According to Forrest Gump’s mother, “life is like a box of chocolates. You never know what you’re gonna get.” Mrs. Gump could also have been talking about book fairs. You can’t be sure what will happen before you arrive there. Having now been to nine book fairs, I know how different one can be from another. The two most-recent book fairs I attended offer a case in point.
The first took place in Logan, Ohio, a town I had not been to since going to a nearby summer camp in the early 1960s. The Hocking Hills Book Fair took place on the third floor of the old (now renovated) Logan Theater. Of all the book fairs in which I’ve participated, this one may have had the lowest attendance. There were long lulls when almost no one was on the theater’s third floor. And for whatever reason, the people who did come through were not all that interested in my YA offerings. I ended up selling four books, and three of those were purchased by other authors who were there. The theater was also rather cold, making me wish I hadn’t left my jacket in the car.
One interesting thing about the Hocking Hills Book Fair was the involvement of a local podcast host, Mylee Boals. Mylee conducted a short interview with each author that was recorded for streaming. The questions asked to the authors — including me — were pretty basic: Where are you from? What genre of books do you write? What are they about? Where can your books be purchased? Do you have any social media or website? My interview is now up on the Hocking Hills Book Fair Facebook page. For now, you can view it at Facebook. I’m not sure it will help me much. Logan just didn’t seem to be a YA book-buying town. Or maybe most of them didn’t think a 76-year-old man should be writing stories about teenagers.
The second book fair took place last Saturday in Dover, Ohio. Labeled as the “Canal Town Book Festival,” this event operated under tents two years ago when only about 40 authors took part. Now with some 60 authors participating, it moved into the Dover High School gymnasium. According to festival coordinator Mallory Thompson, moving into the gym also allowed authors to take part in several literary-related panel discussions for the benefit of book enthusiasts.
The Canal Town Book Festival was a much more rewarding experience than Logan. That’s partly because I sold 10 books — the most I have ever sold at such an event — and partly because the people were more open to engaging with me. Even those who didn’t buy a book, often took one of my business cards or bookmarks, or listened to me talk about the plots and characters of my novels.
The amenities offered at Dover were also a plus. A SWAG bag at my table included a spiral notebook and pen, a name tent, and a listing of my books and their respective prices that could be displayed. A coffee coupon in my bag went unused because I wanted to minimize the number of trips I made to the restroom. However, it was nice to have a refreshment room within easy walking distance of my table. I helped myself to a fruit cup and a bag of Doritos there. Those items, along with some protein bars I brought from home, comprised my lunch.
Perhaps the biggest benefit from Dover was the central purchasing point where people took the books they wanted to buy. This relieved me (and all the other authors) from having to fumble around with making change or dealing with credit cards or Venmo. (I still can’t get my head around Venmo.) All I had to do was to sign the book and hand it to my customer. There is one drawback to this arrangement — I will have to wait a few weeks before I get a check for the books I sold. But I can live with that.
This coming Saturday, October 11, I will be in Massillon for the last book fair of the year. A complete report will follow in my next blog.