Once upon a time not long ago I did an event where several authors appeared. It was at a library. The library didn’t advertise except in its own material to its patrons. They thought the writers would really appreciate the recognition.

I asked if they had advertising prepared that I could use. No. I mentioned I would promote via my channels. They thanked me. I asked if they had asked the other authors to do the same. No.

So I asked who the other authors were. (I had no idea.) Then I did ads. I sent them via all my channels. I crossed my fingers this was worth the travel and the time.

I have done this multiple times over the years, learning a hard lesson each time, but apparently not learning it permanently. One would think I would have. Now, however, my rules as a whole are these:

-Get paid to appear unless the sale of books will adequately compensate.

-If I speak, present, or teach a class, I get paid, regardless of sales.

-Avoid multiple author events. . . anywhere. The average visitor buys 1-3 books regardless how many authors are there. When there are many authors, do the math.

-People don’t come to libraries to buy books. They go to bookstores to do that.

Don’t get me wrong. I love librarians. But they do not sell books. People who love libraries check out their reading material. They don’t buy. I’ve seen that enough times in my bookclub, having listened to members fuss about being on a wait list for a book, to include my own titles. . . complaining while I was sitting right there. Like buying a book was insane.

Do not sell your soul to sell your books. Be selective. Stand firm. What’s the price? It’s on the back of the book. Is there a discount? No. Will you speak for free? First tell me how many people will be there and will there be any other authors? How many books can I expect to sell to cover a decent speaking fee if you don’t pay one?

In being concise and armed with firm answers you earn a higher degree of respect as an author. They will define you quickly as a hobby writer or a professional writer based upon how you respect yourself.