Author Fairs are Back

 

I was scheduled to participate in the Hammond Public Library’s Local Author Fair on April 18, 2020. And then I wasn’t. COVID intervened, and our two local library fairs went on hiatus.

Until now. Saturday was the return of the Local Author Fair, and I was one of approximately twenty authors who participated. I sold six books, making my table fee back plus a little more. But my experience with book fairs has been mixed. Sometime I recoup my table fee and sometimes I don’t. It also takes a block of my time as I wait for people to approach my table, and I would rather be researching or writing. So after each fair I wonder whether it’s worth doing again.

In one sense, you could say it doesn’t matter if I make my table fee back since it supports a local public library. Furthermore, there are other benefits of participating, particularly publicity and interaction with potential readers even if they don’t buy a book right then. Still, writing is a business for me, and it’s nice to see a tangible return.

I’m scheduled to do another fair on May 21 at the main Lake County Public Library. That one is called the Creative Arts Summit, so it will presumably include artists working in visual and sound media. The table fee is also less, so it should be easier to recoup it.

But I’ll reevaluate before doing any more.