By my calculations

 

Well, I just spent a good portion of my morning altering the prices of all 50+ of my books (that includes the book about my grandpa, journals and coloring books).  Holy Cannoli!  

Amazon gave authors plenty of warning that the prices were going up on June 20th, but I wanted to put off upping my prices to compensate for as long as possible.  I knew I was down to the last few days and really today was going to offer the best chance of getting it done.

Why the rush?

My current prices would not have allowed for "expanded distribution" so it would have messed things up for a bit if I didn't change the prices now.  Expanded distribution allows for my titles to be in local bookstores and such, which I think it important.

So, they are now all higher - I AM SO SORRY!!!  I do not like raising the prices.  I kept them as low as possible.

While doing it figured out how much I have made per hour as "an author".... it comes to around 30 to 40 cents HAHAHA!   I love it though and wouldn't change a thing! 

After the Event

 

What to do now?  I had so much fun at the author event, I immediately wanted to attend more.   There is a problem though... quite often bookings are made months in advance.  Six months or more!  Many places are booked up, but that didn't stop me from looking and thinking about the fall and even spring 2024.  It is never too early to start on a plan.

And in the meantime, friends have gotten me into two other events this summer!  You can see me at:

Grand Ledge Art Fair (it is on an island!) on July 29th

Pinckney Food Truck Friday on August 18th

I am so excited about both events!  I don't have a great deal of inventory and do not expect to sell a lot, but it is really nice getting out and meeting people and talking to them about my books. Outreach is one of my favorite aspects of my real job - this is no different!  

Real job.   That will have to be a topic of a future post.  Why I do not feel like an author.

What I learned from my first Author Event

 I attended my first author event at Reading Rocks in Rockford in Rockford, Michigan and it was an awesome experience!  The event was put on by the Krause Memorial Library (part of the Kent District Library System KDL) and free for local authors.  I love libraries!

An Excited Author

The event was also free for patrons, and there were a lot of them.  With every book purchased they received a free raffle ticket for a chance to win a Kindle.  I love that the library offered this incentive for the community to really look at the books and purchase one or more.

I brought 50 books with me and sold 12.  Personally I think that is pretty great for my first ever outing!  I had them in baskets and had found a couple of fancy black wire book holders at the local Goodwill along with a nice plastic flyer holder which helped display my book lists.  

Black picture frames from the dollar store held my author name flyer and a ways-to-pay flyer.  I put my QR code on the name flyer and I am glad I did!  It was scanned a few times during the day.

Besides Venmo, Cash App, and PayPal I also purchased a Square card reader and set up Apple Pay.   Well I am so happy I bought that card reader because half of the people wanted to pay with a card!   They also wanted Apple Pay which unfortunately I could not get to work, even though I had thought I had set it up.  I need to look in to that more.  

Meeting people and seeing their reactions to my books was the most gratifying part of the day.  For those who couldn't buy a book, they did scan my QR code, take the book lists, and grab a button, sticker or bookmark.  

Nothing beats seeing kids enjoying  your books!

Next time I need to remember to:

• Make sure Apple Pay is working!
• Make more cute animal bookmarks
• Keep track of the titles that I sell
• Bring a cooler
• Stick with the flower power tablecloth - it caught people's eye
• Come up with a good line for autographs

Yes, the kids LOVED having their books made out to them and signed!  Have pens handy!

Five Scrumptious Ice Cream Cones

 My latest title has just been released!  A fun counting rhyme book featuring a summer time favorite:  ice cream cones.   It's been hot here and I thought to plan an ice cream storytime!  The book idea was born.

This book cost a bit more than the others because Amazon is increasing their printing prices starting June 20th and apparently they won't let me choose the lower price on new materials.  I have to wait and see what they are going to do and hopefully I can get the base price down.   In the meantime know that Kindle ebooks are still only $1.99 each or free with Kindle Unlimited!  

Buy the book here