14 February 2005

Conventions and Book Promotion: Tales of an eBook Author
by Barbara Karmazin

A member of Broad Universe and a retired bilingual social worker, Barbara Karmazin writes erotic science fiction and has published short stories and five novels. Her novels, Down Came a Blackbird and its prequel Covenants, were both published by Atlantic Bridge Publishing. The Huntress and Out of The Dark, the sequel to Blackbird, were published by Liquid Silver Books. On The Edge of Time, debuted with Loose Id Books, in September 2004. She has two other projects under contract with Loose Id Books.

Science fiction is my first love. I've been an avid sf and fantasy reader from the time I was seven years old and read George MacDonald's The Light Princess. Fourteen years ago, I decided to turn my love into a business. Since then, I've written and published five erotic sf books. All three of my publishers, Atlantic Bridge Publishing, Liquid Silver Books and Loose Id Books are ebook publishers. Their books are available as downloadable files, CD's and trade paperback editions. So, you're probably wondering, how am I able to promote and sell my ebooks at Conventions?

Two of my ebooks, Down Came A Blackbird and The Huntress are available as trade paperbacks through my publishers. Two more of my books, Covenants and Out of The Dark are scheduled to be available as trade paperbacks this year.

This means that in addition to the basic flyers and brochures and free CD's I distribute at the conventions, I'm able to bring copies of my trade paperbacks along for book signings and book-sales events. Because my publishers are small presses, I purchase my trade paperbacks at a reduced rate and then bring them to the conventions and re-sell them at the higher, full-price rate.

I've promoted and sold my books at three different types of conventions, sf Conventions, RWA (Romance Writers of America) conventions and RT (Romantic Times) conventions. I've had to tailor my promotional and sales techniques to fit the totally different format and set up for each type of convention.

SF Conventions are usually low-key and informal affairs. I tailor my efforts accordingly. I print out my brochures and sample booklets ahead of time. The booklets contain the first one or two chapters of my books. Each one of my publishers sends me a limited number of free CD copies of my books for promotional purposes.

As soon as I arrive and am settled in my hotel room, I get my membership badge and go to the dealers' room. I select a dealer who specializes in paperback books and arrange to have him sell my books on consignment at his stand. We agree on the sales price of the books and he takes a percentage of that as his fee for selling them for me. For instance, a trade paperback that I bought under my author discount for $7 is sold for $15 and the dealer's cut is $3 per book. My total profit per book then is only $5.

Selling books through the dealer like this, I'm actually selling at a loss of a couple of dollars per book. But name recognition is more important to me than profit at this stage of the game.

I place brochures, CD's and booklets on the 'freebie' table, check this table every morning and restock my promotional materials daily. On the last day of the convention, I retrieve leftover promotional materials to use for other events.

If there is a Broad Universe table, I always volunteer to sit at the table to promote my books along with Broad Universe books in general. I also hand out more brochures, bookmarks, pencils, business cards and other promotional items such as key chains and pens while working the BU table.

At TorCon, Broad Universe did not have table space in the dealers' room, so I had to find a dealer to sell my books on consignment. I wasn't able to attend the most recent World SF Convention in Boston. There, Broad Universe had their own sales table in the dealers' room, and I would have been able to sell my books at profit rather than a loss.

Broad Universe readings are another wonderful and very effective promotional tool. SF conventioneers are there to party and have a good time browsing through books. They dislike aggressive in-your-face promotions. The best way to promote is to keep it low key. Let the conventioneers come to your table and your party if you're working with a group that's giving a party at the convention.

At night, after the dealers' room closes down, I generally relax and hang out at the parties, gaming room and movie rooms. I have fun and don't worry about promoting.

Romance Writers of America conventions are tightly organized with scheduled panels, dinners, brunches and publisher parties. RWA conventions are very non-supportive of epublished books because most epublishers are not on the list of RWA recognized publishers. Per RWA standards, epublished authors are considered unpublished rather than published.

RWA Conventions do have a freebie table where you can leave your promotional brochures and booklets. Because 90 percent of the people attending the RWA conventions are authors, both published and unpublished, leaving brochures and booklets at the freebie table doesn't result in a large number of direct sales. But, it is a way to get name recognition, and I've always seen a definite surge in on-line sales during the two months after I've attended one of these conventions.

RWA Conventions do give writers a chance to make an appointment with an editor or agent. Sign up for them if you can and you'll have a five-minute interview to try and sell your manuscripts to one of the RWA recognized publishers and possibly obtain an agent.

There is also a book-signing and book-selling day at RWA conventions. Even though RWA does not support epublished books, writers of ebooks are allowed to participate in these events.

However, all the profits from book sales go to the RWA charity rather than the writer. If you're like me, you buy your trade paperbacks for $7 each, and sell them for $15 each at these events, you will not receive any monetary reward for your sales. However, I did hand out lots of cards advertising my books to those who attended and were interested in my books but not ready to buy.

Is an RWA Convention worth it in terms of book sales? I don't think so. However, RWA conventions do give you access to the top tier of agents and book publishers who are always looking for new authors.

I don't recommend RWA conventions for promoting or selling your books unless you happen to be published by one of the New York print publishers who give you free books to give away at these events. If you're an epublished author, it's not worth the expense of going to one of these conventions just to get the privilege of giving your books away.

RT (Romantic Times) conventions aren't as structured and organized as the RWA conventions. At the same time, they're not as relaxed and low-key as sf conventions. RT conventions are very supportive of all authors, both those published by New York print publishers and epublishers. They're also very supportive of erotic sf and sf/romance books. They seek out sf authors for their book discussion panels. The agents and editors at the RT convention are also more receptive to sales pitches for oriented books.

At the 2004 RT convention, for example, I was one of the featured speakers at the sf book discussion panel along with Lucienne Diver from Spectrum Literary Agency. Also all profits from my sales at the book-selling event went to me. I was one of the featured authors at the Romantic Times SF Party with two of my books included in the raffle basket giveaway. Also at this party, bookmarks, brochures and cover flats were placed on every table.

RT conventions are readers' conventions. Readers come there in droves and buy suitcases of books. These readers mob the freebie table for bookmarks, booklets and brochures, and they use these items to clue them into those books they want to buy at the convention and afterwards. For every book I sold at this convention, I also handed out 10 business cards to those readers who were considering online purchases after the convention. Many of those readers came to browse at my table during the book-sales event after they had picked up my brochures and cover flats at the freebie table and at the Romantic Times SF Party.

Last, but not least, the publisher parties at RT conventions offer networking opportunities. I was able to chat with many editors and agents on an informal basis and received a book request from one of the acquisitions editor of a major New York print publisher.

Another thing to remember is that the more books you have published, the more sales they will generate across the board. Why? Because those readers who have bought and enjoyed reading one of your books will immediately turn around and buy up your entire backlist of books. Those readers will also look for new books under your name.

In conclusion, I recommend promoting and selling books at and RT conventions. Why? Name recognition goes a long way toward selling your books, not only at the conventions but also for many months afterwards. I've had sizable increases in my royalty checks during the months after I've attended these conventions.

One other type of convention recommended to me by the senior editor at Loose Id Books is the Writer's Weekend. The fees are reasonable. The Writer's Weekend is a small conference near Seattle that is sf-oriented. The senior editor at Loose Id told me that she made valuable contacts in the industry that are still paying off for her a year later. I'm adding this weekend to my list for 2005 along with the 2005 RT convention in St. Louis where I'll be part of the Women of SF Promotional campaign and party hosted by multiple publishers.