Books, Burnout, and The Power of Encouraging Words

While 2024 has already been a slog, that trend didn't start with the new year. I've honestly been going 10+ hours a day since Fall 2023 trying to stay on top of my deadlines, and to get fresh stuff out there for all my current and future readers to check out, and it has been a huge strain on me as a creator. That's the nature of the game, but those hours take a toll on you, and you have to start making decisions about where your time and attention are going to be spent when you're looking at your bills.

That's the reason I haven't started a new novel yet. I love writing them, but most folks who know me and my work know me as a TTRPG writer, or maybe a short story/audio creator. With funds as tight as they are it's hard to justify pouring another year of work into a book that only folks who see me at conventions will read... but it doesn't take much to get that fire lit one more time.

All I need, apparently, is seeing someone excited about one of my silly cat mysteries, and my brain is off to the races!

A little encouragement goes a LONG way...

Before we get into the nitty gritty this week, don't forget to sign up for my weekly newsletter to get all my updates right in your inbox. Lastly, to be sure you're following all of my followables, check out my LinkTree!

Lastly, don't forget to check out my Vocal archive for additional fiction, articles, explorations of weird history, and more!

The Hard Boiled Cat, and A Steampunk Expo

For those who didn't see my updates (as the algorithm is a fickle thing), I spent the past weekend at the Chicago Steampunk Expo. It was my first time at this particular event, and it was a lot of work to figure out the new hotel space, come up with fresh booth set up, and to deal with all the bumps in the road that come with figuring out an event you've never worked before. However, I got it done, and I even managed to sell a couple of books while I was there.

I'd expected to sell copies of my new TTRPG Army Men: A Game of Tactical Plastic, but by the end of the event, I'd only managed to move a single copy... however, I sold all the copies I'd brought of my Hard Boiled Cat novels Marked Territory and Painted Cats. That's not saying much, as I only had a few copies of each, but something happened that I wanted to recount.

Also, get your copy if you haven't yet!

During setup I and Alice Liddell had a lovely boothmate, J.L. Barnes (whom you should definitely check out) who makes lovely artwork of adorable animals having small adventures. And once the two of us got our booths set up and introduced ourselves, she picked up my book, looked it over, and then handed me cash for it. The dealer's hall hadn't even opened to the public yet, and I'd already moved a copy of Leo's debut novel.

And she wasn't the only one. Practically everyone who came to the booth that expressed an interest in books took one look at Leo's novels before they asked for a pitch. Almost everyone who heard the pitch grabbed copies, and I didn't have any more by early afternoon of day two. And for folks who don't vend at cons, that's pretty unusual... most folks who buy books wait till the last day before swooping in and making their final selections, particularly for indie authors.

It wasn't just the sales, though those were very nice. It was the interactions I had with those readers. It was the looks on people's faces when they heard there was a gangland noir series about a Maine Coon heavy who gets mixed up with the raccoon Mafia, who has to make deals with New York subway rats, and who has to protect a kitten whose mama goes missing while teaching him how to be a proper cat.

Real talk, readers, I'd been burnt out as a novelist. With our loss of first Eric Flint, and then his publishing company, and my books spending a year in limbo before they got back onto the market having lost all of their momentum, I was exhausted. A novel generally takes a year of time for me to get down, and with everything arrayed as an uphill battle, I was prepared to just keep writing blogs, TTRPGs, short stories, and audio dramas for the foreseeable future, reserving more novels for a time when either my books grew a large enough audience to justify that kind of work, or I could afford to get back to such a large project.

I didn't realize how burnt out I was until complete strangers told me they thought my book was really fun and creative, then handed me money for it... because apparently that's all it took to light my pilot again!

