Image Credits:-
Images created in Book Brush using Pixabay photos. AI images avoided. Screenshots taken by me, Allison Symes. Many thanks to Janet Williams for taking the images of me at the most recent Hiltingbury Book Fair.
It is with great pleasure I can reveal my third flash fiction collection, Seeing The Other Side, will be published by Bridge House Publishing on 18th June 2026. I hope to share more news as and when I get it but it does mean, for the first time in six years, I need to start thinking about book launches and events.
Six years ago, I was launching Tripping The Flash Fantastic but thanks to the pandemic, all launches and promotional work had to be carried out via online means only. These were a lifeline, of course, and I still use Zoom regularly for all sorts of things and am very glad to do so. But it will be lovely to have more options this time around.
Having said that, and having been to various book fairs and launches of my own (and others), I have picked up various tips so I thought I’d share these here.
Top Tip
Preparing as much as possible helps. Going to book events as a reader rather than a writer can also give you pointers as to what you’d like to have on your own book tables. It’s also a great way of supporting other authors, of course.
For your own events, what can you do to prepare? I’ll start by saying having an attractively laid out book table is a great advert for you as well as your works and is more likely to draw interest.
Useful Items For a Book Table
The nice thing about a book table is you can lay it out as you want and it doesn’t have to cost the earth. Some thoughtfully chosen items will make more of an impact on the passing potential reader than a cluttered table, for example.
It also helps to have books at different “heights” so you will see from the pictures below, I put some on stands and have some flat on the table. The different “heights” used here helps catch the eye.
So keep things simple but what I have on my book tables includes the following things.
Book Stands
These are brilliant for showcasing your books properly. They don’t cost that much. I ordered some of the clear ones from Amazon at a reasonable rate years ago. I usually reserve one for a copy of one of my books for people to look through. I’ve found that is usually appreciated and can often lead to a sale.
Business Cards
I get mine from good old Vistaprint. I share my book covers on them as well as links to social media and my website. I also advertise my editing work. I will need to update these when I know what the cover of Seeing The Other Side will be, but business cards are useful.
Even where people don’t buy books from me at the time of an event, they often will take the business card. I often find a spike in my Kindle sales a few days after any event but people have to know where to find your work to be able to do that. The business card is an invaluable asset.
Newsletter Sign Up Form
If you do have a newsletter, having a sign up form on your book table makes sense. People can sign up and find out more about you and your work. I use my newsletter to share tips, story links, as well as advertising what I do and my books. Newsletters are a way of engaging with actual and potential readers. I have a free plan on MailerLite. But I do use every book event I’m involved in to promote the newsletter too.
Table Cloth
A simple one works best. Indeed a plain white one would work well. That background helps you set off and showcase your books beautifully.
Giveaways
I know authors who have chocolates on their book table. I will often give away pens, especially when my book is newly published. Another good giveaway would be bookmarks. Readers always appreciate those.
I will sometimes use Vistaprint to produce postcards with my book cover on and that too can be used as a bookmark, plus all of my social media, website details etc on the other side, so it can act as a larger business card too. (The standard size is useful though as it is easier for people to keep in their phones etc).
It is a question of deciding what you would like to have as a giveaway. All sorts of things can be produced with your book cover on including mugs etc. It depends on what you want to spend. I set a budget for these things and work within that.
Benefits of Taking Part in Book Events
You can never know how these things will go in terms of footfall coming through the doors or whether people want to buy books on the day or whether they want to buy your book on the day. All you can do is make your table display as attractive as possible and be yourself.
One major benefit to these events is you will meet other authors. There is a great deal of mutual support here because we all know it isn’t easy to get work out there and we all write different things. We know our own works won’t appeal to everyone. That is the nature of things.
But a selection of authors with differing kinds of book may well get to meet potential readers they wouldn’t meet if it wasn’t for the event. Having a event means more authors can take part. If there are a group of authors, that kind of event is more likely to attract people in than if you were on your own, unless you are a very big name author.
And it may well be the authors you get chatting to will let you know of other events coming up and so on.
Another benefit is these events will get you used to meeting potential readers and explaining, briefly, what your work is about. I find it useful to have a one or two line blurb prepared for this so I know roughly what I will say when someone asks me what flash fiction is, what my books contain and so on.
I also often offer to read one of my 100 word flash pieces to give them an idea. For longer work, you could offer to read a short extract. People often like being read to – it’s something we don’t experience that much of as adults, I find. Audio books are fantastic but bear in mind people have usually already committed to buy these. But reading from your new work can be a great advert for encouraging people to buy it.
If you can, ask fellow authors to take photos on your phone of you at your table and obviously return the compliment. The images can be useful for publicity later (on your social media and website, for example). Also, it is tricky to do this kind of thing on your own!
The more of these events you do, the more you will get used to it, and they are opportunities to engage with your potential reading public.
Conclusion
I love book events like this because, as well as the benefits above and hopefully selling books, the event in itself is a celebration of stories and the written word. It’s a celebration of what authors do. I like this a lot!
Later this month, I’ll be going to a joint online launch held by Bridge House Publishing which I know I will enjoy very much because we are all united by an overwhelming love of stories.
Good luck for any events you are taking part in over the next few months. I hope to share more news on my own account here later.
Related Posts:-
Allison Symes – Author Update November 2024 – Book Fairs, Autumn Gatherings, Flash NANO and More
Read interviews with Chandler’s Ford writer Allison Symes: Part 1 and Part 2.
Read blog posts by Allison Symes published on Chandler’s Ford Today.
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