Posts Tagged trade show
Leslie McGuirk Shares her #SIBA12 Experience
Posted by Wanda in Authors as Guest Bloggers, SIBA Trade Shows on October 1, 2012
Being on the panel at the SIBA trade show in Naples, FL gave me a rare perspective on the inner workings of other 
authors and illustrator of children’s books. Those of us in the profession rarely meet each other since our work involves a lot of isolated time in our studios. We got to share our delights and joys and ups and downs of our magical profession with an audience of our biggest appreciators, independent bookstore owners. It is rare to have an open dialogue with people who know and believe in the work we do. For sure we should have more exchanges like this in the future. I believe creative people have a lot to share. We are by nature isolated storytellers. I think anyone who owns a bookstore is a lover of tales . Perhaps meeting more of us in the creative trenches would add new ways to get buyers excited by books. After the panel discussion, I was truly touched by how many buyers came to my book signing and wanted to know more about my new book, The Moogees Move House. I think SIBA people are passionate about creativity and books and I was deeply appreciative of their enthusiasm.
#SIBA12 – Authors Serve it Up at Naples Trade Show
Posted by Wanda in Authors as Guest Bloggers, SIBA Trade Shows on September 23, 2012
Authors Serve it Up at Naples Trade Show
by Steve Piacente
Post-feast signing.
Waiting last Sunday to make the first of many rapid-fire pitches to a ballroom full of booksellers, I thought of how Elmer used to gaze at Bugs, smack his lips and imagine Wabbit Stew.
It seemed an appropriate image, for the premiere event at the Southern Independent Booksellers Alliance (SIBA) is called the “Moveable Feast.”
The “feast” is comprised of some two dozen authors who move from table to table every eight minutes. The goal, obviously, is to get your book added to the menu in independent bookstores throughout the South.
Any fear heading in was quickly dispelled. The sellers were engaged and personable, and asked questions that made the exercise feel more like a conversation than an interview.
And yet that’s what it was, and what it is anytime you get a stranger to sit still and listen to your pitch. Eight minutes is actually long. In my experience, if you can’t arouse interest in the time it takes the elevator to go from 1 to 12, you’re done.
The other challenge is maintaining your own energy and enthusiasm after uttering the same words over and over. It’s wise to remember that Table 23 doesn’t know you from Adam, and couldn’t care less how sharp you were two tables earlier.
In fact, Table 23 looked a little overwhelmed by the time I got there. They had already heard from several authors and really, how much literary speed dating could anyone handle in an hour?
I kept it short. My novel, I said, is built around a dark secret that will disrupt a historic election. It will take you where CSPAN is never invited, to back rooms where deals are made, futures are decided, and where the line between right and wrong is not so clear. The title, I said is Bootlicker.
I glanced from person to person, saw they were at least interested enough for me to go on. So I did, any thoughts of Wabbit Stew now long vanquished.
Have you had a similar literary speed dating experience?
#SIBA12 – Nobody does it like the south
Posted by Wanda in Authors as Guest Bloggers, SIBA Trade Shows on September 16, 2012
Nobody does it like the south
By: Joelle Charbonneau
I had heard of SIBA. I mean, of course I had heard of it. Lots of my author friends had attended the show in the past. So I knew about SIBA, but I had never been.
Until this year.
I was honored to receive an invitation to be a part of the SIBA 2012 adventure, but while I was excited I will also admit to being nervous since I didn’t really know anyone who was going. Worry was unnecessary because everyone was wonderful. Enthusiasm for books made everyone feel connected. The booksellers I talked to were engaged and energetic. The authors were kind and incredibly talented. I never noticed how long I was standing or talking until after I went back to my room and put on the hotel provided fuzzy robe. (Can you tell I thought the robe thing was really cool?)