Chapter One: A Mouse, and My Cheese Burger

Now, I'm not going to immediately break ground on a new novel tonight. I've got too many balls in the air, and too many projects with deadlines to take up yet more space I don't have. However, I wanted to remind folks that if you're tired, and everything feels like a pointless slog, then you're probably way more burnt out than you think. So if you're down on your work, and you feel like you're just shouting into the void, talk to someone who isn't familiar with your stories. Someone who isn't part of your regular audience, and who hasn't heard your pitch before.

You'll likely find their reaction is far more excited, and that can be the fuel you need to get back to the grindstone!

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That's all for this week's Business of Writing! For more of my work, check out my Vocal archive, or at My Amazon Author Page where you can find books like my sci-fi dystopian thriller Old Soldiers, the Hardboiled Cat series about a mystery solving Maine Coon in Marked Territory and Painted Cats, my sword and sorcery novel Crier's Knife, or my most recent short story collection The Rejects!

 

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Conventions Are An Investment (Treat Them As Such)

If you're a long-time reader, then you already know I advocate attending as many conventions as you can in order to make all the right connections as an author. In case you haven't seen Can Authors Advance Their Careers By Going To Conventions?, or my much more recent post 5 Tips For Surviving Conventions as an Author, there is something that I have not yet addressed regarding these events.

Which is how damn much they cost when you try to sell books at them.

Trust me, those little expenses add up.

A Glance at Some Numbers

The first thing you need to take into consideration when it comes to the costs of a convention is how much you're paying to vend at them. If you're at a small convention, or you're splitting the cost of a table with someone, you might only have to pay a little over $100 or so. Bigger shows, like Gen Con, can run you a couple hundred for an artist's table, or well over a thousand for an actual exhibitor's booth. It's important to read the fine print here, because while most conventions will give you a free badge to go along with your booth costs, not all of them will. So you need to make sure you aren't getting double-charged.

But wait, there's more!

In addition to the costs of your vending space and badge, you also need to ask how much you'll need to spend on travel expenses, how much you'll have to spend on a hotel room, how much inventory you'll need to have up-front, and what sort of food budget you've got for the weekend. You should also ask what costs are going into your table decorations, if you don't already have a banner, a tablecloth, book stands, etc. for the event.

Now, if you're extremely fortunate, you'll live near the convention you're attending, or you'll know someone who does and is willing to host you for a few days. Maybe the convention provides food for attendees, too, or you're on just enough panels to get your access to the green room so you can keep your food expenses down. However, even if you're managing a convention on the smallest possible expense account, it can be tough to make back your investment right away.

So, let's say I managed to get a table at a convention, and it only ran me about $110. I make roughly $5 of profit any time I sell a copy of my novel Crier's Knife, or my steampunk short story collection New Avalon: Love and Loss in The City of Steam, so I would need to sell about 22 copies of those books just to break even with the table costs. Which would be an investment of roughly $80-$90 in addition to the table costs, just to get the inventory to sell. If I split a table with someone, I'd only have to sell about 11 books to make up my costs, and everything past that point is gravy for me. Not only that, but I'd have someone to watch my stuff while I went on a soda run, or took a bathroom break.

Could I do that? It's possible. Especially if I bring my A-game, and manage to get people who stop at my table to spread the word.

Say I have to stay at the hotel for the weekend, though. Even if I get a good deal, or split room cost with someone else, that's probably another $100-$200, depending on how pricey the digs are. Now we're looking at moving between 40 and nearly 70 copies of my books to break even for the weekend. Impossible? No, not impossible... but we have entered the realm of the unlikely. Especially since we're talking about a smaller convention where you'll be lucky to have more than a thousand people or so wandering through the dealer's hall during the weekend.

Even if You Don't Break Even, It's Often Worth The Investment

When you start looking at the numbers it would take to make a convention weekend turn a profit for you as an author, it's easy to start getting discouraged. Especially if you would need to travel a fairly significant distance, stay at a hotel, etc. for your weekend. However, there is another side of the coin that's worth looking at when it comes to these events.

Because, in a very real sense, they're an investment in yourself, and your brand.

