On Saturday 9th of April, I together with fellow authors from Bardstown Writers, attended the Save the Children Spring Fair at the Town Hall in Stratford-upon-Avon. The venue is something to behold. The Town Hall sits at the top of Sheep Street with the High Street and was open to the public for this event. Built during the reign of Charles I, the town hall’s high ceilings, ornate cornice, fabulous art, chandeliers and not forgetting the grand piano, make it a venue to behold.
Fellow Bardstowner, Angela Dandy arrived ahead of me on the day and set up our table with literary offerings from Ellie Stevenson, Paul Hirons, Jann Tracy, JJ Franklin, Angela Dandy herself and of course me, Louise Jelley. All local authors and the majority self-published.
As with all public events of this nature, footfall is the key ingredient to success. The other ingredients for us included cakes, chocolate eggs and a lot of charm, yes gift of the gab! Whilst buying books is not on everyone’s agenda when attending a Spring Fair, we were lucky to sell some, and engage with many many lovely people. Our books (you can follow the author links for more details) were all available at a discounted rate and came signed!
I was selling my Transcending Love novel for £8.00 (£8.99 on Amazon.UK). One lady I spoke with commented on the expense of books these days and I tired to point out politely to her that the average cafe purchased coffee costs £3.50 which gives pleasure for maybe 30 minutes of a day, whereas a book can give pleasure for life. This is something I will discuss in more detail in another post.
Whenever I spend time in the company of fellow writers, I realise how much more I need to be doing and should be doing in order to promote my work. I came away with a long ‘to do’ list, including visiting local book shops, libraries and engaging with local organisations. Nevertheless, the fair was fun. I sold some books which means that a few more people will be reading my novel and hopefully enjoying my work and imagination.
Onward and upwards, time to start writing again!