Category: Advanced Con Quest

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Advanced ConQuest – My Formula for Pitching Books

There are two kinds of pitches.

The shorter one is called an elevator pitch or comparison pitch. It compares your book with at least two other IPs (Intellectual Properties) to give the potential reader an idea of what the book is about. They are usually a sentence or two. For example, The Finder of the Lucky Devil is the Dresden Files meets Shadowrun. This one is good to use when someone on the fly asks you what your story’s about in an elevator or some place where you don’t have a lot of time.

The other kind is a story hook pitch, which is the most common one I do at the table, and this is typically in three parts.

First, you state something general about the world your story is in: This takes place in a world where magic and technology are in competition with each other.

Second, you state who the story is about: We follow Rune Leveau; she has a magical talent for Finding things. She meets a cybernetically altered corporate spy who wants her to help him find a wanted criminal called Anna Masterson.

Now you’ll note that I named two characters and not the third. You do not have to name your characters and it is often more succinct in the pitch if you don’t because the reader is not going to remember, anyway. But there is a purpose for me doing it here, as you will see in the next section.

Third section, ask or imply a question that only reading your book can answer: The problem is, she IS Anna Masterson.

The whole thing: This takes place in a world where magic and technology are in competition with each other. We follow Rune Leveau; she has a magical talent for Finding things. She meets a cybernetically altered corporate spy who wants her to help him find a wanted criminal called Anna Masterson. The problem is, she IS Anna Masterson.

Hopefully, now, the reader’s head should be swimming with the question, What will the cyber spy do when he finds out?

If it is a compelling enough question to them, they usually raise their eyebrows, their eyes get wide, and they say, “Oh!” Then I know I got them; that doesn’t necessarily mean I sold the book, but I did hook their interest. At this point, I will turn the book over and hand it to them to read the back copy, which is different from my story pitch and includes more information about the world.

If your customer handles the book before you hand it to them, let them! People are more likely to buy things they touch. I will sometimes hand the book to people at the top of the pitch, but this is something you’re going to have to judge in the moment.

Here are other examples of my different pitches for my different books to give you more ideas:

The Vilification of Aquamarine: Wannabe Superhero. Aquamarine is trying to break into the superhero business. Her problem is she can only manipulate a cup of water at a time, which is not very effective. Then when she goes up against Overlord of the Dance, she discovers there is a cup of water in the human heart…

The Prisoner of the Dead: Post Post Zombie Apocalypse. The zombie apocalypse happened generations ago, and then for some unknown reason the zombies just got better, only for the outbreak to happen again. And again. And again. And now humanity is trapped in a cycle of life, death, and rebirth. In this world a wild man goes into town to get a repair done he cannot do himself when the outbreak happens. Then he accidentally, but mostly on purpose, killed a man who was protecting a woman who may be the key to ending the cycle. 

The Adventures of Pavlov and Schrodinger: Maxwell’s Demon: Mid-Grade Science Fiction. Pavlov was content to be a test animal for the Scientist, until the day the cat showed up. Schrodinger is not entirely sure if she exists or not. Mysteries of the universe, a journey through space and time, and a cat and dog in the middle of it all. 

Saint Code: The Lost: Urban Fantasy/Cyberpunk. St. Augustina is cyber spy on a path of redemption, but when a job starts to get more and more personal, and she needs to find out before it’s too late.

Cookbooks and Demons: Paranormal Romance. Helena inherits her grandmother’s old church cookbook. The thing is… she doesn’t know how to cook …and somehow summons a demon. 

Silverblood Scion: Epic Fantasy. Elaine is the last princess and Scion of a dead goddess that the local warlord wants to sacrifice to a demon to gain more power. The thing is since she’s the one making the sacrifice, the demon makes his deal with her. 

You can pick up a copy of Advanced ConQuest here and use coupon code 4HP10 for 10% OFF!

Advanced Con Quest: The Art of Selling at Cons

You can also follow Megan at her website: https://www.meganmackieauthor.com/

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Advanced ConQuest – There are No Bad Spots at a Con (Mostly)

There is a lot of truth in the idea that there are no bad spots when you get your positioning at a con or event. Ninety percent of the time, this is true. Almost every spot has its advantages and disadvantages, whether it’s a corner, endcap, or in the middle of the row.

There are tactics for each selling position.

Corner

If you are in a corner position, you will have to be aware of two possible flows of traffic, the one going parallel to your table and the one going perpendicular. This is increased exposure, which is great, but it also means you have to pay more attention and it will take more energy if you want to make the most of those two flows of traffic.

Middle

Middle is the most common position, as cons tend to organize people into rows. Even if you have large displays on either side of you, you can always draw people in because there is a flow when people pass by you.

End Cap

This is an uncommon position that I’ve only seen a handful of times where the con is trying to optimize space by having a table at the end facing the perpendicular lane. It often will have great flow of people walking by, but it is possible for people to miss you if they are going by and don’t realize there is someone on the end cap.

