Newsletter #86 — Tabletop Runners
July 15, 2024
Newsletter #86 — Tabletop Runners
Not What You Might Think — Even though it would have been a lot of fun to have little mechanical humanoids running on top of my tables at the Columbus Book Festival, that is not what tabletop runners are. (Too bad.) A tablecloth covers the entire table, and tabletop runners go crossways over the tablecloth, hanging down in front of the table, advertising the product.
The same friend who designed the tabletop banner also designed this tablecloth runner. The opposite thirds of the runner (the third that hangs in front of the table and the third that hangs at the back of the table) are different, so I can switch the runner around if I get tired of one side.
After the runner arrived I photographed it and posted on social media, asking which color tablecloth would go best with the runner. First place went to black, second place to purple. For the Columbus Festival I was given two six-foot long tables, so I bought two tablecloths, a black one and a purple one. For almost all other festivals/conferences, I imagine I'll have only one table.
Note: You will be reading this newsletter the day after the Columbus Book Festival ended, so I'll report on the Festival in my next newsletter. Phil and I are going on a short vacation to the Finger Lakes region after we leave Columbus.
The Importance of Reviews on Amazon — BookBaby advises indie authors to strive for twenty customer reviews on Amazon in the first two months of publishing, and a total of fifty reviews by the end of six months. The purpose of this is not only so that potential buyers can read more reviews and be swayed to buy the book. Equally important (if not secretly more important) is that when these numbers are reached, Amazon's algorithms kick in and push the title into more categories and more searches, so that it sells more.
If you've read Exit Velocity, please consider leaving a review on Amazon. It doesn't have to be a 5-star review, and it doesn't have to be long. I recently left a three-word review for a book I loved. And Amazon counts all the reviews equally, whether they're long or short.
July 26 Fund Raising — Regarding that trip to the Finger Lakes — we will be back home in time for me to sell Exit Velocity and The F Words at a July 26 fund raising event. Sponsored by Artists Against the Blockade, it's a medical fundraiser for Palestine and Cuba, with a portion of artist's proceeds being donated to the fund raising. (Yes, writers are artists!) The event will be held on July 26, from 5 pm to midnight, at Healthy Hood Chicago, 2242 S. Damen Avenue. There will be music and food.
Socialism 2024 — The proposal I sent in for this August event was not accepted. Win some, lose some.
Spectre — In an earlier newsletter I mentioned that Spectre Journal asked to see a copy of Exit Velocity for review. I love both the review and the parrot graphic.
Mistakes — In my July 15 blog I write about one of the marketing strategies that just didn't work for me in regard to Exit Velocity.