When it just doesn't work

Shopping malls are a dying species of retail offerings, but in northern cities like Toledo, Ohio, they still make for good places to get one's shopping done in a dry, comfortable environment. The Writer's Block Author Fair held its third event at the Forest Park Mall in Toledo on Saturday, December 11. I was one of the 30 authors participating.

There's nothing to complain about regarding the event's organization and planning. Michael Timmons, the organizer, does a great job. Author tables are situated within the food court, which gets plenty of foot traffic. The timing is good, too: just a couple of weeks before Christmas, right smack in the middle of holiday shopping season.

So, what went wrong?

Honestly, I couldn't say. Shoppers veered around the author tables or, if they did wander through, positioned themselves carefully to avoid showing any particular interest in any particular author's books. One participating author remarked that it seems as though yellow crime scene tape were blocking off the authors' collective space, preventing shoppers from wandering among our tables. Another participant suggested that we would have had more shoppers if the organizer had advertised the event more heavily. However, radio and TV advertisements are expensive and likely beyond the event's marketing budget, not to mention that self-published authors—which most (if not all) of the participants were—tend to be tight-fisted because they operate on shoestring budgets themselves. (One author asked about editing services, then confessed she had no budget to hire an editor. I also doubt she recouped her registration fee in book sale revenues at this event.)

Regardless, the timing was right, the location was good, and there was plenty of pedestrian traffic. In short, the event was held where the people were.

But it just didn't work—at least not for me. Sales of my books covered lunch and an afternoon snack, but not any other travel expenses. Deduct the cost of the books from that revenue, and sales covered lunch. I was disappointed.

This year's event was the second I attended as a participating author. The first, held amid pandemic fear with public spaces slowly and tentatively opening, didn't do well, either. I attributed that to Big Pharma's and the media's combined success at pandemic-related fearmongering. This year with pandemic-related fatigue settling in, people wandered about freely, some masked and others not. Live and let live.

While I've been advised by more than one person that the higher purpose of an author event like this is not to recoup one's expenses (let's be honest: breaking even would be great). That purpose is to connect with potential readers and build one's fan base. However, if people ignore and/or avoid event participants, then there's little chance of that. I can't speak with people determined not to step foot near the author tables.

The upshot? I have no complaints about the event itself. But I doubt I'll return.

#authormarketing #henhousepublishing #hollybargobooks