Horseshoe

This is a unique set up that can be very beneficial but is a bit of a trick to pull off. It’s when you’ve set your table back from the rest or it is positioned so that you have a large gap in front. I mention this one because I’ve encountered it most when I’m selling with others and there are more tables than space. One of the tricks is to put a table back and create the horseshoe space. What is great about this configuration when you’re inside the horseshoe is if you can hook someone into the space, they are less likely to be pulled away by the flow of traffic, giving you all the time you need for the pitch. There are people at cons who can get overwhelmed and will come into your little horseshoe just to take a break from the crowd. Perfect time to pitch.

What Can Make a Selling Spot More Difficult

What can make a spot more detrimental, however, is an empty table. What tends to happen with an empty table is the flow of traffic will cross away from the empty table to whatever else is of interest on the other side and sometimes what can happen is by the time they’ve looked back to your side, they might skip your table completely. That is a tough thing to deal with. The only solution that I know of to fix it is for the two vendors on either side to spread out and annex the table. Cons may not notice or may frown on the practice, but I feel it’s worth the risk.

Another Challenge and Its Solution

The other problem can come when the artist alley is in a completely separate room from the vendor hall. I’ve only had this happen twice, but what happened in these cases is half the people at the con didn’t even know there was a separate artist alley in another room and so I didn’t sell as much. It’s hard to sell to people who aren’t there. There really isn’t a solution to this one that you can do, but there is something a con can do. 

If the con is smart, they will put high profile celebrities in the hard-to-reach destination room with you! I have had that happen twice, one with all the famous comic book writers and artists and one where I was sitting right next to Armin Shimmerman, (yes, that Star Trek star wrote a book thriller series set in Elizabethan times, and yes Shakespeare is in it!) In both of those cases, being in an annex was the same as being in a regular exhibitor room. Now it can be a challenge to know if the con is going to do this or not, but if they do, it solves a lot of those problems.

Otherwise, your only other options are to complain to the con and probably not do that con again in the future, or don’t do the con at all if you find out beforehand that they practice this set up.

You can follow Megan at: https://www.meganmackieauthor.com/

You can pick up a copy of Advanced ConQuest here! Use coupon code 4HP10 for 10% OFF!

Advanced Con Quest: The Art of Selling at Cons
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Advanced ConQuest – How to Display Your Books

Having trouble making sales at your con? Or you’re just starting out and it’s intimidating? Guess what? One of the biggest and easiest improvements you can make to increase your chances for sales at a convention, book fair, or live event, is displaying your books in an optimal way!

When I first started out, I laid my books in stacks on the table.

This was dumb because all that people who casually walk by see are blank paper ends.

One of the reasons to go to cons is for people to see your COVERS. Even if they don’t buy this time, they might the next time. Or they may find your book online and recognize the cover, even if they don’t know why.

If you were smart, and we all know you are, you got your covers laid out by a graphic artist (unless you are a graphic artist yourself and have clocked in the hours and know what you’re freaking doing). So, your cover looks good, right?

Then you need to show it off!

1. Bookstands

Book stands are cheap and easy; go to any Michael’s, Joann Fabrics, art supply store, or online store, if you have to, but get some. There are some stylish ones out there. I actually got mini-easels at one point for displaying small paintings and they looked really sharp. The more books you have, the more stands you’re going to need. If it gets crowded, a small bookshelf can help. If you’re like my friend and mentor Kevin Anderson and have dozens of titles, you’re going to have to get creative, so continue to the next section.

2. Stacking Books – Making Art Out of Your Display

What do you do with the rest of the books when you have one on the display stand? Well, you do stack them on the table, but do not put them paper side out! That’s what the spines are for! Stack the books with the spines out. There are several methods that can increase the

attractiveness of your stacks. Again, if you’re like my friend Kevin, and have published a ton of books, that means the best configuration for you may be spines out stacked in rows, but if you just have your first series or first couple of books, stacking the other copies in a wave, fan, or crisscross pattern can greatly increase your table’s attractiveness.

Also, when stacking your books, walk the traffic pathways around your table and look. What do you first see when looking at your display? Can it be seen from both directions, or three directions, if you’re on the corner? If not, display up more books. If you don’t have enough stands, you can always prop up a book against a stack. You’ll have to make adjustments to this display as you sell books and your stacks diminish. Make sure it’s always your first book that is the most prominently displayed. It’s the one you’ll sell the most of.

3. Advanced ConQuest: What I Do Now

I have a lot of titles. As of the time of this post I have 15 books over 11 different series and that number is only growing. So I had to change up how I did this in the beginning. I still have a book stand, but now it is a four-row wire display that shows all of my first in series covers facing out (hardcovers, of course). I also now have one of those rotating racks that greeting cards are usually displayed on the other corner into which I put paperbacks.

At cons that I drive to or are local for me, I also bring a collapsible stackable shelf that I display all of my stock on. The spine art is facing out and it looks really impressive to people just walking by. In one glance they get to see my entire body of work, and tells them I am established, all positive things that help with the selling!

You can pick up a copy of Advanced ConQuest here, and use coupon code 4HP10 for 10% OFF!

Advanced Con Quest: The Art of Selling at Cons

You can also follow Megan at: https://www.meganmackieauthor.com/