Romantic Times Convention 2107

Hello, Everyone!

I'm just back from the Romantic Times (RT) Convention in Atlanta where I had a productive, fun and awesome, if not exhausting, time! Since some of you might not have been able to attend, I wanted to share a few photos with you and let you know some of the activities that go on at a large conference the size of RT.

The following narrative outlines my week at RT in a nutshell (actually in a blog, but I digress). Here are some of the activities an author (well, at least THIS author) undertakes at a conference such as Romantic Times.

First of all, you meet up with friends, such as fellow Not Your Usual Suspect blogger and author extraordinaire, Toni Anderson.

You attend theme parties, like the 1920's Flapper Party, with Toni and another fellow Not Your Usual Suspect blogger (and my sis), Sandy Parks.

You meet with other awesome authors like our roommate and romantic suspense author, Gennita Low.

You participate in a panel on writing called Sequels, Series and Spin-Offs, because the conference is all about business, right?

You take time to do research at the Center for Disease Control and stop to visit author Margaret Mitchell's house (remember Gone With the Wind?) because...well, it's Atlanta!!!

You meet hot secret agent guys. :)

You do three (3) book signings because ... well, this is all about books, right? :)

You meet with awesome fans, friends and amazing readers! (This is, by far, my favorite part!)

 

 

And maybe, just maybe, you get a teeny bit crazy, not that I'd ever tell... :)

So, that's a wrap on another fun conference. I think I need to sleep for six weeks to recover. Hope sometime I'll get to meet YOU at a conference, too!! ~ Julie oxo 

Book Festivals

Photo courtesy of Laura Orsini.

As a reader, the thought of spending a weekend surrounded by books and fellow lovers-of-books absolutely thrills me. As an author (and an introvert), it's not always thrilling to talk about my own books for hours on end. Still, interacting with readers can be a fabulous experience, if you're prepared.

On March 11-12th, I attended the Tucson Festival of Books at the University of Arizona to man a table. Well, half a table. This was my second year at this event, so I went in with a bit of experience, but I always learn something new. I thought I'd share my takeaways (note that these will be mostly from an author's perspective, rather than a reader's).


PROS:

I've attended many signings at conferences where readers can be numerous or few, but the experience in Tucson was different. Not necessarily better or worse, just different.

I definitely met people! Boy, did I meet people. The festival's website claims the attendance is somewhere around 130,000 book-lovers each year. Some just wanted to stop and ask directions to a booth or to food, but others wanted to talk about their writing projects and still others wanted books. I found some new readers, and gave away a ton of excerpt booklets and links to my free download.

The crowd consisted of a wider variety of ages and interests than the romance-genre crowd I'm used to at specialized conventions and conferences. Everyone from young children to older people, with interests from kids' books to nonfiction (especially history) to fiction, walked the UofA mall that weekend.

I met some new-to-me authors as well as got to catch up with friends I knew from previous events.

Because we shared a booth, the cost of the table for two days was minimal compared to some venues. Only about a couple hundred dollars.

The event held many draws for readers, and the lines to attend speaking events and workshops were very long, so the events were well-attended.


CONS:

LONG days! It was a two-day event, and we were at our tables from 9:00 a.m. until 5:30 p.m. each day.

While you never know what the weather will be like when you book the event several months in advance, this is an outdoor event and it turned out to be pretty darn hot. (Especially because I'm used to mountain weather and was coming from 40-degree temps to the high 80s.) It didn't help that my table was situated so that I had the afternoon sun from about 2:30 onward.

Our tent was a mixed bag of books. While all of our tent's authors were, of course, fabulous, we were a combination of many genres, from science fiction to paranormal to cozy mysteries to romance. And the label on our tent wasn't clear about who we were. Maybe because we didn't have a clear identity. We were the "Desert Dreams" group, which reflected our dreams of writing and being published but at least a handful of visitors wondered if we analyzed dreams and such. I had to wonder how many readers didn't approach, or didn't find us at all, because they didn't know who we were.

Parking was a challenge. Well, I should say that the long walk from the university's parking garage to the tent, while loaded down with a suitcase and additional bag of books, was a challenge. It helps to have an assistant. Several authors had hubbies or friends to help with the load, and to bring them refreshments. I highly recommend this. Unfortunately, my husband had to stay home with the kids, hundreds of miles away.

Sales stuff. I detest "selling myself." Promoting myself just isn't me. But I learned a lot by watching those around me and hearing their "hooks" and pitches. While I avoid any kind of high-pressure salesmanship, I can appreciate the way it worked for some. You have to do what you're comfortable with.


THINGS TO NOTE:

A rolling suitcase or other manner of toting books and promo items was immensely helpful. (Finding a husband or other willing family member or friend to help seemed to work best for many authors.)

Bring water! Stay hydrated. And if you're an introvert like me, water breaks had the added benefit of providing a few minutes of quiet time to stretch and get away from the crowds.

Having a bookseller on hand was useful in that I didn't need a license to sell (requirements may vary by state), but there was a commission deducted for this service, so be prepared to forward some of your royalties to the person managing the cash. (In this case, it was thirty percent.)

Finally, I can't stress enough the importance of going into something like this with a good attitude. For this introvert, the weekend was a marathon and mentally and physically exhausting. Plus, it's tempting to compare your sales to your fellow tent-mates' but I highly recommend you turn a blind eye to how other authors are doing. Instead, I tried to focus on making each person I met feel "heard" and responded with a bright smile to everyone who approached. This helped the introvert in me cope. ;)


How about you? Have you attended a book festival? If so, where, and what was your experience like? What tips did you learn, either as a reader/attendee or a signing author?

What About A Book Signing?

