author tips for vending at conventions
I just got back from a weekend away at SHOCK STOCK, southern Ontario’s weird and wild horror subculture convention.
I was vending there all weekend, from Friday to Sunday. While I’ve sold books at plenty of one-day markets, fairs, and festivals, this was my first time doing a three-day event. It was also my first time as a vendor at a horror convention.
Even though I was excited to try it, I was also nervous: “Who am I to set up and sell my books at such a big event?” I started to wonder in the weeks leading up to Shock Stock. “What if I don’t sell a single book the whole weekend? What if I’m too ‘small time’ to vend alongside more established names in horror?”
But you know what? I needed to give it a try to know for sure. If I wasn’t going to bring my work to this event, no one else was going to do it for me.
Maybe you’re a writer who’s wanted to bring their work to conventions, too, and have had the same fears and questions.
Here are some lessons and reflections from my experiences as a vendor at Shock Stock and beyond:
1. Vending at an event is an investment in your writing.
Overall, I think it’s good for authors to get in front of new readers as often and as best as they can. But it is an investment on the author’s part.
Some people might assume that one of my publishers pays for my tables, or that I get all the books I sell for free and make pure profit on them.
I don’t.
I see the table fees as an investment in my career as an author. I do get an author’s discount from my publishers, but I do have to pay for my own inventory.
Do I always make back all of my expenses? Sometimes yes, sometimes no.
It depends on a lot of factors: The event itself, the attendees, and my initial costs to name a few.
One-day literary fairs, markets, and other events can be more cost-effective and might be better options if you’re just starting out. A weekend-long event requires more time, and might require more inventory depending on the number of attendees expected. There are also personal expenses to consider, such as transportation, food, and even a hotel if you’re staying overnight, which was my situation for SHOCK STOCK.
It’s important to make investments in your writing, especially if you’re treating your books as a business.
2. Will the investment be worth it?
There is always some element of risk when you vend at an event, regardless of how big or small that event it. I have vended at some events in the past that were absolute duds due to poor attendance, poor promotion, and poor location.
But you won’t always know until you try.
Is the event well-established and well-attended, or brand new and unknown?
Is the event something you really want to be part of, or are you just throwing options at the wall hoping something sticks?
Does the event draw an audience that is similar to your readership? Will there be common ground, or will you be the odd one out?
There are also budgetary considerations to factor in.
Is the cost of the table something you can easily afford, or will you be sweating the difference if you don’t make it back in sales? The cost to vend at an event can vary widely, and you’ll still need inventory on top of that.
If a table fee will create financial hardship for you, find a different event to start with, or see if you can team up with another author or two to share the space.
3. Vending isn’t just about making sales.
“But how much money will I make?” You might be wondering.
To be honest, you might not make back everything you invest. Especially if you’re participating in a multi-day convention that might cost more to participate in than one-day event.
But again, you have to think of it as an investment: What else will this opportunity lead to?
Vending isn’t just about selling books. It’s also an opportunity for marketing and networking. I started selling my books at various events in 2007; since then, I have met so many other authors, artists, and publishers. I have also met a lot of people who might not buy my books at an event, but will order them online later.
I have met people who reached out to me later with publishing opportunities and podcast invitations.
And I have discovered other writers whose work has inspired my own writing practice along the way. At SHOCK STOCK, I met a lot of amazing people whose work I hadn’t been exposed to before, like author Matti Silver, comic book creator and artist L.A. Nuwame of Zelpha Comics & Collectibles, and author Christian Laforet (C.M. Forest), to name a few.
Events are about getting eyes on your work. They are about meeting people who have similar interests, and they are about building connections within your extended creative community.
Even if you don’t have a strong sales day, your time spent as a vendor somewhere can lead to other opportunities.
Hanging out at SHOCK STOCK with L.A. Nuwame and Matti Silver.
4. Have fun.
Manage your expectations wisely. When I got to SHOCK STOCK, I wasn’t sure what to expect.
Did I want to sell a crapload of books? Of course.
But I was also realistic: It was my first time doing this event. I knew a few other people who were vending and attending, but other than I was a total newbie to this circuit. I didn’t know how busy it would be, or if my work would even be of interest to the attendees.
I figured I’d go in, have fun, meet some new people, and make the most of the experience no matter what happened. And like I said earlier, getting more eyes on your work can be a really good thing.
Keep an open mind when vending at events. We all want to be successful and sell as much as possible, but you can’t force people to buy your work. Be friendly, open, and present when people come to your table, but don’t get discouraged if you don’t have a sell-out weekend.
There will always be another event you can sell your books at.
5. Take care of yourself.
I also kept hearing that SHOCK STOCK turns into a wild party. While I very much would have liked to indulge in some of the after-hours activities, I was in bed by a decent hour every night.
It’s a lot to be “on” all day, let alone all weekend, and I wanted to make sure I was feeling good and ready all the way through.
It helped to have a friend, Andrew F. Sullivan, tag along with his new book, THE MARIGOLD, and to have my husband, Kire Paputts, there screening one of his films as part of the programming. It was easy for me to take breaks with these two around.
Whether or not you have a table buddy, don’t be afraid to step away from your booth every now and then. Eat a snack, stay hydrated, and get some fresh air.
Being inside a conference room or event space working all day can be tiring. Keeping a gentle routine before, during, and after an event will help you enjoy your time there that much more.
Andrew F. Sullivan with his cool new novel THE MARIGOLD, and my very rad fanny pack that held our cash float for the weekend.
My husband Kire Paputts doing a Q&A after the screening of his latest feature film THE LAST PORNO SHOW.
6. Expect the unexpected.
One of the main reasons I wanted to be at SHOCK STOCK this year was to promote my new vampire novel, THE MOUTH IS A COVEN.
But I brought a bit of everything with me, including my poetry and tarot books.
I expected my fiction and tarot books to sell fast, and the poetry to linger.
The opposite ended up happening. While I did sell a lot of vampire novels, I didn’t sell any of copies of my previous creepy-ass dystopian novel, POSTAPOC, and my tarot books didn’t budge, either.
What did people really want from me?
Poetry.
I sold so. many. poetry. books.
I’m not saying that every poet should go out and set themselves up at horror conventions. But I do recommend keeping an open mind as to what people might be looking for, and to bring a variety of titles if you are the kind of writer who cross genres.
Was the weekend worthwhile overall?
I am definitely glad I tried it and would give it another go next year.
Making decisions about which events to attend and what to invest in as an author will look different for everyone. I like meeting new people and enjoy promoting my work this way, which might be why I keep making room in my budget and my schedule to be a vendor at different events.
It’s not the only way to get your work out there, but it is one way to do it.
One last thing I’d recommend to keep in mind is that if you do several events a year, over the course of a few years, then that will add up to something.
For example, the weekend before SHOCK STOCK, I did a single-day market that I’ve been selling books at since 2017. I sold 15 books that day, which might not sound like a huge number. But when I add up all the books I’ve sold across every event I’d had a booth at, my book sales rack up into the mid-hundreds.
That’s a lot of new readers who’ve been introduced to my work through events alone.
Think of the bigger picture and decide where an investment in a booth fits into your goals and path as a writer.
Like I keep saying, you won’t know how it goes until you try.
