Before you think I'm complaining, let me stop you right there—Saturday's craft fair was not a waste of time, nor do I wish I hadn't signed up. (Nor did I question my decision to also book myself into the Fall show. CHRISTMAS SHOPPERS!) I didn't plan a big launch party for The Ghost of Iris Carver because it's really just a place-holder - a bridge to get from The Church in the Wildwood to the next novel, Black Bird (for which I plan to have a mostly finished first draft by the end of next weekend's writing retreat along the shores of Lake Huron - after I write the article Kobo has asked for. Don't know why Kobo is a big deal in my life these days? Check out my last post!).
What makes a book launch successful?
1. Having a book to launch.
BAM! SUCCESS!
Just kidding. There are a million ways to quantify a successful launch and all of them are relative.
Did I sell books? Yes! Can I quit my day job? No. Am I a failure? No. Was it a success? Meh.
People don't attend a craft fair because they want to buy books—they come for the crafts. Of course, there were the people who bee-lined to my table, telling me the only reason they came was because they knew I'd be there with the new book (what a compliment!) but they were they exception, not the rule.
What I did do was make my display attractive, and that alone got people to stop and look things over. It didn't lead to sales in most cases, but at least it wasn't a long day of people rushing by, avoiding eye contact because they felt sorry for me. It was great exposure for my publishing company, and led to some conversations that could potentially lead to some new clients, so that's a positive right there! (There was an adorable hippy woman who told me she felt God had led her to the fair just so she could meet me and I could encourage her to finish that book about the talking piano. There was also the quirky lady who told me a psychic had told her she was going to write a book. I handed her my card and told her I could help her with that. We'll see what happens...)
In speaking to other vendors who were veterans of this particular show, I learned this was a particularly low traffic year. Many of them were disappointed by the trickling turn-out, but we determined, with the very slow beginning of spring this year, and Saturday being one of the actually nice days we've had so far, hanging out in a cold rollerskating arena is not the way most people want to spend their day when there's sunshine to be had elsewhere.
All this to say, The Ghost of Iris Carver is officially out in the world and I would love to get a copy into your hands! If you're an Amazon shopper, add it to your cart and check out when you've passed the free shipping threshold. If you read on a Kindle device, you can grab it for 99¢ (for a limited time only!) - later this week it will be available through Kobo and Chapters/Indigo, and of course, you can purchase directly through me.
THE GHOST OF IRIS CARVER, PAPERBACK
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