SIBA was also a wonderful time to connect with members of my publishing team that I had yet to meet. If you haven’t met Andy Snyder and Emily Holden from Houghton Mifflin Harcourt make sure you introduce yourself. They are rockstars. As were all the sales reps I met. They are unsung heroes who champion books before they ever hit shelves.
The one thing I didn’t know, but learned as I walked around the show floor coveting items on every table was that the words trade show were taken literally. That sometimes I could get a fabulous book or a cool swag item if I bartered for it. Thank goodness I had stuff to trade because the books I brought home to my four-year-old made put me in the same category as Mickey Mouse and Curious George.
But the one thing I really didn’t know is that I didn’t have to pitch my books to booksellers or work to make connections. I just had to be myself and enjoy the people whose passion for books was overwhelming. The rest took care of itself.
#SIBA12: A Neophyte’s Analysis
Posted by Wanda in Authors as Guest Bloggers, SIBA Trade Shows on September 13, 2012
SIBA 2012: A Neophyte’s Analysis
It’s a wrap. SIBA is done for 2012 and with it’s passing it leaves me a trade show veteran. No longer will I just get into a line of authors and follow them around because I’m not really sure where they’re going or if I am supposed to go there too. It wasn’t that I didn’t understand the posted schedule, I knew what the schedule said, I just wasn’t exactly sure what it meant, and I sure as heck didn’t want to miss something that could have gotten me a little more time with the booksellers in attendance.
Let’s be real, I had a great time, I had fun with a bunch of wonderful people, and I met a lot of new friends among the other authors that I expect to last for years to come, but I didn’t leave my cancer patients, delay my schedule, and run down to Naples without my family for any of those reasons. I came down to try and convince the members of SIBA that they would make a return on their initial investment of time and effort to try and hand-sell my book and that I would do my part to be a partner with them in doing so.
I’ve pitched screenplays to Hollywood producers, handled investors, and go face to face to explain, as honestly as possible, the extent of their disease to my patients every day. Talking isn’t something that frightens me. But SIBA is a bit different than anything I’ve ever done before; it’s more like a Kung Fu movie with multiple attackers. You never know when the booksellers are going to pop up or where they’re going to come from. I know that there is some importance to badge color and everyone had a badge with their name on it, but I was never quite sure who was who, and it felt awkward to put on my reading glasses to try and figure it out. So I talked to everyone. I had done a three-minute pitch and given a t-shirt to a security guard before I realized he wasn’t a bookseller with a uniform fetish. I don’t regret it, I turned him into a walking billboard in Naples for The Uncommon Thread and maybe even gained another reader, but I don’t think he’s going to go home and order a carton of my books from Ingram whether they’re returnable or not, although I assured him repeatedly and fervently that they were.
Next time SIBA is in my back yard, New Orleans, so my only comment about that is, “Whodat….Whodat…Whodat say dey gonna sell dem books?”
See ya next year (if you invite me or not). New Orleans is just too much fun to miss, I don’t care if I’m only there as a tour guide. Maybe we can get all the booksellers Tabasco Mardi Gras beads or something so I can tell who they are a little better, but, laissez les bon temps rouler.
So, read Occupy Bourbon Street, in my little book, make yourself a list of restaurants you can’t miss, put a smile on your face, and come on down here for a good time in 2013.
Glad to have been a part of SIBA 2012,
Scott Anderson
Love an Indie #SIBA11 Membership Offer for Book Bloggers
Posted by Wanda in GiB Book Bloggers on May 6, 2011
Love an Indie #SIBA11 Membership Offer for Book Bloggers
Calling All Book Bloggers ! SIBA wants to make a trade. Place a “Find an Indie Bookstore” badge above the fold on the homepage of your website and SIBA will waive your $195 dues. Just let us know when the badge has been placed and we will mark you current. There are many benefits to membership in SIBA. Let us count the ways!
- Receive a complete contact list of all of SIBA’s member stores on demand—including contact names, email addresses, phone and mailing addresses via email.
- Three passes to the #SIBA11 Trade Show.
