For instance, it took three years for us to figure out that we should brand ourselves as something... enter The Sci-Fi Gals (kind of by accident... in 2017, we realized we were the only table that had only sci-fi on it, whereas most people around us had fantasy). So in 2018, we showed up with a "Sci-Fi Gals" sign to give our booth cohesion. In 2021, we realized that our big "Sci-Fi Gals" sign, which featured four Brave New Girls covers and a cartoon robot, made it look like we only had children's books (when all of Paige's books are actually aimed a grown-up audience and rife with f-bombs). So last year, I printed a second sign with all our grown-up titles and a more serious sci-fi-looking background.
This year, a new thing we tried was bringing a tall collapsible bookshelf to stand behind our table, giving us more space to display our ever-growing collection of books (we seriously have so many now, some things have to go spine up to make room... interestingly, that doesn't stop people from noticing them; in fact, several make a point of pulling out the spine-up ones to see the covers). It definitely helped in terms of expanding our display space.
Another thing I've been doing with my series is having little signs displaying the discounted price for buying multiple books (for instance, the Jane Colt trilogy is $15 for one book, but $35 for the set). We kind of accidentally A/B tested this because Paige didn't have an equivalent deal for her Non-Compliance trilogy. The result? She sold out of Book 1 but was left with a bunch of sequels. I sold out of trilogy sets before I sold out of standalone Book 1s (which I'd brought more of than the sequels).
Since Paige sold out of Book 1 halfway through Sunday, with a whole afternoon of shopping left, she steeply discounted her sequels, the pitch being that you could get them directly from the table (and get them signed) for cheaper than they'd be on Amazon, then go home and order Book 1 to complete your set. She didn't think she'd get any takers, yet 3 people ended up walking away with the sequel sets.
I remember back when I only had the first 2 books of Jane Colt, it was tough getting anyone to pick up Book 2, even as part of a two-book deal. But it was easier to sell 3-book sets once the trilogy was complete. Which makes sense as a buyer... either you just want to dip your toe in with Book 1, or you want the whole thing. I wouldn't want to risk buying an unfinished series either. Which is why I wasn't too concerned when no one really picked up Starswept's sequel when I only had Books 1 and 2 out. Once I had my trilogy sets though? People began scooping up the whole collection.
It's impossible to predict what people will want year to year, though. Last year, copies of my cryptid tale, Found Footage, kept walking off the table. This year, I literally sold two. No one even wanted a closer look at them. Maybe cryptids aren't trendy anymore?
Another new thing we did this year was printing short stories as mini books, between 50 and 100 pages long, and selling them as $7 for 1, $12 for 2, or $15 for 3. Lo and behold, people were happy with these low-commitment impulse buys and they walked off the table (I sold out of 2 of my titles).
And lastly, we did a new "mystery book" thing this year because we have so many titles between us (I think it's literally like 30 now), some people just can't decide. Plus, this is a gaming convention, and a little risk is fun. All our paperbacks are $15, and all our hardbacks are $20, so we set it up so that you pay $15 to roll a D20, with each number corresponding to a book. Most are paperbacks, but the higher numbers (16-19) are hardbacks. Nat 20 gets you a whole trilogy. We didn't get a ton of takers (I think maybe 6 over the whole weekend), but those who did do it had fun.
Anyway, I'm sure we'll try new things next year as well. I was very happy with how Gen Con went overall this year... it was our best yet for sales. That could be because it was the most populous Gen Con ever (they sold out of 4-day badges and Saturday badges), but I like to think it's at least partly because we've gotten better at running our table.
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