Come Cross-Promote at the LA Times Festival of Books

Christine Alexanians is handling our booth this year. Here is what she plans and the details for participating:

Come Join Us as a Participating Author at the LA Times Festival of Books
The following is the planned 2009 program:

You are invited to participate in our next LA Times/UCLA Festival of Books booth--the last weekend of April 2009--and/or any of the value-added programs aligned with the fair. The book-signing portion of the fair requires that you attend, the others do not.

(To see the 2008 video made by Rey Ybarra, go to Best Selling Author Television site

http://www.veoh.com/channels/BSATV)

Our group of authors will again be sponsoring a booth at the LA Times/UCLA Festival of Books on April 25, and 26, 2009. We focus on making a humdrum fair into a sizzling success and from past experience, we make changes every year based on what we learned the year before and the year before that.

One hour (50 minutes to allow set up) signing segments cost $150 for the first and $100 for the second day. The fee includes display in the booth for the full two days.

Last year we had our booth televised on the Internet. Rey Ybarra from Best Selling Author Television was there to cover the event. He conducted short three-minute interviews with the participating authors. The program proved to be a great success.

The advantages of our LA Times Booth:

1. Ongoing education on PR and promotion for participants during the planning of the booth.
2. Value-added promotions designed to draw readers to our booth (more to come on these later.)
3. Cross promotion benefits of many participating authors rather than of only a few.
4. Excellent location at the fair for a fraction of the cost of an individual booth.
5. Association with other authors with recognized names.
6. A stable booth position/location with an established history among return visitors to the fair.
7. A booth with double the usual frontage of most (depending on participation).
8. Assorted ways to participate, some available to authors who don't live in the area.
9. A limited number of books and authors accepted to increase visibility.

10. Display of the books of signing authors for the full two days of the fair.
11. Display of your poster for the full two days of the fair.

12. Exposure of your name and book's title on our blogs.
13. Your book listed on an Amazon Listmania.
14. The credibility of being associated with a well-planned booth sponsored by professionals.

15. Associated value-added promotion like our catalog for booksellers, our video special, our tote program, our slide show and our gift with purchase help attract interest in the booth, help encourage sales, and help us keep cross-promotional efforts going long after the fair.

WHAT'S NEW In 2009


~Poetry reading

~Story time for kids

~Promotional Tote Bags



We are planning to have a poetry-reading hour and a children¢s story reading hour in the afternoon slots. The cost will be $35.00 for a 15 minutes-reading time. This is new and details will be provided in the subsequent issues.


DISPLAY:


Books on display will be shown on a bookstand, not tossed into a bin with hundreds of others. There is room near each participant's book to have a flier 4 x 5 3/4 and, to give away bookmarks or business cards--any two of the three. Each author may also supply laminated signs with grommets to be hung around the perimeter of the booth. Note: We are not offering display to anyone not signing this year. All books on display will be those of signing authors.



SALES

No books will be sold out of the booth except by signing authors at the time of their signing. Books will be displayed with order forms when they are not signing. (See above.).



BLOG

Our fair-focused blog is open to all. It further exposes our participants' books. We use the blog as a kind of journal of our experiences and the blog comments as a way to share promotion ideas and ask questions. It is an ideal way to keep a record but also to share with other writers who might be planning a fair booth elsewhere.
We also offer a free review blog (www.TheNewBookReview.blogspot.com) where participants can have their favorite reviews (with permission from the reviewer) posted.


SIGNING SEGMENTS AT THE FAIR

Local authors or authors willing to travel may purchase one hour (50 minutes to allow set up) segments of signing time. Signings will be posted in the booth (Sorry, but the LA Times Festival of Books administration does not provide a way to list multiple authors in the brochures, etc. that the LA Times sends out. Thus signing authors will be responsible for their own promotions including media releases and invitations to drive traffic to their signing. In fact, for everyone to benefit we will ask for a pledge that each of them will do so.)

One hour (50 minutes to allow set up) signing segments cost $150 for the first and $100 for a second hour. The fee includes display in the booth for the full two days. If you choose to sign, we strongly recommend that participants consider the stands and banners we tested last year to make their signing times a standout. All signing positions are available on a first-come, first-served basis. We have had authors with books traditionally published as well as subsidy- and self-published. We only ask that no one with pornographic material apply because we are located near the children's section and sometimes have children's authors as signers.



Training:

It is our policy to supply ideas for book fair promotion as well as to lead our participants through the process. We begin early. Many find this an educational experience equivalent to taking an expensive class in promotion.


Disposal of Fair Materials:

Books and promotion materials will not be returned. Display books will be donated to a library after the fair. If you don¢t want to donate your books, please pick them up Sunday afternoon.


Other terms:

Because of the training process and because we must pay our expenses early, fees must be paid upon signing and cannot be refunded. There are also no refunds for natural or unnatural disasters and, yes, that includes rain. (The festival Administration doesn't refund our fee.) We've never had rain yet. This is sunny Southern California!

An author must participate in the signing segment to actually sell books. They sell their own books in our booth only during their signing time and handle their own sales (or bring an assistant to do that for them.)



PAYMENT

To participate send an e-mail to Christine Alexanians at chalexwrite@yahoo.com. She can invoice you for PayPal or give you an address to send a check. Please put "LA Times Fair" in the subject line and please let her know the programs you would like to participate in so she will know how to bill you. She will then send you details for participation and answer other questions regarding this show. The booth promotion will be handled by Christine and Carolyn Howard-Johnson.
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Blogging by Carolyn Howard-Johnson. Learn more at Carolyn's website, www.howtodoitfrugally.com. Her blogs are also content-laden:
www.thefrugaleditor.blogspot.com
and a Writer's Digest Top 101 Website:
www.sharingwithwriters.blogspot.com

And the New Book Review is at your service: www.thenewbookreview.blogspot.com. (Follow the submission guidelines in the left column!)

