This week’s blog is going to be two parts as I want to cover my thoughts and interactions during both days of the South Dakota Festival of Books.

Day 1:

Made it to Brookings and found the Oscar Larson Performing Arts building pretty easily. I’m pretty nervous, I’ve been stressing about this event for weeks now, but I’m excited.

My first thought when I walked in the building was: ”dang, some of these exhibitors went ALL OUT on their booths.” And I felt a little bad about my own set up. I tried to remind myself that some of these other authors are older, have more experience, and have obviously had more time on this planet to crank out more books. I was definitely the youngest exhibitor, and it was a safe bet that I was one of the newest authors as well. But having two published books at 28 isn’t bad.

Anyway, my emotions were all over the place during the four hours I was there today. First, I felt really good to be there. Proud of myself for being there and excited to get my name out there. Then I felt bad about myself for a while too. Sales wise, I haven’t done great so far. While I write this, I have 30 minutes left in day 1 and I’ve sold one book so far. It’s hard to get people to stop by my booth as they are rushing off to the next speaker. I’ve got candy and book marks that I’m giving away and if it wasn’t for those, I would have gotten even fewer people to stop.

But I had good conversations with the few that did stop and chat with me for a while, and even though almost none of them bought a book, it was good exposure for me and I met some nice people.

I’m looking forward to day 2 and hope it goes smoothly!

Day 2:

I’m up bright and early off to Brookings to start exhibiting by 9am! Now that I kind of know what to expect, my emotions are a little more in check and I’m able to enjoy myself a little better.

The morning started off quiet. I’m not sure what time the speakers started, but there wasn’t much of a rush until 9:30am. At that time, a group of people came out of the classroom my booth is next to, followed by the author who spoke, and they all lined up to get a picture with him or to have him sign their copy of his books. I couldn’t help but smile and dream about that being me some day! I’ve probably gotta crank out a few more books and get a few more years of experience under my belt first. 😉

Been here for 2 hours so far and I made my second sale of the day! Glad I have my proof copy of Below the Surface with me today, as many people have been checking it out. 

My mom and Sally dropped by after running the Jack 15 this morning in Brookings. It was good to see them and ask about the race. The Jack 15 is always fun, and I wish I would have had time to see them start this morning.

A lady just stopped by my booth and told me she couldn’t afford to buy any books, but she wanted to tell me that she thought it was incredible that I had published two books already so young, and told me to never stop writing and going after it – made me smile. 😊

Molly, Connor, and my aunt Suzy stopped by around lunchtime, so was able to able to hang out with them for a while. Connor was hammin it up and making all kinds of friends walking by!

With about 2 hours left of the festival, I’m nearing the end and can literally feel the stress leaving my body. You know how you get super run down after being super stressed out? Yeah, that’s how I’m feeling! I would love to lie down and take a nap right now. It’s been a very worthwhile experience though. I’ve learned a lot.

Around 3:30, it was pretty quiet in the hall, and an older gentleman asked if he could sit and chat with me for a while. I said absolutely, and I’m so glad I did! He was a very interesting man with so many stories. He was a Vietnam veteran, and the military literally took him to every corner of the globe. He tried asking about myself too, but my life felt pretty boring in comparison. 😂 It helped the time go quickly and he was very sweet. About 20 minutes after he left, he came back and said he enjoyed talking to me so much, he wanted to learn more about me by reading my book. When I told him it was fiction, and in no way about myself, he said: ”but it came from your mind and therefore has a piece of you in it.” I don’t know why, but that made me feel pretty darn good. I think that made my entire weekend if I’m being honest.

I’ve got about 30 minutes left of the festival and I’ll have to start cleaning up pretty soon, so I want to finish by saying this was such a rewarding and wonderful, but exhausting weekend! I learned a lot about how to market my books, met a lot of nice people, and got my name out there. Sales wise it didn’t go as well as I had hoped, but I still made some sales and promoted my new book, so I don’t have anything to complain about.

I’m looking forward to the next event and to continue growing my author career!

Until next time! 🙂

Megan Reiffenberger