A Wasted Day...or Not

[Peg Herring]

I went to an Authors' Day celebration at a library 83 miles from my home on Saturday. There were nine authors there, a few Friends members, and very few others. The only sale I saw was two of the authors selling each other their books of poetry.

In one sense, it was a wasted day. Still, I think of it as an investment. The people in that town (well, some of them) now know my name. They know about my book. They even have a bookmark, so that if the stars align just right and they decide they want to read it, they can find it easily.

Also, the organizer of the local writers' group asked me to be the keynote speaker at their annual banquet (possibly because I was the only traditionally published writer there). So there's another chance to become better known, to drive 83 miles, and to spotlight my work. It's what we do, right?

[Peg Herring]

It is fun to meet the other authors. Everybody has his story to tell, and I enjoy hearing them.

[John Desjarlais]

I've had the same experience with some small-town book fairs and library meet-n-greets. I guess it's about relationship-building and brand-building - meeting people and getting something in the local media about the event even if few guests actually show up.