Being an Indie Author Stallholder at Clunes Booktown Festival

My second stallholding experience was at Clunes Booktown Festival last weekend. Discover how it was for me as an indie author stallholder, look at the pros and cons, and contrast it with my first stallholding experience at a small, local farmer's market.

Just one of the many marquees at Clunes Booktown (just before opening time)

Clunes Booktown is a festival just for bibliophiles; It is ALL books. Hundreds of trestle tables set up in large marquees all the way down the main street of Clunes. I heard whispers that they were expecting 15-20 THOUSAND people through the gates over the two-day festival. I'm not sure how many they ended up getting through, but those numbers would not surprise me at all (the little farmers' market I attended earlier in the month would have been lucky to have 300 people walk through). Honestly, Clunes Booktown Festival was amazing! There were food trucks, author talks, live music, workshops, and a kids' area with a maze - this festival was a book-lover's dream! This blog is to chat about my experience as an indie author stallholder. If you're interested in finding out about my previous market stall experience, you may like to check out my previous blog: Market Happened: A Post-Market Stall Summary.

Let's go forth!

Preparation

This might seem obvious, but because it was my second ever market stall, there was significantly less preparation to do with far fewer overhead costs than my first stallholder experience; It was around $50 for the marquee, table, and chair hire, and 110km of fuel each way (maybe $50?). My stock pricing was set, and I had everything I needed, already in boxes, ready to go. I just had to make sure that my Square was charged and throw in some drinks and snacks in the morning (I kept my drinks far away from my book stock lol).

Like any event, it's hard to know how much stock to take unless you've done it before. I ended up taking 20 copies of the first book in my duology, 15 of the second, 20 copies of my standalone, and 30 copies of my giftbook. This ended up being a pretty good amount.

Drive

Did you say 110km each way?

Yeah, I did. It took me around an hour and fifteen minutes to get there. I tiptoed around a sleeping house and left in the dark, drove through fog patches, and literally saw the sun break over the hills on my way. I kept worrying that I had forgotten things and was tempted to stop and check that I had my Square and change pouch (the two things I must've been most worried about leaving behind), but I didn't, because I kept telling myself that it was just my anxiety (it was), and I didn't need to check (I didn't). Now, let me take a moment here to praise God for GPSs. I'm pretty sure I would be way too scared to do anything like this without a map right in front of me telling me exactly where to go (or pulling over 100 times to check). I tried to listen to an audiobook on the way, but ended up switching to music around halfway; It's hard to concentrate with anxiety lol.

The festival didn't start until 9, I left in the dark, and it took me around an hour and fifteen minutes to get there. Yep, I gave myself pleeeenty of time. I left my house at around 6:15 am and arrived in Clunes at around 7:30-ish. The town was still sleepy with only a handful of wanderers around the festival site and a few locals walking their dogs. This meant that I had plenty of time to park, get out and suss out where my site was, work out the best place to park, move the car to a really good spot, trolley stuff from car to marquee, set up, find the toilets and my vendor lanyard, and chat to other stallholders. I actually think I had the perfect amount of time for my personality. I didn't have to rush, and I didn't have any time just sitting around twiddling my thumbs. If you are a last-minute type of person, then it would have been way too early for you. The stallholder on the table right beside me arrived much later and was still setting up at 9 am.

Map of Clunes for vendors at the Clunes Booktown Festival

Setup

I couldn't drive my car on site Saturday morning, but I did pack a removalist-type trolley and used that to ferry my stuff to and from my car. Other stallholders used beach trolleys, which I thought was a great idea too. They looked much less likely to tip over and lose the load.

Banner

I ordered a hanging banner that would have been great to hang from the marquee rafters, and also may have blocked some of the sun to keep me a little more comfortable (more on that later), but unfortunately, it didn't arrive in time. Most other stallholders had either standing banners, hanging banners, or posters. That's okay, I'll have mine in time for my next market stall. But what I did receive in time is my...

Business Cards

I ordered 200 cheap, double-sided business cards. One side has a QR code linked to my free novella (people enter their email address and sign up to my monthly newsletter to get the free book):

New Marley Betts business cards

I did actually have people ask me for my business card. I also handed out quite a few to people who expressed interest in buying one of my books, but then didn't. I'm not sure how many ended up taken, maybe 30? But so far, none of those have resulted in any free book downloads or newsletter signups. It is only Monday, but I think if they were going to, then it probably would have happened already. Time will tell if these cards are a helpful tool or bin food.

Weather

It got warm. I'm not sure exactly how warm, I'm guessing close to 30 degrees, but inside the airless, people-filled marquees, it felt warmer. They were also the type of marquees with plastic windows in the sides (see the next photo), and I ended up with the sun on my back for the second half of the day. Fortunately, my mum brought me a 1-litre bottle of water, and I drank the whole thing. She also brought me food. I'd packed my own but wasn't eating it. Because Mum went to the effort to buy me food and hand it to me, I ate it. This food and water probably stopped me from getting a major headache (so, thanks, Mum!). There was such a steady flow of people that it was kind of hard to eat without being caught with a mouthful of food, although people probably didn't care. Well, one lovely lady purchased my book while I was swallowing a mouthful of danish, so the care-factor on that was almost definitely all mine lol. A couple of stallholders had brought fans, either the plug-in type or the ones you wear around your neck. One lady had on one of those cooling cloths you wet and drape around your neck. Some people are amazingly prepared for anything. Not me lol.

My table and I, sandwiched between a crime and fantasy/sci-fi writer with those plastic windows behind me

Focus

Being a large book-focused festival, it was right up my alley and something I would have really enjoyed wandering around and experiencing for myself. As a stallholder, I didn't end up getting the opportunity to do so.

