Musicians go on concert tours, politicians launch campaigns, artists participate in exhibitions, and authors — especially if they are not well known — attend book fairs. The Springfield (Ohio) Book Fair, held this past Saturday, was not the first such event I ever attended, but it was the most widely publicized and featured the most authors (18). Friend and fellow writer Charles O’Donnell drove us over to Mother Stewart’s Brewing Company where the book fair was held. With huge silver vats surrounding us, The other authors and I set up our tables and prepared to pitch our books to potential buyers. Although the brewery had several large fans spinning above us, the place gradually became hot and sticky.

The authors themselves were a varied lot whose works covered almost every genre: fantasy, horror, romance, mystery, inspiration, dystopian (Charles), and young adult (me). Some authors had impressive layouts with colorful tablecloths and large cardboard posters featuring their book covers; others had nothing more than a pile of books in front of them. The latter included Tom Burdin at the table next to me. He had written a memoir, Sandy One, This is Crown, about his days as a combat pilot in the Vietnam War. Kevin Creager was another nonfiction author. His book, We Cuss a Little, focused on his experiences as a school psychologist.

Despite the advance publicity and the attraction of a bar next to the author tables, relatively few people came. There were times when not a single individual could be found buying books or chatting with an author. There was speculation that a food-truck competition being held nearby may have contributed to the low turnout. In any case, I still sold six books — four copies of The Bullybuster, and one each of Fast-Pitch Love and Lost and Found. Among my buyers were an English teacher and a former middle school principal. Buyers and non-buyers alike dug into my candy dish and sometimes took one of my promotional book marks. About midway through the fair, two women from Hen House Publishing, which sponsored the event, went around to the author tables and made a short video of each author encouraging people to come to the fair. The collected videos were apparently put online while the fair was still in progress, but as far as I could tell, they did not boost attendance.

The fair started at noon and ran for seven hours. Charles and I struck our tents around 6:30, satisfied to have made at least a few sales. It’s likely that some of the participating authors didn’t make any. I went away with two lessons learned. First, I need to have author business cards made. Any number of people asked me if I had one, and I had to say “no.” Second, I need to consider pricing my books a little higher. As it is, selling a copy of The Bullybuster for $4 only nets me a nine-cent profit. Of course, as Charles correctly observed, my low book price shows I’m more concerned with overcoming “obscurity” rather than achieving “profitability.”

Both Charles and I have applied to participate in Cincinnati’s “Books on the Bank” in October. It’s tough for independent authors to gain acceptance into this event. But it’s better to try and risk rejection than to stay on the sidelines and wonder if we could have gotten in.