Book expos are hit or miss. There is so much that goes into these events that make them successful. The date, time, venue and registration fee are some of the most important factors that an author must take into consideration when deciding whether to participate in a book expo/festival. Event planners need to put serious thought into the following ideas: when they want to put on a book event, where they want the event to take place, and how long they want the event to last. There are three options to the type of event that will take place; an indoor event, outdoor event, or both. With an indoor event, there is protection from the elements. There are no worries about the event being canceled due to inclement weather. In spring and summer months, there is a high probability that it could rain on the day of your event, which not only makes a mess of the actual venue set up but also affects the size of the crowd you may attract. With that being said, good marketing and organization will eliminate this problem, which has been witnessed at the 2018 Beaver County Bookfest. The Beaver County Bookfest is one of the most worthwhile events to attend as an author and a reader. They offer over 50 authors, who are all exhibiting under a large tent at one of their parks. One of the roads leading into the park is shut off, and that is the location of the tent. This is perfect because authors set up on concrete and not grass. At the 2018 Beaver County Bookfest, it was pouring rain. If the event were in the actual park, the muddy ground would have been a serious problem to deal with. This would have caused the legs of the table to sink into the soil, and people would have been hesitant to walk around and browse the different tables. The other benefit of being under a large tent was the protection of authors’ products in this weather. Besides a small hole in the tent that led to water dripping on one author’s table, everyone and their products stayed dry.

One of the most common ways for independent authors/publishers to get their books into bookstores is through a consignment agreement. A consignment agreement allows a bookstore to sell books without having to pay for them upfront through a distribution agreement. In some instances, bookstores purchase books from a publisher at a wholesale price (often 50% of the retail price) and sell the books. With the consignment agreement, bookstore owners eliminate the risk of losing profit because certain books do not sell. Although most offers expect to sell thousands of books to bookstores the traditional way, this is a small compromise in exchange for shelf space in several stores.