book tour report: stop #5
I joined Chris and Nancy Obert at Pear Tree Publishing for a local authors book sale and signing event, this time at Zorvino's Winery. They do a few of these a year and I'm lucky to have gotten on their mailing list. Thanks again to my friend, bookseller and book reviewer Jeannie Mancini, for connecting me with this group!
The winery is in Sandown, NH, known for it's old vines and Mediterranean climate. Not! Sandown is one of those places that's not really close to anything, and when I left last night, the temps were just barely clinging to the teens.
I cursed myself on the way home for not having a GPS as I drove the dark and lonely back roads, hoping to run into route 93. I did, eventually. In fact, I didn't get lost because I'd run a race a few weeks ago in Derry NH and I recognized the rotary that led to the race start at West Running Brook Middle School. (Note the literary connection.)
Zorvino's itself was charmingly isolated. The main room had a roaring fire and a busy bar. The author tables had nice linens and elegant chairs. It's amazing how much of a difference nice chairs make. The setup was easy now that I have my schtick. I had my bowl of apples, my poster, my trailer, and my book stands. I even had my money box with lots and lots of 10s for change.
I sold 10 books, which hit my goal. 10 is a nice round number. Everyone goes into these events hoping to sell, like, 20 books, but it's just not realistic. What you hope is that you sell more than 3, which is what I sold at the last one of these events. It helps when your customers are drinking! But it also helped that the room felt warm and welcoming and that people had come there to have a fun evening out.
Also the room was full of berets and tweed, so you couldn't help but feel like reading. Seriously. A bunch of writers wearing polyester and baseball caps would not have had the same effect.
The things that worked best for me last night were my poster (it made people stop and look, giving me a chance to pounce), and my overall presentation (people stopped to tell me the cover design, title and overall clean display grabbed them). So yay and thanks again to Luke Strosnider. Design matters, and great design matters a lot!
To break the ice, I tried asking people if they liked science fiction as they meandered past my table. It's an innocent question and not too pushy. If they said yes, I'd launch right into my pitch. If they said no, I'd tell them about the people who loved my book even though they never read sci-fi.
It worked. I sold a few non-sci-fi readers on the book and even got one excited about the idea of doing a book club session. The whole point is to get people engaged as quickly as possible.
My pitch backfired on me a few times, too. I'd say "Food's been replaced by government prescribed nutrition. Keeps everybody healthy. You know, cut down on those pesky healthcare costs…" I wanted to get people thinking about what's going on right now with healthcare. I wanted them to feel the slippery slope.
It worked, but too much. One guy asked me if I was in the Tea Party [I am purposefully not providing a link here]. Another got so uncomfortable with any hint of politics that she, literally, backed away slowly.
I recovered by assuring them that the book was full of "food, science, and speculative fun." People liked "speculative fun." Lesson? Fun sells more than conflict on a Friday night at a winery.
My favorite customers were Willie and Margaret from Scotland. They run Stillmeadow Bed and Breakfast in Hampstead, NH. Willie was obviously Scottish, but when his wife spoke, she sounded like she was from Belfast. I couldn't shake it, so I finally said something to her about it. She said she's from the Orkney islands north of Scotland and that they all sound like that there. So interesting! I love accents. I can't mimic them but I can hear them, and I just love the way they add so much character and depth to people. Plus I love that Willie bought 2 books. He's going to send one to his son in Edinburgh, one of my favorite places.
The night ended with a bunch of punchy authors tasting wine in the basement tasting room. That's where I sold my 10th book. I didn't stay too long — with all the dark windy roads, I needed to practice some temperance — but I did stay long enough to enjoy a Pumpkin Port, which would be amazing with a slice of warm gingerbread, a fresh un-oaked Chardonnay, which I would pair with goat cheese and honeycomb, and a nice Malbec that I would not be embarrassed to bring to a book club.
I left with 6 bottles, 3 for my running friends, and 3 for me. I'm spending it as fast as I can make it.
