach I still have when getting word out about my events. Survivor's release was significantly smaller of a turnout than I had hoped but we did beat our fundraising goal and had some fun raising awareness about a subject near and dear to my heart.

Two days later I attended the Vegas Valley Book Festival and again was able to be successful enough to make back my booth fee plus a little and the networking opportunities I took advantage of were far more lucrative than the cost of a table. Up until the most recent show I had never had a time when I did not make back the money invested if not more. Then I attended a show a few weeks ago that was incredibly slow and I only made back 10% of my investment. I started looking for things I could do better.

That is when I found Working the Table - An Indie Author's Guide to Conventions. It is a book written by two authors that attend shows together and sell their books along with friends and are making a living doing so. I am about halfway through the book and have pages of notes I have taken for ideas that I wish to incorporate into my own shows and booths. There a several things I need to work on and practice time will have to be made but I am now looking forward to my next she to see if I can put what I have learned into practice and make a larger impact.