Is the Sacramento Book Festival your first book-selling event? Or are you a pro and want some pointers? Check out our tips on tabling. We have sold (successfully) books at many festivals and conventions and these are some of the things that work for us.
Here’s what you need to do ahead of time:
- Develop a short “elevator” pitch for each book ahead of time and practice it so that you can easily tell people about the book without a long-winded explanation.
- Write brief summaries (12 words or less) on an index card and tuck them into your books so people can read them easily as they scan your table.
- Set up your payment options in advance. Are you going to take Venmo? Print a Venmo QR code that goes to your account. Cash? Bring plenty of change. Credit cards via the Tap function on your phone? Make sure you know how to use it. And charge your devices ahead of time!
- Price your books to make it easy on you. Round up the price to a flat dollar amount so you don’t have to make as much change. Set your prices to include tax.
- Make book bundles. If you have multiple titles in a series, create “book bundles” and sell the whole bundle at a discount.
- Table supplies. Put together a box or bag of table stuff you might need. Here are some ideas:
- Bags for Customers
- Binder Clips
- Book Stands
- Bookmarks and Other Table Swag
- Box Cutter
- Business Cards
- Event Permit (CDTFA)
- Lockbox or Money Envelope (with starter cash)
- Packing Tape
- Paper Towels
- Payment Device (phone/iPad, card reader, etc)
- Pens (for signing all those books you’re going to sell!)
- Price Stickers
- Scissors
- Sign-Up Sheet (for your mailing list)
- Snacks and Water
- Sunscreen( if you’re outside)
- Table Decor
- Tablecloths (2 – one to toss over your books when you need to step away)
- Trash Bag
- Twine
- Wipes