Literary All-Star Expo Recap
Whew! Y'all, life has been lifing! I'm just getting around to posting a recap of my time at the Literary All-Star Expo, which took place at the DeSoto County Agri-Education Center on March 28th. No worries, though! Let me catch y'all up!
YouTube Short- My Table Set Up
So, got there extra early. The event didn't start until 1 pm, but I was there before 11 am. I got the second table on the right on the first row as people were coming in the door. (I could've gotten the first table, but I didn't want to be that person, lol) Set up for me these days is pretty quick and easy since I've done quite a few events over the years. I always bring my own tablecloth with my logo on it, which I got from Chandra at SoCrafty (@CRC529 on IG) a few years ago. (She does great custom work! Y'all should check her out!) I had my MacBook set up with information about my editing and transcription services, my website, and all my books playing on a loop.
Next to me was Author Talese Nicole, who's signed to B. Love Presents. She had copies of A Beautiful Disaster, The Buried Secrets, and What the Leos Burned ready for purchase. We were so busy talking books and food and making sales that we caught this pic together at the end of the event while we were packing up.
I reserved a table for Author Kold, who initially was wary of showing up since he'd been receiving some negative kickback in the industry lately because of some completely false accusations. He had the table directly across from me, which was nice because we all could keep an eye out for him. (Baby, we support and protect our Black kings over here!)
We had readers in the house before the event even started. This event had already been picking up traction and gaining hype for months, so it was no surprise that we had people waiting to get in. Readers were flowing in nonstop, some who had purchased tickets in advance and others who paid for entry at the door. I had my table set up and ready to go, and baby, we got to it!
It was so amazing to meet so many readers. They were so open to reading material from authors they hadn't heard of. One thing I always love about these events is meeting readers who are fans. People I've never met, never heard of, but who have heard of me and love my work. With over 60 authors in the building, it always warms my heart when a reader comes and finds me specifically.
Shout out to Sheneca, the founder of The Beauties and the Books, my book club, and the organizer of this event. She puts together some incredible events, and I've always sold hella books at them. It probably helps that she's plugged in with other book clubs in the area, too, because she brings out a whole crowd of readers every time. I'm looking forward to the next one. Word on the street is she's planning another one in September, so you know your girl will be in the house!
And that's it! I had so much fun networking with other authors and especially the readers! And of course, I always love seeing and fellowshipping with my fellow Beauties! A time was had!