So, here's an update on vending events for the first half of 2022: First off, my community is a southern well-knit community with southerners, northern relocators (I am one), and a massive amount of tourists. It's a beach area with an attraction feel but with a more welcoming southern hospitality feel. All communities vary but humans, at heart, are the same. So how do books sell here? I'd say well, but here's my perspective on events this year and why I think they are worse profitable than last. Names for events will be vague for my and their privacy.
Doggie charity event: a 4th annual event had the worst profit to date this year, according to those vendors at previous ones. My observations were the restaurants underestimated the samples that needed (food judging contest to raise money for shelters) and ran out halfway through the event. The booze did not run out but the food did early (a bad combo). It was also exceptionally cold for our area in February. We have warm, sometimes hot days then. This year was cool but was so frigidly windy that vendors' tents blew over despite weights. Certain breeds of dogs could not last long in that weather. Bottom line: I teamed up with 2 other authors so sold a few books which made back my money put in, the printing costs of books, and a small profit. This is a good thing when you risk a new event.
Farm event: An author friend wanted me to join up for another event and I was excited about it. Again, we had an endless spring. In March, when we would be on the beach and in the sun before it was too scorching, it was freezing cold. We thankfully had a premium spot inside the barn used for special events, but not a heated space--just safe from winds. I met some great people, but not many at all were there for my genre of fantasy romance. Those avid for it got all my info for ebooks. Exposure was great. Sales only broke me even. I talked as a writing teacher and an author to a young girl who was writing her books. She and her mother talked to me for 20 minutes and bought my books. Bottom line: poor sales and slow events can create a couple big fans and that is worth an afternoon.
Crab Fest: this event was huge in the past. We did the equivalent in the fall of 2021, the Shrimp Fest; even with 1 rainy slow day, the second day, we sold a combined 100+ books (3 authors). However, the Crab Fest was a disappointment. We sold books and made our money back. I sold 19 books myself which is not bad, but pales in comparison to double the amount I sold at the other event. We made our money back and got exposure but a lot of vendors did poorly. We deduced inflation and gas prices hindered the spending ability of people. In late 2021, people were excited to be outside after the pandemic and willing to boost the economy through spending. It is a very different world.
XCon: This is a local Comic Con. It was fun, packed, and gave great exposure. I could only go one day out of two. I only sold 9. Some of these were my omnibus so in each of those there are 3 books, but I'm only counting them each as one. I made my money back but only because I paid for half a table for half the days. I did better than my fellow authors because my books are straight-up fantasy romance. There were 4 other authors there and many vendors. All reported they did poorly on sales. Again, the economy is not friendly for buying hobby-related items. Many people took my information to buy ebooks because it's cheaper. I did see a spike in sales the following weak. It is definitely an event where I would do well in the future. For Comic Con, I'm risking money on my own table, but I will be doing so with my husband and his artwork hoping his paintings will sell to cover expenses.
Local author showcase: A local bookstore held an author showcase to bring in business. There were five authors there, including myself. The store is new, so I did not expect much. About 50 people came in, but most were friends and family of one of the authors because it was her first-ever event. Many of them bought other authors' books and/or used books from the bookstore. I only sold a few but the event was free and only for a couple hours; my newsletter list had added 15 names added, many bookmarks taken for ebooks, and met a lot of locals. In short, free events for exposure only are great.
Thoughts? Vending or selling books at all might be more of a struggle with the economy due to ready spending money decreasing thanks to inflation and gas prices skyrocketing. For many American readers, they might have to forgo those 2 books they had their eyes on just to fill up at the pumps. Still, I will persevere and do my 3 events scheduled for the second half of the year and reflect after that before planning where I plan to vend and how often in 2023.