This weekend, I had the pleasure of being part of the local library’s Local Author Open House. I’m still very new at the whole author game, and I wasn’t really sure what to expect. The TL:DR version is, I met some really nice people (both authors and readers), and I learned some things about personal appearances.
I had both friends and family stop by to get an early copy of The Coming Storm. I was very happy to see them, and I thank them for supporting my author endeavors.
I did not, however, sell any books to anyone else. Is this a bad thing? No. Well, financially, it’s not great, but I didn’t go into this thinking “Oh man, I’m going to sell out of all my books and this will be fantastic!”
You see, people don’t go to libraries to buy books. At least, not on the spot. Several authors sold one or two copies but, mostly, we talked with readers, gave them our business cards, and hoped they were interested enough in us to look us up later.
I watched other authors and took mental notes, hoping to learn some things about personal appearances–which I did. I used the opportunity as a practice run of sorts–a way to get my feet wet and figure out what works and what doesn’t work for me.
It’s going to forever be a work in progress and I will continuously learn from each event. I’m looking forward to next year’s event as well as any other events in which I participate!
At the very least, I had plenty of practice with my damned elevator pitch!
seanrfrazier.com 
Any sale is a good sale. An author always sells to fam and friends first, then you branch out. It’s a great start! Write on