Economics of doing a book signing

Last weekend, I attended Pure Speculation 2010 in Edmonton. I was a panelist at one of the discussions. I also had a table in the vendor's room, where I sold copies of "Bardic Tales and Sage Advice 2″ (print) and "Harvest Moon" (ebook).

Even during the event, I had a number of new writers and newly published/about to be published authors if the table was worth it. "Worth it" is a relative thing. If they are talking about money, then strictly speaking, no. However, if they are talking about connections and networking that I did, then the answer is a hell yes.

So, first, the economics of my author table. Here are the costs:

$45 for the table (Friday – Sunday)

$140 to have 12 copies of Bardic Tales and Sage Advice 2 shipped to me. (What was to cost around $8 a copy ended up costing me a lot more than I had planned because Amazon shipped via UPS  - all couriers, but especially UPS, overcharge Canadians for handling fees parcels that cross the border. So, it arrived with a nasty $40 surcharge slapped on it.)

$13.45 for Harvest Moon downloads (folks paid me cash, and I downloaded/emailed them the book). I charged the CAD price, even though the book is in USD.

$10 for homemade business cards to print off "free download of Wicca Dog" cards, along with the coupon code.

$30 in chocolate to bribe people to come and talk to me.

$15 for bookmarks (I bought 500 high quality ones for $90. I used about 75 or so).

$5 for a tablecloth

$2 for a book stand

TOTAL COST: $250.45

Now, you're all wondering how much I made, aren't you? I sold 4 copies of Bardic Tales and 5 copies of Harvest Moon, for a total of $75.95.

That means a loss of $174.50.

So, it must confuse everyone in that I've been proclaiming the event a smashing success. It was a smashing success for me.

Here's the thing. The average number of books sold at an afternoon book signing is rumoured to be around 2 copies. I sold a lot more than that over the course of a weekend, and at an event that I would have gone to anyway (I love Pure Spec). I was a part of a panel, where I discussed short stories and where to sell them. I was able to answer questions about my choice to go with royalty-based epublishing for some of mine, as opposed to a flat rate in a magazine or anthology.

The local speculative fiction community had no idea that I even existed. Now, they do. They spent a weekend where they were greeted by me shaking their hand, asking how their day was going, letting folks play with my Sony eReader, telling them about Harvest Moon, and talking publishing.

I had aspiring authors, Aurora winners, Aurora committee members, coordinators for other events, and fans speak to me. I got to talk about Harvest Moon to Robert J Sawyer and Tanya Huff. I also got to talk to it to a 17 year old girl who wanted to grow up and become Tanya Huff. How cool is that?

For me, the event wasn't about selling books. Because, let's face it, you don't sell a lot of books. I did the Konrath form of selling for the event. I stood the entire event, spoke to every single person who walked by me, introduced to myself to everyone I possibly could, and poured my entire energy into the event. I still did not sell a lot. Why? Folks don't like short stories (I was told this by several) and/or they don't want to read ebooks. I was selling an ebook and a short story collection. There was no hope for me [image error]

Some of these things can carry to the next event, saving me money the next time around.

But, even without money, I'm very pleased. I gained new followers to my blog, facebook, and twitter. Some folks took the download information for Harvest Moon. One person told me he was downloading it to his cell phone as we spoke.

So, why am I telling this? A lot of new authors have the wrong impression of book signings. They think that there will be line ups of folks waiting to buy your books. Very few authors will actually talk about how many books they sell at signings and events. If it wasn't for people who have told me what to expect, I'd go in blind. I'd hate for others to do that, too.

There you have it. My first event. I sold a few things, had an amazing time, and made lots of contacts with the spec fiction community in Alberta as a whole. What more can I ask for?