Why?

a) I didn't have anyone with me to leave in charge of my stall without burdening the stallholders beside me (which I did when I needed to go to the toilet),

b) Leaving my stall would have been missing potential customers. There were pretty much zero dead times when no people were walking past, and

c) Walking around means potentially spending money, which eats into market profits. Therefore, I chose to stay put and missed out on the full festival experience from a visitor/customer perspective (worth it). Which leads me to my next point...

Fun and Networking

Being a stallholder at a book festival is fun when you love books! I was able to see how other people did things, get ideas, and have some fantastic conversations with other book-lovers and indie authors. This alone made it worth it. Yes, it was a big day, and I ended up exhausted (even more so than after the farmers' market), but I met people with whom I will stay in contact. It was honestly so much fun to be able to spend a whole day talking about something I love.

Accessibility/Opportunities

At a book-focused event with many indie authors, some people were walking around and approaching stallholders with various offers and services. I had conversations with people offering book publishing and printing services, and other stallholders were approached by podcasters and photographers. So, having a stall at an event like this could turn out to be an amazing opportunity in ways that you don't even expect!

Pros and cons of being a stallholder at a large book-focused event

Pros:

• Fun

• Networking

• Ideas

• Opportunities

• Access to a large volume of people

• People are there for what you are selling

• Feedback

Cons:

• Some people were overwhelmed by the sheer volume of books and choices

• Lots of competition/trying to make yourself stand out is hard

• Line to wait for the female toilets (don't wait until the last minute)

• Not being able to enjoy the experience fully as a customer

• Sometimes it was a bit noisy and hard to hear/have conversations

Cover of Other Than Mother

Feedback

Having access to a large volume of people looking at my books was a great opportunity to gain feedback from people. I had a lot of compliments on the covers of The Silver Sheep and The Silver Shepherd, and some people wanted to talk about the grass dress concept. While others said that the cover of Other Than Mother really stood out, and were curious about the title. The Perfect Gift made people smile; people loved the concept and enjoyed flicking through. One woman wanted to buy her friend a copy of Other Than Mother but was worried that they would be offended, another asked me if I had considered using different pen names for my books (I had, but don't), . Another lady asked me what I liked most about my Earth Legacy books, which was a cool question (the personal growth journey of my protagonist, Cleo). It was really fun to hear what people thought about my books when they saw them, and have the opportunity to get clear on what they're all about.

Phone Reception

The festival organisers arranged for a Telstra Tower on Wheels because the phone reception in Clunes is not great. This was great for Telstra customers, but not so great for everyone else. Optus reception was dodgy, and two stallholders in our marquee who were with Optus had trouble accepting Square payments and lost sales because of it. People who were with Vodafone had no coverage at all. This is definitely a consideration for people who want to do this festival in the future. I was incredibly grateful to have my friend as a stall neighbour who was with Telstra and allowed me to link our phones so that I could use his network (I'm with Optus). I only had trouble with one sale, and I was so fortunate that this lady had cash she was happy to use, so I didn't lose any sales because of dodgy phone reception.

Sales Results

Here's what you have been waiting for... *drumroll* ...

I sold 18 books and made a gross profit of $275

I was there for Saturday only, even though Clunes Booktown Festival is a two-day festival, and it would not have cost me any more to be there Sunday as well (it was my choice to do only one day).

Contrast that with 5 sales and $90 gross profit at the farmers' market I attended a couple of weeks ago.

The farmers' market went from 9 am - 1 pm.

Clunes Booktown Festival went from 9 am - 5 pm.

Bump In and Camping

People were able to drive onsite to bump in on Friday. Unfortunately, I was working, so I had to bump in on Saturday morning instead.

Unpowered campsites were available at the Clunes Showgrounds for $25 per night, Friday &/or Saturday night.

I absolutely plan to do this festival again next year (the pros far outweigh the cons). I will aim to be there both days and camp overnight on Saturday night. I will probably drive from home and bump in on the Saturday morning again, just like I did this year. The $25 to camp is less than the cost of fuel to drive home and back again. That being said, I will need to factor in that I will probably end up spending money on food.

Genre

I didn't get a chance to have a good look around and see which genres were most popular with stallholders, but I do know that the genres I heard people express the most interest in this year were fantasy and sci-fi, followed by romance and historical. There were a couple who liked Australian drama (that's me!), a handful who were looking for non-fiction, and one single gentleman who was looking for poetry (thank you to this last gentleman, who has inspired me to go ahead with a book of poetry in the future). I would say that no genre would have felt out of place (and the people looking for smut probably skipped our marquee altogether lol).

Raffle

Our marquee organised a raffle. Stallholders donated books and added things in a basket that someone brought from home, then we handed out raffle tickets to anyone who made a purchase before 1pm. We drew the raffle at 1pm, and people had to be present to accept their prize, so we didn't have to take names or numbers or worry about following up/postage etc. This worked surprisingly well. It attracted a small crowd for the draw, added a fun little element, was an additional marketing point, and our hamper was won by two lovely ladies who were very happy with their haul.

Conclusion

Clunes Booktown Festival is a well-run festival that draws a big crowd and provides a fun atmosphere to mingle with readers and fellow indie authors. If you're thinking about going as a customer or a stallholder, I absolutely do recommend it. Prepare yourself to be social, wear good shoes, take water... and make sure that you're with Telstra! haha.

Have a question? Ask me in the comments.

Happy bookish market-going!

Much love,

Marley x