As the author of this blog and the book Annie’s Fish, I am in preparation mode for the Bologna Children’s Book Fair, an annual event that could be described as the European Mecca of children’s book publishing. New York has the Society for Children’s Book Writers and Illustrators (SCBWI) Conference, as does Los Angeles, but if you want a big English speaking event like this in Europe, where I live, Bologna, Italy is the place.
It’s an hour and a half long flight from Paris, and there will be a day long conference put on by SCBWI before the fair starts. I’m picturing something like Comicon, but more kid-friendly. It’s supposed to be one of the better fairs for artists, giving them more opportunities for exposure than other children’s book fairs, and the art directors and buyers are perhaps more approachable. This is where my double status as writer and artist confuses me, I’m not sure how to brand myself when I get there. Do I try to get someone to look at a few drawings for the book, or see if they’ll read a few pages of manuscript?
Thanks to Ernessa at Fierce and Nerdy, where I write a bi-weekly column about life as an expat, I have a book teaching me all about self promoting before the book is published or even sold. No doubt my best bet is to study that then get over the stage fright of talking up my project. As a writer and artist, I work in my quiet little space and forget that other people exist while I’m working. It’s a big transition to come out and talk to strangers about what I’ve been doing. An important hurdle I’ll have to overcome.
That’s what’s so great about book fairs. You don’t have to do anything but have conversations. Basically you just go an talk to people, just like you were mingling at a regular party. You don’t have to do a hard sell, just talk about whatever and eventually whoever you’re talking to will ask you what you’re working on and if they like the idea, they’ll give you their card and you can follow-up by email when you get home to France. There’s no need to sell yourself so much, as to just be present and enthusiastic about your book. Also, if you haven’t already, you want to get business cards before you leave. Those really come in handy. And you can always put your terrific masthead on the front.
Thanks etc – already have the cards, and you make the fair sound much more manageable. I just need to work on my mingling skills.