- Reduced prices for advertising & table rental at #SIBA11.
- Be informed. Stay in the loop. Don’t miss the numerous SIBA opportunities to connect with each other, indie booksellers, and the industry-at-large across the south.
We’re all in this together!
Steps to Love an Indie and become a member of SIBA for Free:
- Choose a badge and embed the appropriate code on your website, “above the fold.”
- Email wanda@sibaweb.com when your badge is on your site, and we will give you a free membership in SIBA ($195 value!)
| Badges |
|---|
<a href=”http://www.authorsroundthesouth.com/STARS/bookstore.php”><img src=”http://www.sibaweb.com/luv/baby175.jpg” alt=”I want to grow up in an indie bookstore!” width=”175″ height=”162″ border=”0″></a> |
<a href=”http://www.authorsroundthesouth.com/STARS/bookstore.php”><img src=”http://www.sibaweb.com/luv/redhead175.jpg” alt=”Dahling! Let’s meet up at an indie bookstore.” width=”175″ height=”175″ border=”0″></a> |
<a href=”http://www.authorsroundthesouth.com/STARS/bookstore.php”><img src=”http://www.sibaweb.com/luv/goldfish175.jpg” alt=”Gotta go…to an indie bookstore!” width=”175″ height=”164″ border=”0″></a> |
<a href=”http://www.authorsroundthesouth.com/STARS/bookstore.php”><img src=”http://www.sibaweb.com/luv/monsters175.jpg” alt=”all the cool aliens and monsters are at the independent bookstore!” width=”175″ height=”175″ border=”0″></a> |
<a href=”http://www.authorsroundthesouth.com/STARS/bookstore.php”><img src=”http://www.sibaweb.com/luv/prettygirl175.jpg” alt=”Going my way? I’m going to an indie bookstore” width=”175″ height=”175″ border=”0″></a> |
<a href=”http://www.authorsroundthesouth.com/STARS/bookstore.php”><img src=”http://www.sibaweb.com/luv/werelost175.jpg” alt=”I know we’re close to an indie bookstore” width=”175″ height=”130″ border=”0″></a> |
<a href=”http://www.authorsroundthesouth.com/STARS/bookstore.php”><img src=”http://www.sibaweb.com/luv/flowerpower175.jpg” alt=”Find an indie bookstore” width=”175″ height=”175″ border=”0″></a> |
<a href=”http://www.authorsroundthesouth.com/STARS/bookstore.php”><img src=”http://www.sibaweb.com/luv/catanddog175.jpg” alt=”We need a good home at an indie bookstore” width=”175″ height=”185″ border=”0″></a> |
<a href=”http://www.authorsroundthesouth.com/STARS/bookstore.php”><img src=”http://www.sibaweb.com/luv/moovealong175.jpg” alt=”Moooove along to an indie bookstore!” width=”175″ height=”194″ border=”0″></a> |
Terrified to go to #SIBA10?
Posted by Wanda in Uncategorized on October 27, 2010
Submitted by
Michelle Cavalier, Owner, Cavalier House Books
michelle@cavalierhousebooks.com
http://www.cavalierhousebooks.com
I was terrified to go to the SIBA trade show! I opened my store in September of ’09, and it still doesn’t feel real, so I knew people were going to call me out on it. I thought that people would tell me I wasn’t a real bookseller and that I didn’t belong. Basically, that they would find me out and know my secret. I’m not a bookseller! I’m just a book lover. I don’t know anything about running a business.
And then I got there and I saw it. You are all just like me. Everyone in this business is in it because they love books. Yeah, they may be older and wiser than me and they may have some clue as to what it means to own or run a small business, but really I had nothing to hide or be ashamed of.
The day of education served to solidify this new belief. SIBA is, as the acronym allows, an alliance. The trade show was about being a book lover and learning to be a better bookseller. There were people here to help me learn the business and promotional stuff! I wanted to divide myself into several ‘mini-me’s in order to attend all of the available classes and panels, but alas there is only one of me. However, those I was able to attend were great.