Stuff to Know Before the Book Fair...

...or Preparations Before the Fair.



Here is what you'll need and a few directions and helps:

Those who are signing at our booth, please take the time to read this all the way through. There is lots here that can make a difference to you. If you still have questions after reading through, highlighting, and absorbing, please ask questions on this blog by using the comment feature. That way we can ALL benefit from them. Also, everyone feel free to chime in with a comment, to exchange ideas and to give help according to your expertise. (-:

To park go to the LA Times Festival of Books website (www.latimes.com) and look at the campus map. Park in the #3 structure, near Sunset and Hilgaard. You will find people there who will help direct you to our booths, #610and 611. Parking is $8. Follow parking directions to the letter. Tickets are expensive.

Bring your books for sale and be prepared to take extras back to the car if you have more left than what you can carry. We can't store backstock of books for everyone. There is just not enough room and we try to keep a tidy booth.

If your poster does not arrive in the mail on Friday before the fair, it most likely will not get posted. These posters go up at 6 am on Saturday morning--or before.

It is best to use something that rolls to bring your books and display material for your table.

You will need:

-Change for cash sales.
-A Visa machine set up if you take credit cards (not necessary)
-A resale license (it can be temporary). You probably won't need it but you should have one anyway.
-Decide whether you want to take checks. I do. I don't take credit cards, though. That's because I don't sell many books myself but go through wholesalers and distributors.
-A box for your money/checks, etc. I use my pockets. Not too classy but very fast.
-The signs you put out on the table for special offers, the price of your books, if you have an award and want it to be evident, etc. We provide the signs that say our customers get a free book with a purchase of a book, while supplies last.
-Stands for your books and/or other display aids like inexpensive card holders. Try Michael's or Staples.
-You may want to pack a lunch, depending on your schedule.
-Wear warm shoes in case it is cold or rains. The booths are on the grass and feet can get cold.
-Dress professionally or in a way that will market your title or brand yourself. Color works well if you want to attract the visual media. Also, you will be filmed by Rey Ybarra for Authors' Coalition videos.
-Arrive at least 15 minutes before your allotted time. There is some trade-time between authors.
-Make your reservations for your personal video with Rey Ybarra if you wish. To reserve your own special time ($99.) e-mail him at rybarra106@aol.com.
-Plan to be at the booth each day at 4 pm for some video footage that Rey will shoot for Authors' Coalition. These videos will be available to everyone who is participating to use for promotion. You will want to be on them!
~A guest book if you wish. Keep collecting names for your contact list.
~A good signing pen. Several others for backup.

I can't be specific about how many books you will need. It depends on your title, how old the title is, how you promoted your signing beforehand, how well you relate to the crowds walking by the booth and the people who come into the booth, how expensive your book is. The free book with purchase offer will help you close a sale. Beyond that, I have seen a book priced at $50 sell two books. I have seen authors sell as many as 40 books in an hour. Bring what you think you can sell. Stow extras in your car (always a good idea). Bring a friend to help you run to the car if you need to and help in other ways. And, in the meantime, promote, promote, promote! Keep in mind,though, that this fair is HUGE. It attracts 135,000 visitors including Hollywood types.

You may also wish to take advantage of the great free seminars offered by the fair. There are dozens and some are presented by famous authors. Others are valuable panels.

You may sell your books before and after your allotted time but we do ask that you step outside of the booth to do so. Those who are signing will want to be seen and if you crowd around you will limit visiblity. You may also want to discreetly pass out fliers before your signing time and/or post them in lavatories, etc. Note the word discreetly. If you are asked to desist, do so politely.

Please plan to send out invitations if you have not already done so and e-mail reminders one or two days before your signing date. Don't forget your media releases to your local press/TV/radio. You could even call your local reporters and invite them. Even send personal invitations to them.

If you haven't heard from me, that means I do not have your materials for display. Display means the bookshelves that show your books when you are not signing. That is where we put your order forms, books, and bookmarks. You may have some of those materials on your table when you sign, of course!!

Give yourself time and a small budget to browse and to buy the books of others. If authors don't buy books, how can we expect others to buy ours?

Note that Rey and Randy (TV host and cameraman) will be in and out of the booth filming. This will attract traffic. It is up to YOU to utilize it well. I. E., strike up conversations with those standing about looking.

Also note this is a cross-promotional effort. When you have sold a book (say to someone you have invited to the fair), introduce them to your table mate and/or suggest one of the other books in the booth. When you first sit down, take a minute to learn something about your table partner. Early in the day, browse the other books on display.

Use the booth and the entire fair to network. You will be evaluating your experience not on sales but on many intangibles. Leads. Contacts. Opportunity to contact those who can help you in the future (editors, publishers, readers, etc.). Learning new promotion techniques from your fellows. I. E. fairs are opportunities for you get more exposure and to build relationships. Also keep in mind, many who don't buy your book will go straight home and buy at a discount on Amazon. I recommend that you let them. I don't think it is a good idea to sell your own work at a discount. It competes against your bookstores (not really ethical) and it diminishes the value of your work. That is one of the reasons we offer the free book with purchase.

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Blogging by Carolyn Howard-Johnson, founder of Authors' Coalition (www.authorscoalitionandredenginepress.com). Learn more at both the AC site and Carolyn's website, www.howtodoitfrugally.com and her blogs:
www.thefrugaleditor.blogspot.com
www.sharingwithwriters.blogspot.com
www.thenewbookreview.blogspot.com