A little while ago, I started attending fairs to sell physical copies of my Sorrow Song Trilogy books. I enjoyed the opportunity to meet people and discuss my work with them, but as the fairs continued my sales dropped to the point where, on one occasion, I did not sell a single copy nor speak to anyone who had any interest in my stories. I believe that this was down to the organiser; the venue was not accommodating, the event was not well publicised, and holding it in winter just seemed to keep everyone at home. After that my interest drifted away to other things.

The need to get my work out into the greater reading public remained, however, and I still had a number of paperbacks stacked in boxes that were taking up space, so I decided to try the fairs again. This time, I chose a more diverse event instead of a dedicated book fair; this one being held at the Grimsby Institute in Lincolnshire, organised to celebrate its 80th anniversary. Book fairs are good, but I had found that a lot of people who attend them have a narrow idea of what they are looking to buy and quickly pass by any vendor who does not meet their criteria. My thinking was that at a craft fair my books would stand out more as there would be fewer other book-sellers. This turned out to be correct; the stall-holder on one side was selling aromatic scent products and the one on the other side gothic and steampunk decorations. More than one person stopped to look at my books, and speak to me even, because they were not expecting to find my stall amongst all the others. I also made more than one sale because the customer knew someone who loved reading historical fiction and they were searching for a gift for them.

Although I did not make a lot of money at the Grimsby Institute I did break even, which was encouraging. The people were friendly and curious. I got chance to talk to customers and explain my books to them, which led to actual sales. Perhaps more importantly I enjoyed the day. Thinking it over, I realised that this approach to marketing has given me the best results. Yes, there is a risk involved, you have to buy author copies of the books you want to sell for one thing, and no sale is ever guaranteed, but when someone does buy a book it just feels so rewarding. Getting to speak to potential readers is also fun; not all of them takes the plunge but they seem to appreciate the opportunity to talk to someone who has actually written a novel. There was one woman who purchased all three of my Sorrow Song books after a quick chat about them and then told me that she could not imagine why I would not be successful as I had clearly put a lot of effort into my work! If nothing else, that commendation itself was worth turning up for the event. I am now looking to appear at several more such fairs.