First was “Get in Bed with a Book Blogger” with the bloggers from Beatrice.com (Ron Hogan) and The Book Lady’s Blog (Rebecca Joines Schinsky) as well as Kelly Justice, owner of Fountain Bookstore and SIBA president. I was so looking forward to this because I am ready to jump in bed with a blogger of my own. What should I expect of her? She of me? They answered it all and I am ready to implement their suggestions in my store and online. Then there was what I called the Malaprops’ Twitter Class. I asked several questions, but they were patient with me. I had no idea how Twitter worked really or the etiquette of it. Thanks to the Malaprops’ ladies I have been significantly more active on Twitter, but I still have a lot to learn (and a lot of first day of school awkwardness to get over).
I also attended two author panels (“True Southern: Books Steeped in the South” and “Cooking Up a Storm: Sharing recipes with readers”) as well as all of the author meals (wherein we did not eat authors, but listened to them speak). From the very first breakfast my TBR pile started growing and by Sunday evening it was taller than I am. How could I ever have been intimidated by these authors? They were all so eager to talk about their work and mine. Everyone was so approachable, and I realized – these are my people! Then the exhibits opened and I saw so many people geeking out over new books. It was so exciting and refreshing to see so many people as excited as I was about exactly the same things. Our collected passion: books!
The final coup came on Sunday morning at the “Good Ideas Breakfast.” I shared my idea of partnering with a local travel agent for literary tours, and they liked it. Everyone was so supportive. They liked my idea and counted me as one of their own. As it turns out, all of my insecurities were unfounded. I am not only a booklover, but a bookseller and business owner. So, thanks to you, my fellow SIBA members, for reminding me why I’m doing this in the first place. See you again next year.
Halperin Hails #SIBA10
Posted by Wanda in Authors as Guest Bloggers on October 19, 2010
#SIBA10 was my first SIBA (and my first trade show) ever. I had a great time! I met many wonderful people. I loved participating in the “Aliens to Zombies” panel, masterfully moderated by Brian Lee Knopp. I was particularly impressed by the great volunteers, like Barb and Janine–when a glitch arose with the ARCs of my book, and this shell-shocked author had no idea what to do, these two ladies took the time to give me the guidance I neede
d.
Overall, it’s an experience I’ll remember fondly for a very long time.
David Halperin
Author, Journal of a UFO Investigator (out from Viking in February 2011)
www.davidhalperin.net
A First-Time Bookseller Shares #SIBA10 Experience
Posted by Wanda in SIBA Trade Shows on October 16, 2010
As a first timer to SIBA (or any book industry trade show for that matter), I was a little overwhelmed by what was offered. The bookseller education seminars were interesting. I sadly missed out on the one about Book Clubs, but I hope there will be some kind of recap of the seminars for those who found themselves choosing between two things they really wanted to hear about. Getting to interact with authors a bit was a blast. I learned about a ton of new and older titles through them. One in particular is worth relating. I stopped to see Sharyn McCrumb on Friday and our chat led to the fact that she has a novella about the town my store is in, Augusta. I was unaware of this and went to my phone immediately to see if I could get a copy (which I ordered used right away so I could have it waiting for me to read when I got home). While it’s no longer available in hardcover, I saw the mass market is still available and ordered a few for the store. We have a number of McCrumb fan’s who will surely be interested in the book, but also because of the historical ties of the story to Augusta, Sharyn’s going to be getting new exposure as an author to our customers as I handsell the book. Fantastic win-win eh?
I did make a number of other contacts, though on coming back home, almost too many, so I am trying to find time to review them all and follow up. One lesson I learned from this show: DON’T leave your business cards at the store! I took a lot of cards, but didn’t really have cards to give away due to that oversight and I would probably have some of these authors/agents following up with me if I had been able to give them a card. Next year I’m going to try to write down a little recap for myself after each event too… I have a feeling better organizational skills will help me make better use of what I learned.
