Continuing this month of improvement or thinking ahead or whatever the hell is going on in my head right now, I attended the Northern Young Adult Literature Festival (NYALitFest) in Preston last weekend. I had such a good experience last year, and it’s one of the only festivals I can afford right now. It’s good practice to get out and sell books directly to the people who will read them, face-to-face. I actually remembered one of the attendees from last year (down to her amazing dress sense, obviously). Not only that, but the wonderful Kate from Big Thinking Publishing had the stall right next to mine! It was great catching up with her and sharing notes and experiences in the year since we last spoke.
The first time I attended NYALitFest as a vendor, I brought in about £50 profit (after the cost of the table and royalties etc., but doesn’t include the petrol it took to drive and the cost of food and so on). This time, I made about half that; still enough to cover the table cost, but not the ridiculous price of city petrol. Granted, it was HOT in the building and even hotter outside, but here are my thoughts.
They had the kids’ festival on at the same time, so there were more people walking around and the talks scheduled were staggered, leaving a relatively constant flow of attendees through the hallway where the vendors were set up. That wasn’t the case this year, and each talk was an hour each with 15-30 minutes between them for signings with the guests. It left vendors standing (let’s be honest, we were all sat down in this heat) in an empty corridor for five or six hours out of the eight. Was this actually an issue? No, it gave me plenty of time to cool down and chat with my aunt and uncle who came with me and with the other vendors (of which there were fewer than the previous year).
Although I had a good time, it felt like the vendors were additions on the side of the talks; I mean, that is why people bought tickets. But it would have been nice for Fox and Ink (previously UCLan publishing) to share the love a little. I will give them the benefit of the doubt; it has only been a year since they cut ties with the university, so maybe they’re finding their feet with it now they’re out on their own.
So, just in case they see this, here are a few ideas I had on improvements (which you are well within your right to ignore);
- move the vendors from the wall into the middle of the communal area where the signings occurred – that way, attendees can browse our products whilst they wait for their turn
- invite authors published by your publishing vendors – although there were only three of us this year (including yourselves), I know several of my authors would jump at the chance to be on a panel and talk about their work
- schedule more talks to overlap each other – yes, I know this sucks as an attendee, especially when there are so many interesting topics being discussed, but I paid money to sit around for half a day when I could be doing something else to develop my business
- maybe some music over the intercom?
I’m cursing myself for not writing these down when I thought of them. Learn from my mistakes, authors!
I’m not just writing this to expound on my experience though. Whilst I didn’t make millions at that one event, I did make some excellent connections and came up with (stole) some exciting ideas. THAT is what I wanted to talk about.
First off, I should have brought my tablet with me to display a slideshow of upcoming publications. I had a book come out of pre-order THE DAY BEFORE the event, and not only did I forget to tell people, I also forgot to bring the proof copy for readers to flick through. You wouldn’t think I’ve been doing this for four years, would you… Anyway, the tablet would have been super helpful to advertise pre-orders and events I have booked.
When I have people along to help me, we should wear branded shirts; if I can get them in the business colours, even better. The Fox and Ink team looked so smart with their event shirts, and I recently purchased a logo shirt for a game club I attend, and they look so smart and cohesive. I know they are more of an investment considering it’s just me most of the time, but the more I develop the business, the more I’ll be able to do fun things like provide shirts for my helpers.
Speaking of helpers, I need to allocate someone as social media gremlin for days like these.
I spoke to two other vendors in attendance: Big Thinking Publishing, another publisher based locally, and Flicker Candle Studios, who make and sell candles, wax melts, and other lovely-smelling items. Chatting with them gave me so many ideas: let’s go through them.
Kate from Big Thinking is working with schools and libraries by putting on workshops, some run by herself and some run by the organisation themselves. I’ve been looking for a way to work with younger people and inspire excitement around reading, and this is the perfect way to do that. Kate goes in, coaches the kids through writing some poetry and creating some drawings to go along with them, then formats and prints each child a copy for free (she probably gives the school/library extra copies too).
My aunt and I discussed something similar for writers; providing coaching and an alternative perspective for writers who want a little guidance.
There’s someone at the door? Oh, hello imposter syndrome! What do you mean no-one will want to pay for me to tell them how they can improve their writing, and that my experience as a publisher isn’t enough?
My aunt was a huge help here because her job involves creating and giving workshops to business clients, so she knows what works and what doesn’t, especially when it comes to pricing.
What do you think? If you’re a writer, would you pay £20-30 for an hour or two of advice, suggestions, and practice space to improve your writing?
As an extension of that, and this is more for publishing hopefuls, I am in a unique position with my publishing learning, in that I was the first student to graduate from a Master’s course that no longer exists. I have several notebooks worth of scribbling that may be of no use to anyone, but I’d like to offer it anyway. University is expensive, and most positions in the publishing industry won’t even look at you without one, so if I can offer a little insight on the best place for people to start for a fraction of the price, it would be worth it.
Another idea from Kate, which I’ve already had working in the background, is creating and selling written-out guides, and assembling service packages for self-publishing authors. Kate was nice enough to let me keep one of their flyers so I could take a better look at it, and it seems like a really good deal. Our customer base isn’t the same, so I feel safe exploring this idea without risking client theft from an industry friend. So if anyone out there is considering self-publishing, do you think you’d be interested in a set price for listed skills and a set number of copies at the end? Or if you were looking for a written guide, how much would you want to pay for it? Would you want the publishing process all in one place, or would you want separate guides for proofreading, formatting, and marketing?
Moving on, I took a look at Flicker Candle Studio’s stall, which, as you can imagine, smelled amazing. Katie makes candles, wax melts, and other olfactory products for almost everything fan-related; I’m talking book characters, movie and TV, holidays, even the Eras Tour. I grabbed a couple for myself that I can’t wait to put under the heat (as if it isn’t hot enough already), but she also mentioned that she does custom-made scents too.
Oh boy, did that get me thinking.
First of all, it would be great to partner with her for my own books – providing an immersive extra to my pre-orders and special editions will elevate the whole experience. I know they will increase the price to cover costs, but readers are getting the experience of being IN the universe, WITH the characters. She also had these cute paper bags that had her logo stamped on the front; I don’t have anything like that for events, so maybe I should invest.
My aunt also bought some wax melts, and we compared scents. I was looking at Flicker Candle Studio’s website and noticed they also made room sprays. My aunt pointed out that I could spray my books before I package them – readers are always sniffing their books, right?
And then, possibly the wildest idea I’ve ever had.
Barnard Publishing Ltd. signature scent. To spray on the books.
What would that even smell like? I know scents are subjective and not everyone will like the same, but triggering memories with associated scents and bringing that association to my books?
Maybe it’ll work.
Bringing this back to the packaging, I have a number of bookmarks and postcards that have been paired with pre-orders; maybe I could sell them alongside my books. Why have I not been doing this already? Because I’m silly, that’s why.
I have had so many ideas over the weekend that I don’t know where to start. With my personal situation as it is, I’ve given myself six months to come up with a new plan, else I find another full-time job (publishing doesn’t exactly pay the bills…like at all). But these ideas, whilst potentially lucrative, will take a while to put into place. I’ll see how the next six months progress, start working on things, and see how far I get. Who knows? Maybe even one of these ideas will give me the financial freedom I need.
