Book It! Summerville Book Festival a Blast!

 

Summerville's Hutchinson Square has become the town's hub of activity. So it was the ideal locale for the second Summerville Book Festival held on Saturday, Feb. 28. 

I joined some 30 other authors for the event organized by Main Street Reads, a bookstore located directly across from the square. 

Shari Stauch (center) owns Main Street Reads. A Chicago native, she has had quite an interesting life and family. Shari used to be a touring pool player and has written four books about the game. She is also a literary agent and advisor. 

I probably would not have learned about the book festival had the Charleston Post and Courier not recently included the Summerville Journal Scene newspaper, which it owns, in the Wednesday paper we have delivered to our house. 

Shari and I met a couple of years ago when I was a speaker at the Summerville Rotary Club. I remembered that after seeing an article she wrote about the upcoming book festival in the Summerville newspaper. 

I'm always eager for opportunities to sign and sell my books. This festival required authors like me who wanted the chance to display outside like this to pay a "booth" fee of $35 plus purchase a $90 business license from the town. Like my booth? 

So I needed to make some sales to offset those expenses. And that I did, and then some. I had a very good day. It was a long one, from setting up by 10:30 to departure at 4. Many thanks to Alesia for helping with the setup and breakdown. 

"Nature-ly Fun: Bird Photography From A-Z" proved to be my bestseller. I have a softcover edition and an expanded hardcover version. This is an excellent book for children to learn the alphabet, as I use the 26 letters to extol the virtues of the great outdoors, nature, birds, and the challenges of bird photography. 

I'm glad I brought my feather collection. With each purchase for a youngster, I let her choose a feather. I've never done that before, but will do so at future events because I sold several copies with that incentive. 

The Summerville Book Festival was fun to be part of. Shari Stauch says I'm welcome to return next year. I'll be thrilled to do so!

Fortunately, I had a small table and two chairs to bring, as well as a table covering I've used for previous signings. 

It was also interesting and enriching to meet several fellow authors, including my neighbor at the event, Jane Jabbour. Among her books is "Greek Myths: Ancient Tales for Modern Kids." Jane is a retired educator who lives in West Ashley. She told me years ago she taught yoga at the College of Charleston. I bought her Greek myths book and will hold on to it for our eventual grandchild- hopefully! 

Hats off to Shari and her staff at Main Street Reads for the impressive publicity efforts. In the weeks leading up to the festival, I was emailed many different visuals and wording suggestions to promote myself and the event. See if you can find me amid the dozens of fellow authors! 

I really liked this promotional piece! 

Owls are cool, right? 

I sold at least one copy of the five books I displayed. I sold 13 in all, so, again, it was a really good day. 

My books are available on Amazon and directly from me. My email is birdseyeviewspublication@gmail.com.

Look at the top of this blog/website for details on all my publications.  

Thank you Summerville Book Festival!