On Saturday & Sunday, I walked through all the booths that were set up. Besides learning about product, I found a new POS that we’ll be implementing in the first quarter of next year should all go well and really enjoyed meeting the B&T people. They set me up with a theretailerplace.com account and hopefully well have that up and running this week or next at the latest. Though it’s not an answer to our every online need, it gives us a sales presence online and we can really push people who want to support us to use it over other online or boxstore offerings (especially for things we don’t really carry like Movies and Music which we don’t carry and have no locally owned non-box store alternative to get them from).
Of course, Sunday I attended the Moveable Feast of Authors, which was lots of fun. I really wish we had been able to meet more of the authors at our tables and I don’t know if this experience was universal or not, but I feel like we could have spent less time with each author and gotten to see more of them and made that personal contacts. Afterwords at the signing tables, it was pretty hectic and I wondered if the authors had all flatsigned the books beforehand and had them waiting in a bag for each attendee at the end if we couldn’t have gotten to see everyone by extended the lunch to that third hour we spent in the signing room and given each author 7-8 minutes per table. Either way, I will definitely attend the Moveable Feast at SIBA 2011.
Regards,
David Hutchison
The Book Tavern
http://www.booktavern.com/
1026 Broad Street
Augusta, GA 30901
706.826.1940
SIBA stands for “Southern Indies Beat All”
Posted by Wanda in Authors as Guest Bloggers on October 7, 2010
SIBA stands for “Southern Indies Beat All”
What an amazing experience SIBA 2011 was for me!
As a first timer and a non-southerner, my nervousness was only surpassed by my overwhelming desire to be accepted, not unlike meeting my in laws for the first time. But just as my new family from Mobile, AL welcomed me lovingly and sincerely into their embrace, so did the wonderful booksellers of team SIBA! The authors were gracious with their advice as were the people working the trade show. And the staff at SIBA under the direction of Wanda Jewell make it looks so effortless to be so professional, organized, and hospitable, which we all know takes TONS of work behind the scenes.
To all of you who made me laugh and feel so welcome, thank you for making me feel like I have a home away from home!!
Sandra Brannan
In The Belly Of Jonah
Cleaning Out my Email Inbox
How did email become such a burden? I remember the first time I was able to email hundreds of people at one time with information that I had before had to print, proof, fold, insert, address, post, and mail. And the first time I was able to send an attachment to several folks for review. When before we had done these round-robin mailings where folks would make their comments, and mail it on to the next recepient. And likely, it never made its way around and would have to wait until folks got together in person. Email is a beautiful thing.
And yet, I struggle with David Allen’s GTD strategy of emptying my email box daily. When I move items to folders before they are done, I forget about them. And it does not seem productive to have a folder called Stuff To Do. Sometimes I print them out and make a stack in my physical inbox so that I can move them out of my email inbox but that seems counter-intuitive, like handling a piece of paper one too many times. And then there is my volleyball strategy. It is where I basically throw the email back over the net to the person that sent it without really dealing with the issue at hand, by continuing to ask questions, or further delineate, or sometimes to even ask them to call me. (I want to apologize to you personally right now if you see yourself in any of my email responses, and, if you do, feel free to email me about it.)
I have 79 emails in my email inbox right now. I plowed through a ton of them today which led me to thinking about this blog post. And still I have 79. The oldest one is dated Jan. 31, 2010. It is a welcome email to compete.com that I have not visited since I signed up. I have flight info for trips I have yet to take. There are many emails about BEA events and the SIBA Book Awards, SIBA Trade Show Info, and Google reminders. And all of these things are important to me. Proof of their importance is that they are still in my inbox. But at the same time, they are still in my inbox. Tomorrow, it is my goal to empty my email inbox. Wish me well.
Lady Banks Bookshelf