Gotta spend money to make money, yo!

Way back when, I wrote a post titled Most Authors Aren't Really "Making It", where I pointed out that a lot of professional creators simply do not have the gas in the tank to pay their bills with their art. They have day jobs, they lean on a spouse's income, or they have some other support structure so that if their latest book or collection arrives to a chorus of crickets they don't scramble to avoid filing bankruptcy.

Something I find out more and more is that authors who hold down tables at conventions are often in the same boat. Meaning that while they do sell books while they're doing a show, a lot of the time they barely break even, or find themselves running a deficit when it comes time to pack up on Sunday.

So why do they do it?

Well, the first is that showing up at a convention allows you to tap an audience you might not normally interact with. It lets you shake hands, exchange words, make your pitch, and if nothing else put a business card into those con-goers hands. It allows you to expand your reach, and to network in a bigger community than you might otherwise be able to market in. That is not an insignificant thing.

Secondly, books take on a life of their own once they're out of your hands and into someone else's. So let's take that initial scenario, and say I did manage to move 20 copies of my novel in a weekend at a convention. That's 20 new readers who know my face, who have signed copies of my book, and who are more likely to talk about both our interactions and that book. If they have friends who like to hear their convention stories, if they're part of a book club, or if they just have siblings or parents who are always looking for recommendations, my hat has now been thrown into that ring.

In short, when you make a splash at a convention, you are more likely to see ripples over the ensuing weeks and months as word of mouth spreads around, and people check out your book. While that kind of signal boost is impossible to predict, it can sometimes help you make up the cost of attending the convention in the first place. Additionally, every time you make a new fan out of a regular convention goer, they're going to be lined up at your booth when you have a new release out. That can have a serious impact on your cost/profit numbers, if you keep your hustle going throughout the weekend.

No Risk, No Reward

There's no such thing as a guarantee when it comes to selling books. You might go to an event that you're sure will net you huge sales, and it's a ghost town that weekend. Alternatively, you might set out at the farmer's market for a laugh, and sell every book you brought with you that day. There's just no way to be sure, so all you can do is hedge your bets and hope for the best when you roll the dice. That's one reason I recommend authors Sell Your Book in Unexpected Places (You Might Be Surprised at The Results).

However, it's also important to remember that any of the expenses you incur when it comes to a convention, or a similar business outing, are often tax deductible. So keep your receipts, and make sure you claim all the deductions you're entitled to. Because even if your book doesn't sell gangbusters, there's still a little cushion for you at the end of the year when the IRS cuts you a bit of a break.

That's all for this week's Business of Writing! If you'd like to see more of my work, take a look at my Vocal archive, or at My Amazon Author Page where you can find books like my sword and sorcery novel Crier's Knife!

If you'd like to help support my work, then consider Buying Me A Ko-Fi, or heading over to The Literary Mercenary's Patreon page! Lastly, to keep up with my latest, follow me on Facebook, Tumblr, Twitter, and now on Pinterest as well!

Sell Your Book in Unexpected Places (You Might Be Surprised at The Results)

We all know that when you write a book, the actual keyboard clacking is only half the job. Once you finally manage to dot every "i" and cross every "t" you still have to go out and sell the damn thing! For some authors, it's easy. They set up a few signings, go to a few conventions, and boom, their loyal fan following starts turning the wheels to make sure everyone knows their latest work is hot off the presses.

For the rest of us, though, we have to climb up on our soap boxes day after day, and hope to fish enough eager listeners out of the crowd to turn a profit.

Sir, have you read this book? It will change your life!

A lot of authors, though, only limit themselves to the places where the competition is fiercest. Book stores, conventions, and social media. And while you certainly shouldn't stop going to those places to hawk your wares, it is a good idea to ask what other places you might be overlooking where you could find a fresh audience who hasn't bought a single copy of your work just yet.

Farmer's Markets and Garage Sales, Anyone?

