This weekend my husband and I traveled out to the country to participate in an arts and crafts fair. I’m not a very crafty person. I crochet and make a few things that find a small market everywhere I go, but I won’t get rich this way. The main reason I set up is to sell my books. If you have a book and a free weekend in the fall, you may consider these venues. Most people show up at these events ready to spend money. And many will agree an autographed book makes a unique and fun gift. It also helps if you live locally. Anything within a hundred miles is considered local as far as I’m concerned. Even though this one wasn’t far from home, I met readers who had never heard of me. Visibility is the goal here. So this weekend we enjoyed the fall foliage during our trip into the hills of southern Ohio. Selling a box or two of books was just the icing on the cake.
But the biggest benefits by far from this craft fair and many others like it were the tidbits of local folklore I picked up. Fascinating stories I’d never heard before that would make great additions to my books. One story in particular was a book in itself. Writers live for these moments.
I always warn people never to say anything in front of me they don’t want to end up in a book someday. What goes into my ears now belongs to me to do with as I please. So the next time a reader wants to bend your ear about anything, don’t pass it up. You may end up with an idea for the next bestseller.
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