Dismal Book Event ~ Make Some Lemonade

Lately I have done a multitude of book events from craft fairs to book signings, diligently working to get the word out about my book and to make my name a little better known then the day before. Unfortunately, as is with life in general, these events don't always turn out as I intend them to turn out.

Take for example my book signing at an extremely nice and well organized used book store in the nearby town of Marion, Ohio.  Marion is about an hour from where I reside, and I do not really know many people there; but I knew that it would be imperative to advertise as much as possible if I were to have a successful event. Energetically I set about to do just that. I remembered that my husband worked with a few people from that area, so I asked if he thought any of them would be willing to help me. Two of them took fliers that I had printed up and hung them at their churches and other places of interest. It was then, that I remembered we also had a friend that worked outside of Marion. She agreed to hand out cards to people she thought might be interested.

In addition, I had posters printed up for the book store to post in their windows, I left cards about the event around the Marion area, and I posted on social networking sites. One site in particular seemed promising as it was a site where people from that area were listing things they had for sale. The newspaper in the largest neighboring town also printed a small article about my event.

And yet, despite all this effort, only one couple showed up to this two hour event. Now I could have gotten depressed about the situation, lamented all the seemingly wasted effort I had put into the project, or even decided that I was tired of attending dismal events such as these; but what I did instead was choose to continue being positive and persistent.

Surprisingly enough, the day was not a total loss despite the severe lack of customers because the one and only couple who willingly sought me out offered me a speaking engagement. It turned out that they run a writing group and were looking for guest speakers. I was also encouraged to bring my book and set up a small sale table. I have no idea where this opportunity will lead, but it is a building block.

There is an old saying that says if life gives you lemons make lemonade. Although quite cliche, this is a good rule to live by. Not everything in life goes the way we want it to even when we work really hard. However, if we choose to be stubbornly optimistic the odds are eventually going to be in our favor!

Signing off for now with wishes for a bright and beautiful day!