The next time you're out and about, really take a look at the events in your local town. Ask yourself what draws big crowds, and once you know, ask how you can get in on those events.

Annual book sales are a great place to start!

Some things are pretty obvious. For example, does your library host a big book sale event every year? Stop in and ask if they'd allow you to set up shop and be the friendly local author meet-and-greet! This is a particularly useful strategy if you've got several books under your belt, but you don't have enough local name recognition to draw your own audience.

This is just the most obvious place you should check. Some others you might want to consider are:

- Farmer's Markets: While most people are there to buy produce, that just means you have even less competition from other authors. And since at least some people there will be bored and curious, that's your chance!

- Garage Sales: You can technically have a garage sale anytime, but lots of places have community-wide garage sales. That's when all the bargain hunters come out in force, so make yourself visible and try to offload some books while you're at it!

- Fairs and Carnivals: The county fair might be a little big (or not, depending on what you're willing to get involved in), but there's probably some sort of local show you could slide right into. I live in Valparaiso, Indiana, for example, and we have Popcorn Fest every year round the town square. Hundreds of locals just wandering around eating popcorn just looking for a book to read!

- School Events: You probably have a college or a high school in your area. Reach out to them and see if they have any events you could get in on. A college might be interested in having you give a talk about the industry, and a high school might have a creative writing club you could speak to. They might be smaller events, but a write-up in the school paper can go a surprisingly long way.

- Open Mic Night: To be clear, we're not talking about karaoke here. If you've got a local cafe or coffee shop that hosts poets, singers, and others, then feel free to take the stage. It might not have the same effect as some of the other suggestions, but it does make you the center of attention long enough to plant a hook in the audience. A talk with the owner or manager might even let you make an event of it, complete with signing table!

All The World's A Stage

I said this back in Sell More Books (By Always Being Ready to Sell More Books), but the sentiment is still the same. Every venue has the possibility to be turned into a place to move your books... you just need to look around, and see what options you have.

You might be surprised at the amount of attention you receive when people find an honest-to-goodness local writer in their midst unexpectedly. Play it up... it helps with the sales.

That's all for this week's Business of Writing! If you enjoyed it, though, you might want to go check out 10 Things You Can Do To Sell More Books. Or, if you'd like to see more of my work, take a look at my Vocal archive, or at My Amazon Author Page where you can find books like my sword and sorcery novel Crier's Knife!

If you'd like to help support my work, then consider Buying Me A Ko-Fi, or heading over to The Literary Mercenary's Patreon page! Lastly, to keep up with my latest, follow me on Facebook, Tumblr, Twitter, and now on Pinterest as well!

Tips For Hand-Selling Your Book

This year I had the distinct pleasure to attend Windy Con as a panelist. For those unfamiliar with the convention it's dedicated to science fiction and fantasy in Chicago, which makes the attendees rather a mixed bunch. For myself the best part of the convention was meeting fellow authors, and swapping war stories about how we'd all gotten where we are today. I gave away a lot of swag, met some truly talented people, and I even managed to learn a few things. The most important thing I learned is that it doesn't matter how brilliant your story is unless you can sell it to anyone who crosses your path.

Anyone

 Generally this is left up to the marketing department. Authors will provide the story, show up to book signings, give interviews, etc., but we aren't supposed to have to hit the streets and try to get people to buy our books straight from us. Needs be when the devil drives though, and if you want to move copies then you have to bite the bullet and do what you need to do. There's no reason to make it harder on yourself than it already is though. So here's a simple list of tips I picked up while watching my fellow writers work.

Tip #1: Make Eye Contact

 

Look into my eyes. Buy my book

Aimee Kuzenski, author of Eye of the Storm, made me realize something very important. As soon as one becomes an author, they gain mesmeric powers like something out of Dracula. All you have to do is make eye contact with someone in a rushing crowd, and beckon to them like Bela Lugosi to hook a potential reader. Seriously though, if you're hand-selling your book you need every weapon you can get, and social convention is a powerful thing. If someone meets your eyes and you smile at them, chances are they'll at least stop for a few moments at your table. Sometimes that's all you need.

