5 things to know before booking a book festival

Book festivals can be a wonderful place to meet your existing and future fans. These personal interactions prove to grow your platform as well as sales. While our platform and our love of the story is what drives us, we need to keep in mind that when we let our stories out into the wild that they now become citizens of the world, and our readers truly become attached to the stories and characters we bring to life. There is a responsibility, as the author, to meet your public.

1. Set realistic expectations before the festival research begins.

a. Keep in mind that if it is an outdoor event, weather can play a huge part in attendance and the comfort of attendees and you. Prepare for rain at the last minute, hot or cold weather as well.

b. For introverts especially, think about what you will need to keep yourself engaged even when you are exhausted by the long hours of interaction.

c. Do you view events/fests as an investment in your author career or are sales the driving force behind doing the event?

d. Can you physically and emotionally be at a booth all day for several days?

2. Pick your fest: Some considerations for the fests you attend seem simple but are very important to your perceived success of the event

a. Research festivals before you commit – What is the average attendance? Are there any details about the percentage of children’s, adult, fiction, and non-fiction authors? Are there any other festivals or events in the area on the same weekend? Other events can help or hinder your event attendance.

b. How long is the festival? 1, 2, 3 days?

c. Festival Location/Transportation/ Lodging – Will you be traveling by car or plane? Will you need to rent a car or use Lyft or Taxis? Is there a hotel near the festival or do you have friends/family in the area?

d. If traveling, does the event allow you to ship your books and booth decorations to the event planner or do you have to send them to your hotel? How will you get your boxes to the fest if you send them to the hotel? Will you be able to drive right up to the booth to unload or will you need some sort of tote wagon/dolly?

e. How much space will you have in the booth? How many tables and chairs will you have? Will table coverings be included, or do you have to bring your own for one or two tables?

f. Does the fest have cancellation clauses for emergencies?

g. Can you apply to be a featured author? Do they have special areas for featured authors? Would this be a better way to attend than the financial commitment of a tent? What are the deadlines to apply to be featured vs deadlines to reserve a tent?

h. Do you know other authors you could collaborate to share a booth?

3. Create the overall “look” of your booth before buying anything

a. Is there a color scheme you like or that matches your book(s)?

b. Will you need a table covering? Will you be attending other events and want to invest in a branded runner or tablecloth with your author name or book artwork?

c. How many of each of your books will you need?

d. Do you need Bookends or a tabletop bookshelf or other tiered display?

4. Giveaways – Everyone loves free stuff. Here are some low-cost giveaways:

a. branded bookmarks of your book(s) – added bonus if you add QR code to a sales page for your book(s)

b. stickers with a quote from your book or other public domain bookish quote

c. little notebooks as freebie with purchase

d. Contest – have a drawing for something like a totebag with a book or 2 or perhaps something else bookish that is of at least a $30+ value to make it worth someone giving you their personal email etc.

e. Chocolate or prepackaged snacks – these are a great idea but make sure you check with your festival guidelines first. There may be rules against food items unless you are a food vendor. The guidelines should be honored, you don’t want to ruin your chances of being accepted in the future because you weren’t a good vendor.

5. Interaction is key – With the exception of bad weather, the success of your fest/event is up to you.

a. Smile and make eye contact with those looking at items in your booth.

b. A little kindness goes a long way. Even if you don’t get a sale, you may make a fan that looks up your book later just because they liked you. This happens more than you realize which is why a QR code on a bookmark that you can hand them will help make it an easy sale later.

c. You are the face of your book. You are your best PR.

One last thing: Remember the first item about setting realistic expectations? This last point bookends that.

Recently, we did an event where the second day was literally washed out by monsoon rains. While there were a few minutes where the rain stopped throughout the day that allowed hardcore book fest fans to come out, there were many trials we faced all day. Some of those obstacles were having to push the tent roof up with chairs to dump the water collecting or it would have brought the tent down and trying to keep the books from becoming soggy. We could have viewed the fest as a failure and been upset that we only had one good day of an expensive investment, but that was the key to our expectation; we viewed this as an investment in our authors and our company and investments are sometimes, literally in this case, a wash.

While there are many things to think about before making the financial and logistical decisions surrounding book festivals and events, in most cases, you will find that your attendance will be very rewarding – financially, personally, or both.

good luck and good fest!

Feel free to reach out to me at j.brand@wbrandpub.com if you have any questions about publishing or book festivals. Check out our authors live at the fests.