Off to a book gig

     

        Honestly - packing everything for selling books from one table at a coffee morning is getting ridiculous! I’m exhausted and all I’ve done is prepare for tomorrow, and iron my brand new book-print dress. So far I have packed:

    10 copies of Dangerous Dance 

    5 copies of Trying to Fly

    3 copies each of Out of Silence and Red Cabbage Blue

    2 ribboned sets of Dr Mike Lewis stories

    Posters and labels for all of the above  

    5 Perspex book stands

    1 double layer cake stand (masquerading as a book display stand)

    1 large tablecloth (well, it’s a sheet taking on a new job)

    2 ornamental seabirds and seashells in assorted sizes (Trying to Fly props)

    Pack of fibre tips and drawing pad (Out of Silence props)

    Several random blue items (Red Cabbage Blue props)

    Dancing shoes and dark chocolate (Dangerous Dance props)

    Notebooks and pens (in case anyone wants to do the little writing workshop I’ll offer)

    Stickers for launch copies plus pen for signing

    Sweets and lollipops in a bowl

    SumUp gadget I can never get to work (I’m ever hopeful!)

    Cash float in crossbody bag

    Bluetack, sellotape and scissors (I have only ever needed those when I haven’t taken them).

Have I forgotten anything?

          Ah, yes! The wonderful light box which will sit beside me gently merging from one colour to the next, proclaiming to all those present that I am Annie Try Author. This gadget is vital. It definitely helps an introvert who would rather hide under the table than introduce herself.

          The amount of stuff I take has grown with every new book that has come out, even though I now only take the most recent four books to sell. I lug all my cargo into the venue, carefully arrange it on the table, remembering to leave space for signing, and on a good day people will stop, chat and maybe buy a book. Sometimes they want to buy a prop - I had quite a hard time explaining to one very insistent lady that she couldn’t buy the lipstick I’d brought to help promote an earlier book, even though it was a very lovely colour and would have suited her - it didn’t suit me, I’d tried it! That led to me buying completely new cosmetics and leaving them in the packaging so that if anyone wanted to buy them again, I could agree. No-one ever has, of course.

         I love having a bookstall in our village hall. We live a fair way out of the village, and an opportunity to get to know other local people is a special occasion. The other stallholders from further away are great too, and it’s grand to walk round, chat and buy the odd item when things are quiet. I would recommend it for anyone with books to sell. 

        But for those who already do this, I have some questions. Do you pack three large bags and one suitcase on wheels to go to a two hour fundraising coffee morning in your village hall? Or do I overdo it?  Is it too ambitious to try to do a mini workshop at the same time? Do you think any of my props will help sell my books? They aren’t nearly as exciting as the nooses and axes crime writers display. 

       And did I really need to buy a rather lovely book-print dress?

Annie Try is a retired Clinical Psychologist who used to write therapy books as Angela Hobday. She now writes Christian fiction for adults and young people, her most recent publication being The Dangerous Dance of Emma JJ, which is published by Kevin Mayhew Publishers.