Meeting Real Characters while Selling Fiction

Here’s a warning as a courtesy:  this post is a long one so grab a cup of coffee, or tea, or whatever your choice of beverage, because you’ll be here for a bit longer than usual.

One experience I enjoyed were the different vendors we met during the event, such as the two ladies who were in one of the tents next to mine.  Shannon is a photographer and had some of her photography on display, along with some jewelry for those who like to wear art rather than hang it on a wall.  Mary is also an author and was selling her own book, The View From My Roller Skates, a memoir she wrote about growing up in Olympia during the 30’s and 40’s.  Mary is feisty and young-at-heart and she reminded me of my feisty, young-at-heart Aunt Mariea (who would have gotten a kick out of Mary).  Shannon was a great tent neighbor and Mary was just plain fun so it was our loss when Mary had to stay home during most of the event due to the high temperatures we experienced each day.

One of the questions I keep coming across from other authors who offer advice is…who is your reader?  What do they do…what do they like…that sort of thing.  It’s a subject I could post about in more detail another time but on the first day of Lakefair, I met Linda and Petey.  Both of them were hilarious in the way they expressed themselves, they knew who they were, had a terrific friendship and they showed very openly how much they seemed to enjoy life.  I loved the fact that Linda bought my book as a gift for Petey so that she could take it with her when she flew back home to California.  Later, I thought about the fact that Linda and Petey are very much like other women I’ve met who have liked my writing and my book.  This is good; I believe I am finally beginning to have a better understanding of the type of “reader” I might be writing for. 

Rosilyn, who completely cracked me up when she just about hid under the table after making a statement that embarrassed her but made every one of us who heard the conversation laugh so hard our cheeks hurt.

A cute lady named Val who had an accent (English, I think).  If memory serves me right, she was with her husband and he asked me if my book was “explicit.”  I began to rattle off that it was a murder mystery but there were no gory details to worry about – he cut me off and said, “I was talking about sex.”  Oh…well then, of course my answer was just “no, there’s no sex.”  This might bite me in the butt since some people enjoy romance books and sex scenes but he only nodded his head at me and said “good” before giving his wife the go-ahead to purchase the book.  This time, no sex was a good thing. 

I had to laugh at myself but was also more than a little embarrassed after a conversation I had with Mark and his wife.  They were a very nice couple and Mark is a screenwriter so the conversation was enjoyable but at one point, Mark’s wife made this comment to him about my book, “You’re mum would have loved this book.”  He turned to her and said, “You’re right, mum would have loved it.”  Seeing a sale slip through my fingers, I quickly assumed “mum” had returned to Australia or New Zealand (I forgot to ask where they were from) so I told them they could always order my book on Amazon and just have it delivered directly to her.  You can just imagine my embarrassment when Mark pointed towards the sky as he informed me mum was up in the heavens (where a book could certainly not be delivered!) but he was laughing as he told me he’s certain she may have already read the book anyway (from beyond even).  It took me awhile to get my foot out of my mouth after that one!

Here are just a few responses my husband got to that question:

One woman responded with the statement, “My life’sa mystery.”

Smart alecks, every one of them, but some did make me smile.

I also earned visits from readers who had already purchased the book and just wanted to meet me or who had met me before and wanted to stop by to say hello.  One such visit was from Terrie, the Life Enrichment Coordinator who I met when I took part in a book club meeting at her work place.  She’s still hilarious and full of positive energy and it was great to see her again.

So there it is…my first experience as I attempted to peddle off my work to unsuspecting fair-goers who had to choose between so many choices of vendors, I’m sure it wasn’t easy.  But to those who did decide to support a local author, I thank you, and I appreciate everyone who made the long days slip by easily, making this new experience even more enjoyable.