Setting Up for a Book Signing at a Craft Show

I finally remembered to take pictures of Janet Syas Nitsick and I setting up a table at a craft show. I thought it might be fun to show you the process.

Before anything is done:

In the background, we had the poster for Janet’s book, the stand, the suitcase full of her paperbacks, the bag containing materials to set up books and her purse for giving people change when they bought her books.

Setting the skirt around the table:

This is my least favorite task because you need to tape it down, and you have to do this every couple of inches for the skirt to stay in place.

Laying the rest of the cloths on top of the table:

There is tape under the coverings, but since you’re not trying to hold the skirt up in place while setting them down, it’s not so bad to deal with.

Setting the poster up:

Janet has always done this in the past, so I didn’t really pay attention to what she did. This last time, however, she had to run back to her home to pick up some of the items we forgot. It took me about a half hour of browsing through You Tube videos to figure out how to set up the easel.

During the time I was trying to figure out how to set up the easel for the poster, I set all of the books on the side of the table. Janet was getting the items we needed to place the books on display.

Table ready to go for the next day:

At this point, all of the books are set up. I love setting the books up because it’s always fun to see beautiful covers on display.

The day of the craft show, Janet is wearing her historical outfit to go with her books:

I enjoy being at these craft shows. I get to sit and talk with Janet. I get to talk to people who are passing by. Sometimes I’ll come across something to get from another vendor that I can use. I have lost count of how many people come by seeing if Janet has a new book out. (She will when we go the craft show in April.) These are people who have bought her other books in the past at the craft shows and have come to love her books. So I would say these craft shows end up being a good thing if a local author can keep going to them.

In my opinion, it’s more satisfying to talk to people who enjoy the books than walk away with the money. (Janet is a good saleswoman, so she makes back more than the cost of being the vendor, but really, these craft shows are not going to earn a lot of money.) It seems that the main payoff to doing these shows has to do with the interaction an author gets from meeting readers face-to-face. In a world full of screens, it’s nice to make human connections. One time I was fortunate enough to have the pleasure of meeting someone who recognized my name. (This was someone who reads both my books and Janet’s books.) I can’t tell you just how thrilling that was for me.