Sunset Market
I recently participated (for the second time) in the annual Author’s Night that the Oceanside Sunset Market puts on. The market happens year-round, various booths selling food, art, jewelry, and other goods. It makes for quite a fun evening, with or without the Author’s Night, but it’s extra fun to sit at a table and chat with the market attendees about my books.
This year there seemed to be more people than usual, or at least more people willing to buy from us local authors, because everyone seemed to be selling books. As for me, I sold significantly more than last year, to the point that I sold every copy I had with me, aside from the booth copy I kept so people could see what my newest book looked like. But there were multiple times when someone came up to my table wanting to buy one of the books I had already sold out of. As an author who doesn’t sell very many books and at times struggles to feel particularly legitimate, I can’t tell you how good this felt. The whole evening just made me so happy. My favorite exchange was with a young woman who came over to my table saying she had seen a man walking around with a copy of Newbie, and she wanted to buy it. I had already sold out at that point, but just to think of someone seeing my book and wanting it is immensely satisfying.
I had a sign on this year’s table that said “Support Local Authors,” and maybe this inspired people. Not just to buy from me, but to buy from all of us. Each author there had put so much work into their own written creation, and almost none of us do this full time. Meaning it’s a side gig that pays pretty much nothing, and in my own case, it’s something I end up with no time to even try and advertise. I still love it, of course, which is something I find in common with most small-time authors. I encourage you to think about that the next time you end up at a place where local authors are selling their books. Go over and talk to them, ask about their books. It always amazes me the variety you’ll find at an event like that, in terms of the genres and topics of the books. And in a mix of 15 or 20 authors, the odds are high that at least one of them will have written something that sounds interesting to you. And you will have supported a creative professional, most likely one who lives in your town!
Special thanks to MainStreet Oceanside for putting the Author’s Night together each year. They always make it easy and enjoyable. Yay for supporting local authors, events, and businesses!