Tip #2: Get Your Book in Their Hands

Humans have a lot of really strange tics in their psychology. One of those is that something becomes more real to them if they pick it up and handle it. Author Blake Hausladen made particularly good use of this tactic by handing anyone who stopped at his table a copy of his book Ghosts in the Yew. Once someone actually touches your book, you're that much closer to getting them to take it home.

Having a sexy book cover helps.

Tip #3: Push Subtly

Authors are masters of wordplay, but this has to be a part of your sales pitch if you're ever going to get copies off your table and into the hands of eager readers. A successful hand-seller won't ask, "So, are you interested in a copy?" when someone is holding his or her book. Instead, that author will ask, "So, would you like one copy or two?"

Oh god, what do I say, what do I do?

This changes up the dynamic entirely. You aren't simply asking someone to give you a yes or no now; instead they'll have to back up the conversation. That's hard to do, and a lot of people simply won't do it. This is especially true if they have convention money burning a hole in their pocket, and you managed to engage them enough with your book to get them to the point of consideration. Little changes in wording can result in a lot more sales.

Tip #4: Be Visible, Be Personable

The first thing you have to do if you're going to sell copies of your book is to make sure people see it, and see you. It sounds simple, but a lot of choices can affect how many potential buyers you get to interact with in any given location. If you have a table, for instance, where is it located? In the back corner of the dealer's hall where the lighting is bad and the crowds are thin? Or are you in the hallway on the way to the food court, where everyone is going to have to walk past sooner or later? If no one sees you, then you might as well not be there at all.

Also, break down as many barriers between you and the people you're trying to sell to as possible. Putting yourself on the other side of a table makes you harder to approach; it gives you an air of being someone apart from the potential reader. So while you shouldn't obscure your table by blocking your books, you should come around and talk to people. Shake hands, engage, and be friendly. People are much more likely to help you out by buying a copy if you're nice to them.

Tip #5: Have a Gimmick

Ever wonder why it is every business has a logo, a mascot, or some easy way to identify their products? It's because sales gimmicks work. People who claim they're nothing but cheap tricks might be right, but gimmicks are cheap tricks that make you more recognizable and which do at least some of your marketing for you. Paul Erickson, author of the parody The Wobbit, comes to conventions dressed as a Bilbo look-alike, complete with curly wig, furry feet, and the One ring around his neck. What are you doing to get noticed?

I have a high-caliber gimmick, myself.

All you need to do is ask yourself a few, simple questions. Will this make people notice me? Will they view it in a positive way? Will it help me sell books? If the answer to those three things is yes, then I suggest you do whatever disgusting, hilarious thing it is you were considering doing in the name of your career.

 

Tip #6: Don't Let Them Leave Empty-Handed

Perhaps the most important thing you can do as an author is to give something to everyone. Even if you don't make a sale, perhaps because someone has no spare cash on them at that moment, make sure you give them a piece of swag. A bookmark advertising your novel, a post card, a business card, a free pen; anything that makes someone remember you positively is a chance to make a sale at a later date. If nothing else that person might get curious, wondering at what point they met an author at the convention they were at, and check out your book or website online. The more seeds you plant, the better your chances that something will grow out of it.



As always, thank you for stopping by the Literary Mercenary's Business of Writing update! If you'd like more information about what yours truly is up to, follow me on Twitter, Facebook, or Tumblr, whichever you prefer. Lastly, if you want to see more of what the Literary Mercenary has to offer stop by my Vocal archive, or My Amazon Author Page where you can find books like my sword and sorcery novel Crier's Knife!

Lastly, if you'd like to help support my work, consider going to The Literary Mercenary's Patreon page to become a patron today!