Runnning A Money-Making Booth

Writers hate dealing with people. This is probably why they don't do so well when it comes to business matters: Business involves dealing with people up close and personal. Going to conventions only focuses on that issue as it requires the writer to deal with lots of people over the space of hours for a day or two. The biggest problem most authors have is that they lack confidence when it comes to dealing with people; however, with a little prep, it's easy to build some confidence, making convention survival that much easier.

[Yes, these tips apply to any situation where you're selling your books, such as signings, craft fairs, and even farmers' markets.]

Prep Is Your King

Before you go, you're going to need books and supplies. Try to order the books before the Big Day ambushes you; some venues will even accept books for you, allowing you to ship them straight there. If you sell out, then you don't even need to bring them home. If you're not sure how many books to bring, ask other authors how many books they sell. You then print that many books if you're confident, half that if you're not.

You should also make sure that you also pick up two Sharpees for signing books, plenty of business cards, and freebies. 4imprint.com has some great ideas; make sure that the business cards have the site where you sell your books. Debate other merchandise (like posters, buttons, and shirts); not only will this give you something else to sell, but it will help draw people to your table; at the very least, if they're not interested in your books they may be interested in your shirts and hats. Don't forget drinks and snacks; it may even help to shave expenses considering how expensive convention food can get.

Something that most people forget is all of the miscellaneous things that make running a table easier, such as tools, display boxes, and other odds and ends. For some suggestions about what could make your life easier, check out this shop. For better convention ideas, check out this book.

Bookkeeping For Writers

Something else that writers suck at is the bookkeeping side of things. While it's advisable to get an accountant, there are some things you need to worry about before you get to the venue, during the convention, and afterward. Before you get there, make sure that you have a vendor permit (or whatever you need to sell things); some places require anyone selling anything to have the proper permits, so make sure you apply for yours as soon as you confirm your place.

You're also going to need a lock box, some change, and a way to deal with credit cards; for most people, this is the Square app and hardware. Regardless of what you use, make sure that you have a method you use for credit cards and that you feel comfortable using it. For most people, the following change works for American conventions: Two rolls each of pennies and nickels, one roll each of dimes and quarters, $40 in one-dollar bills, and $50 in five-dollar bills. This should get you through at least one day; if you're going to be there multiple days, then you may need this for each day, and put each day's change in a separate baggie. You also need to find a way to make drops, or get rid of the cash, each day, such as the hotel safe or access to a machine for your bank.

You need to determine the money-handling rules, such as who can access the lockbox, use the credit card device, and who can do the drops. This is more a matter of paranoia than trust, but it's your business; you're allowed some paranoia. In the event of a mistake or theft, the fewer the people with money access, the easier it is to figure out what happened.

The Day of the Convention 

When you're selling, it's pretty easy: Keep track of what you sell, sign the books, and talk with people coming to your booth as much as possible. Remember those freebies? Whenever you talk to someone, give them a freebie and a business card; this way they'll look you up later and hopefully buy something from your site. If they buy a book, sign with the Sharpie marker then give them a freebie and business card.

Keep the conversation light, try to keep it truthful, and be prepared to answer the same questions over and over. It's not that bad, it's just annoying and you will survive. Honest.

When the day is over, take the lock box to your room and do a drop so you're not carrying too much cash at one time. You should be recording how much you dropped, adding it to the daily total from the credit card device. It's your option what to do with the change, but you should be dropping it with the cash and pulling a new baggie of change for the next day.

If you spend anything, keep a receipt for what you bought. This applies especially if you took money from the lock box to pay for it.

When The Charge Is Over

How you handle leftover products on the last day is up to you. The thing to keep in mind is that any leftover product you will need to take with you; your willingness to take products home is as valid as any other determiner when it comes to how you dispose of it. You can run a sale for the last few hours you're there, give it away when the convention is over, or pack it up for the next time; it's your choice.

After you've cleaned up your area, it's time to do some bookkeeping. The first thing to do is to record what you sold; you should have access to some sort of spreadsheet. You can break it down day-by-day or for the entire event. You should also do this for any money you made as well, but subtract $110 per day (for the change). You should also record how much you spent, dividing it into real business expenses and, well, "fun"; your accountant will love you for this, especially if you keep the receipts in their own folder.

[You're going to need all of this information for taxes, regardless of whether or not you are incorporated.]

For now, treat any expenditures as useful information but ignore them; total up the profits alone (the daily totals, minus the change used). Take the sales tax and add "1" to it, then divide the profits by that number; subtract that number from the total profits and that's how much you owe in taxes.

EXAMPLE: Let's say the amount you dropped plus credit card receipts total $876 for a three-day convention, and the sales tax is 7%. First, subtract $330 (that's three days' worth of change) for a new total of $576. add "1", so you have 1.07. Dividing $576 gives us $538.32 (round up); this means you owe (576–538.32=) $37.68 in taxes.

Now crash.

It's not that hard to survive a convention. Just go as prepared as you can be and try to have some fun. It's exhausting, it's stressful, but it can be oh-so-lucrative. Heck, you may even get a story idea or two.