Do you remember the good old days when a famous author came to town and people lined the street to get their book(s) signed? Now, I realize that in some cases that still holds true, because of course, mega famous authors are going to be a huge draw.

I look at the RWA literacy signing and think about the excitement all the readers have at not just seeing one favorite author, but potentially a dozen of them. It doesn't get much better than that. But what about smaller conferences or library events? Do authors sell as many books at smaller events?

It seems as if a new trend is happening. Book signings are giving way to author events. What's the difference? Well, apparently the competition is so stiff these days, that authors are being put in the position of buying their readers. And surprisingly or not surprisingly, many are lining up at the chance to participate... Authors and readers alike.

It's almost not enough to write a good book. I mean, sure, it's great to write a good book, but getting it into readers' hands is the tricky part. I guess it always has been. But now, authors are wining and dining their readers, plying them with gifts in hopes of keeping them and attracting new readers in the process. Sure, authors have done contests and giveaways and I'm sure those will always be around, but this next level of seducing readers is... I don't know... I'll let you supply the adjective.

Don't get me wrong, I'm not condemning these events. I'm just wondering how far an author has to go these days. Is this going to be the new thing? Is the book we slave over not enough any more?

So where else can authors go to sell books? I guess it depends on their target audience. I'm going to the San Diego Women's Expo September 17 & 18. I figure if my target audience is women from 18-118 then I may as well give it a shot. I'll be there with my friend and designer, Grace Grant, who's started up her own clothing line called Fill4Style. Since I love her designs and she loves my books, we decided to combine forces. Women's Expos are held all over the country, so it will be interesting to see how it goes.

What about you? What are your thoughts on book signings vs. author events? Have you been to any out of the box places where you've either had a book signed or signed one yourself? 

Writer’s Conferences – Are They Worth It?

by Janis Patterson

It seems everywhere you look someone is advertising a writer’s conference and, truth be told, there used to be more than today. Some offer contests, some don’t. Almost every one offers one-on-one meetings with agents and editors. (At least, almost every one I’ve ever heard of.) Some are very good. Some aren’t.

There are three basic kinds of writer’s conference – first, what is basically a reader’s conference where readers can come and interact with writers. There is a bookstore and a book signing, lots of reader-oriented events, and maybe a few craft or market sessions for the writers themselves.

Second, there is a not-always-happy mixture conference, combining working professionals, newly published and aspiring authors. I almost said wanna-bes, but have been informed that in this oppressively and obnoxiously Politically Correct world such an appellation is condescending and prejudicial. Perhaps, but in too many cases it’s also true. Yes, some of these ‘aspiring authors’ will soar and sell many more books than I can ever hope to, but… most won’t, and some will never even sell one. Some come just to hang out with their favorite authors, even if it is from a distance, so they can tell their friends “Oh, when I was at such and such conference with – insert name of favorite author here – we did such and such…” never bothering to mention that there were several hundred people doing the same thing. For some writers, though, this is the best kind of conference to attend.

Third, there is a conference for professionals, where it is working writers only with a concentration on the business side of the writing game, including everything from foreign markets to designing a book cover for self-publishing authors.

Are conferences worth it? I say yes, providing you go to the right conference for what you want.

Reader’s conferences are great for authors who want to interact with their fans and hopefully meet new ones to increase their readership. I’ve never been to one of these, mainly (1) because my readership only goes to a select few of them and (2) so far I haven’t had the money. I do have hopes, though.

The mixture conference is a toss-up. Some swear by them and go as often as they can, hoping to combine craft, market information and interaction with newly or unpublished writers. Not my taste, but there are those who swear by this often contradictory mixture.

Writing is a business and I believe in a business conference being exactly that – all about business. Last month The Husband (who does work as my assistant) and I attended the NINC (Novelists, Inc.) conference in Florida. It was held at the TradeWinds resort in St. Pete Beach, which by itself was a great inducement to attend. It’s a beautiful resort with wonderful restaurants, entertainment opportunities and a lovely stretch of beach. Semi-sad thing is, though, that the conference was so dense and so overwhelmingly good that The Husband and I only got to walk on the beach once!

From the first moment of the welcome reception on Wednesday night to the last moment of Lou Aronica’s fabulous Unplugged speech (and this year he even sang!) at Sunday noon, there was never a spare moment. Workshops began at 8:30 am and the Night Owl sessions usually ended around 10:30 pm. In the middle was a fantastic mixture of knowledge and socializing and networking and fabulous food and at least half a dozen other things. The theme for this year’s conference was NINC World. Not all the workshops specialized in global publishing (both traditional and self) and there were many in all aspects and areas of the business of publishing.

There were no booksignings nor a bookstore, as much for the fact that there was no time for any such as that this is strictly a professional conference. There are no beginning or even intermediate craft workshops (and to be honest, I don’t remember a single craft workshop this year) but there were lots and lots of workshops about the business of writing, whether you are traditionally or self-published or both. To come you have to be a member of NINC (or the assistant to one), and that is a membership not easily won. There are both publishing and income standards that must be met, and only then can the applicant be voted on by the membership.

Most of us have limited conference dollars, and if you’re considering going to a conference, think long and hard about which kind of conference you wish to attend. What is your skill level? Where are you in the profession? What do you hope to accomplish at a conference? And lastly – what can you afford? The entry fee might sound very reasonable (or not) but that’s not the only expense; you have to factor in transportation, lodging, and food at the very least. Some conferences include all meals, some a few and some none. I’ve never heard of a conference fee encompassing lodging. And you have to get there. All of these expenses add up and must be considered.

Which conference is right for you is something only you can decide, and we are lucky in that there are all kinds of writer’s conferences out there from which we can choose.