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8.16.2005

The Small Presser, No. 10: "Gettin' Ready!"

The Small Press Expo (SPX), the nation's largest annual small press and alternative comics gathering, is just around the corner. Whether you're planning to sell your wares at SPX for the first time (or at any show, for that matter), there are some things you should do to prepare. Yes, they are pretty mundane, but you'll be happy later that you took the time to plan ahead.

The first question is always how many books to bring. It's tough to decide on a number and it's something veteran and first-time small pressers ask themselves prior to any show. It's easier after you attend a specific show at least once, because you'll gauge what the attendees like through your sales. And each show is different. For example, if you have a three-color screen printed book with a $5 cover price, it might sell well at SPX, but it might tank at, say, a zine fest.

But you want hard numbers regarding how many books to bring for your first show, right? OK. For a two-day event like SPX, I'd say bring about 40. If you're feeling confident your book will sell well, bump it to 50. You won't likely sell all of them, but you'll want some extras to trade (and a lot of trading does go on).

Don't be too disappointed if sales don't meet your expectations. Over the years, the quality of books sold at SPX has continued to increase, so the competition for attendees' dollar is stiffer. Whereas before if you had a spiffy book, it'd be a guaranteed sell cause there was a lot of crap around; Now, there are many spiffy books and less crap. (So just make your book that much better!)

Which brings me to my next point: Develop a short, sweet pitch. I love a succinct summary of a book. You should be able to explain you book in one or two sentences, and craft it so it sounds appealing and lures the person to want to know more.

My pitch for Mr. Big goes something like this: "It's about a dominant, giant snapping turtle that lives in a pond near our home and how he interacts with the animals that live at the pond. It's a bit like the book Watership Down."

It's brief and to the point and it seems to always instigate a conversation. Folks almost always ask whether there really is a snapping turtle in a pond near our home. Next thing you know we're talking about Mr. Big.

No comic is too complicated to pitch in two sentences or less. My friend Rafer Roberts, who does a book called Plastic Farm, has an excellent pitch for such a complicated series: "Plastic Farm is your basic tale of one man's slow descent into complete madness, and how that madness is reshaping reality. Chester has had a rough life that has left his mind in disarray and now he is tormented by visions of sickeningly cute demons, the undead, and a magical cowboy that rides a dinosaur."

Madness, magical cowboys and dinosaurs. Who wouldn't want to thumb through the book and ask more? (I picked up the pitch from a recent interview Rafer did, but I've heard it many times at shows. In fact, it's usually a bit shorter than that when he does it verbally.)

OK, back to some of the boring stuff that you'll need to address. Here's the laundry list:


P.S. If you have any questions, just post them here and I'll do my best to answer them and hopefully others will chime in as well.

Matt D. at 12:31 PM  |  link to this   

4 Comments

Good advice, Matt, especially the part about people table-shopping---I think we all go to a show with a certain amount of money to spend and have to cut even the stuff we think we can't live without. I remember circling exhibitor names on my 2004 MOCCA guide and buying them through the artist's website later, because I just couldn't get what I passed up out of my mind. I guess I wasn't wrong about it, either, because it later sold out. (tiempos finale by sam hiti)

Blogger Deb at 8/19/2005 9:13 AM   

Matt,

I'll be showing at my first SPX this year, and I'm really glad you did that write-up. A question about tablecloths: do you use anything to attach them to the table? The tape you mentioned? C-clamps? I just want to make sure my tablecloth, books, and whatever else I have on the table aren't sliding all over while people are looking at my stuff.

Thanks!

Blogger meow at 9/01/2005 9:14 PM   

Excellent, John! I look forward meeting you! You'll definitely have to join the Conspiracy folks for a post-SPX dinner!

Regarding your question about tableclothes: I don't use anything to attach it. I've never had a problem with it sliding or falling off or anything. Once you put your books and stuff on the table, I think that'll pretty much anchor it down. But I still always bring tape, just in case.

Blogger Dembicki at 9/02/2005 8:12 AM   

Thanks for the invite and advice, Matt. I'll see you and everyone else at SPX in a few weeks!

Blogger meow at 9/03/2005 9:33 PM   

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