The Dragon's Den

UPDATE: PODCAST TO BE POSTPONED UNTIL NEXT SUNDAY!

Same time as before: 1pm! The Host got sick and was considerate to let me know!

Now, on to the Post Event Reflection.

Today was a vendor event at Springfield Mall, and… boy, being a vendor there has been a learning experience. Firstly, I didn’t recieve a message regarding the sign in time, so I came in (fashionably) late. I would have been denied set up if the site-director hadn’t allowed me to set up. I was positioned between a clothing distributor, and a dog-treat salesman.

During my time there, I tried to interest people into picking up the book, I noticed that everyone was kind of doing this:

The temperature at the mall was… I don’t want to say “intense“, but the general energy of the customers passing by was ‘we’re already on our way to something’. I’d wave, maybe say hello, and only occasionally would I get a greeting back. Even then, rarely would someone stop by my table to engage in the story, let alone look at the merchandise. Three people total stopped by and bought a book, but I could parse that was because they were readers.

Advice to fellow authors; Malls might not be the best place for selling your book. I figured that out from talking with both of the other vendors at the event– people are more inclined to come into a Mall for two or three things. Whether it be to go and find clothes from a name-brand store, or get a pretzel from Auntie Anne’s, or to just shop in Target, or Macy’s, a majority of the people don’t pay mind to what we have available because the people already know what they want. Malls are, in my opinion, great for hangouts, buying food and buying things that “last”. Hanging out means that you can wander around in the stores to find just about anything, food is a universal necessity that can be indulged in as much as we need it to survive, and things that “last” are things like clothes, toys, games, etc. Sure, books last, but books aren’t fashionable or edible, and if there was a plan to hang out at a bookstore, there’s a Barnes and Noble on the second or third floor of the building.

What I’m trying to say is, mallgoers are more likely to grab sneakers than they would stop by a kiosk, and the energy of that was palpable. I started handing out bookmarks and pens for free, and while some people took them and some people declined, others picked up the pace.

Bookmarks don’t hurt! Neither do pens!

The wildest thing was asking the standard question to interest potential buyers ‘Are you readers?’ Often, people would just pass me, others would mention they weren’t really into fantasy. The answer I got a few times was “I don’t really read anymore.”

Which… The implications in that statement are many. Either they were saying that they don’t have time to read, or they just… don’t read at all anymore. One person even said ‘I don’t read anymore. I guess that’s why I don’t know anything’. Which, is a great tongue-in-cheek joke, but, again, the implications.

It’s startling to me that reading has become such a challenge to do. I know this society favors the working man more than artistry, but it’s still something so incredible to me.

But positives; I can’t stay stuck on the negatives. Of the three people that did buy a book (Two of them supporting a black author) one of them was a kid, about 12 or 13. She was with her family and stopped by. She apparently just got done buying another book, and wouldn’t you believe it, it was Warriors by Erin Hunter! I talked about how I grew up with that series when I was her age. The connection with her family was fantastic, considering she was being egged on by her younger sibling to buy the book. Mom paid for everything and, with a well wishes from mom, that was the end of the transaction. It’s seeing the excitement on the face of a reader that makes me happy to keep going with this endeavor. I’m hoping that the second book in the series will drive that much excitement once it’s finished!