I spent the weekend of June 21 and 22 selling books at two events. I had applied and been accepted to participate in the Queer Artisan Market back in late May. But then in the middle of June, there was was a flurry of activity to organize the first Amherst pride parade in just a couple of weeks. I volunteered to sell books at the rally after the parade and got accepted to that as well.
Before I went, I checked the books I had on hand. I had copies of my own books, Revin’s Heart and Better Angels: Tour de Force plus two or three copies of six other titles — Water Dragon has an extensive selection of LGBTQIA+ books in their pride collection. I reached out to see if I could get a few more titles. Unfortunately, he wanted to hold back the stock he had for BayCon, so I just went with what I had.
I also printed out a bunch of extra copies of my Islands of Revin’s Heart and Better Angels ‘zines. I spent the time in the booth, after I set up but before things got busy, folding them up. It’s a nice, relaxing thing to do. And people really seem to enjoy taking copies of the ‘zines with them. I don’t know how many people actually buy the books after taking one, but I figure they can’t hurt.
The very first time I sold books was at the 2022 Queer Pop-up Market at the Mill District in North Amherst (just down the street from my home). I only had the first two novelettes of Revin’s Heart, with the third (of seven) about to come out. I didn’t have any of the kit for selling books yet. But I had a great time meeting potential readers and sold enough to be encouraged. Now, I’ve got everything I need and have become an old hand at loading in and setting up.
Over the years, the market has evolved into an artisan market. It was canceled in 2023 (due to weather, I think) and I was declined a spot in 2024. But this year, I had booth number 1. They have gotten their organization down to a fine art. Everything was laid out nicely for my arrival. I was able to back my car up to my spot and got my son to help me unload everything and set up in just a few minutes.
The market was lively in spite of hot weather. The booth next to me sold crocheted animals, including a lot of molluscs. There were jewelry makers, a booth with fancy lemonade, printmakers, and many other awesome booths. I was the only bookseller.
It took me a few tries to develop an effective tour of the table that let me pitch the books most effectively. I sold out of one of the books before noon. But I still had at least one copy of all the rest at the end of the day.
Over night, it rained very hard and was still raining in the morning in advance of the Pride Parade. I watched the radar, trying to decide whether to go. Books don’t do well in the rain. But there was a message from the organizers saying that the rain was predicted to end at 9:30. Sure enough, the rain ended and I headed to common to set up.
I was a little worried because it was the first time they’d run the event. Information about setting up had been sketchy. They didn’t have assigned locations. But I pulled up, grabbed the spot closest to where I was parked, and — after spreading a plastic drop-cloth on the grass— I was able to set up.
It was quiet for the first couple of hours until the parade arrived at the common. Then it got super busy. I ended up selling about twice as many books as I had the previous day in a much shorter period of time. I still had a few books left at the end of the day, but I had sold out of several things and what was left fit in a single box.
I should look into other pride events around the region to sell books at. I like the community and excitement of pride events. They’re fun and welcoming.
