I’ve worked pretty much nonstop for the past couple of weeks, and the busy-ness will continue through mid-July. After Oddmall, I participated at the Springfield Antique Show & Flea Market Extravaganza. Both were interesting experiences, as I’d not been to either before. (Read the May 23rd blog for  my report on Oddmall.)

Overall, sales of books at the Springfield event were good. Paintings not so much. However, the hours of operation were grueling. By Sunday afternoon, Cindra and I were utterly exhausted. We left early. Although I more than recouped the registration fee and per diem expenses, I’m not sure that I’ll return.

The following weekend we got a small respite with a one-day event: the Ohio Authors Book Fair at Destination Outlets in Jeffersonville, Ohio. The outlet mall is massive and the 40 or so authors present were scattered about the complex. We were almost invisible. Double or triple the number of participating vendors (i.e., authors) would have made for a stronger presence noticed by shoppers. The event was, unfortunately, plagued by a power outage. We’ll give it another try next year.

This past weekend Cindra and I went from one event on Friday evening to another event on Saturday. Friday evening’s event was the BGAC First Friday Art Walk. We attended three of the Art Walks last year and, overall, did pretty well at them. At one, we sold more paintings than books, another time more books than paintings. At the last one in October 2022, I sold no paintings and several books. This time … what a disappointment! I sold two books, one of an old friend who made the trip to Beech Grove from Carmel just to say hello. (Thank you, Sharon!) Neither Cindra nor I sold any paintings.

Last year, we were informed the prices we put on our paintings were far too low for original artwork, so we raised our prices to havel what was suggested and which was twice what we were charging. Regardless of the reason—high prices, inflation, tight budgets—we have both noticed that sales of paintings are lagging this year.

Although Cindra and I do travel to some interesting places, we don’t get to mix business with pleasure much. The pleasure part of that equation is expensive, and we’re trying to make a profit as well as build our creative reputations. When we can, we try out new restaurants. Finding a great new restaurant is truly a pleasure for both of us, especially since our dietary preferences differ. Once in a great while if we’re located in a downtown area, we’ll take a tour of the locale and maybe pop into a shop. We find some great jewelry that way. (Both of us are jewely junkies.) Mostly, though, we’re in and out of the event location, glad to escape to our hotel rooms or get back home to rest after a long day of trying to be saleswomen.

If you want to know where Cindra and I will be going, check out the EVENTS page. If you’ll be going to any of those events and want to reserve copies of the books I’ll be bringing, make sure to fill out the reservation form. No payment is required at the time of order.

The Springfield Antique Show & Flea Market Extravaganza is a 3-day event larger than any I have attended as a vendor. With over 1,500 vendors outdoors and countless more filling the Arts & Crafts, Annex, Mercantile, and Youth Buildings as well as several of the Clark County Fairgrounds’ livestock barns, this is a big, big event. Most of the vendors are indeed antique dealers, with fine antiques located in the Youth Building. About 25 to 30 percent of the vendors were more of the flea market variety selling a diverse array of food and wares. Hen House Publishing was located near the front of the Mercantile Building between a dealer selling Amish-made cheeses, jellies, and pickled vegetables and an antique dealer selling old dolls and vintage clothing and across from a dealer selling pork rinds and sundry snack foods and another dealer selling Tupperware.

I thought the flea market aspect of the event coupled with the large numbers of attendees (reported between 19,000 and 22,000) would make for a likely venue to sell books and paintings. I truly thought the paintings, being original artwork and unusual for such an event, would draw the most attention and sell better than the books. I brought only my four latest titles to sell: Focus, Knight of the Twin Moons, Russian Revival, and Double Cut. As usual, my best friend, Cindra Phillips of CR Ranch Creative, joined me. We set up three tables: two with our paintings and one with my books. As customary, I draped two of the tables in glittering gold tablecloths with easels and one in maroon. Cindra strung blinking Christmas lights to attract attention. I erected my bannerstand. We set up two floor easels to display more paintings. We rearranged the tables a couple of time until we found a configuration that suited us within the 10 X 10 space. The smallest table draped in maroon was at the front and displayed my books.

Cindra and I quickly discovered that the organizers did not fail their promise to bring in the crowds. We had no complaint about event attendance; there were a lot of people, many of whom made it to the Mercantile Building and wandered through more than once. Several attendees brought their dogs which were all quite well behaved. We enjoyed meeting the dogs. Several food concessionaires also joined the throngs of vendors: the usual “fair food” types.

Friday’s hours were long: 7 a.m. to 6 p.m. Saturday’s hours were shorter: 8 a.m. to 5 p.m. Sunday had the shortest hours of operation: 9 a.m. to 4 p.m. Friday’s hours were ridiculous, far too long for a weekday when most folks were still working. Saturday’s hours worked well. Sunday’s hours could have started later and ended an hour earlier. (I would have liked to have been able to go to Mass without a conflict in business hours.)

So … sales. Sales were, in a word, disappointing. Cindra sold, if I remember correctly, two paintings. I sold two paintings. I sold quite a few books, though. Both Friday and Saturday evenings, I departed with a list of titles to restock from at-home inventory. We couldn’t blame a paucity of attendees for poor sales; we accredit the lackluster performance to a mismatch of audience. The Springfield Antique Show & Flea Market Extravaganze is not a good venue for us; the audience isn’t a good match for what we sell.

All in all, I did make a small profit over what I call “direct” expenses (mileage, food and beverages, registration fee). If I count in the cost of inventory, I could probably cut the profit by half. If I count in the hours spent (27) working the event—even if I only paid myself state minimum wage ($10.10 per hour for Ohio)—then I lost money.

On the upside, the event was well organized and ran smoothly. We met some really nice people. And a couple of the attendees swore that they’d read and/or purchased my books before and recognized my author name (Holly Bargo). It’s gratifying to know that brand awareness of my author name is building. I hope the folks who bought my books enjoy them and, perhaps, will leave positive reviews.

As for the Springfield Antique Show & Flea Market Extravanganza … we won’t return as vendors. It’s a great venue for the antiques and snack foods sellers, but not for us.

Until the next event: the Ohio Authors Book Fair on Saturday, May 27, from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. at Jeffersonville Outlets, Jeffersonville, Ohio. Cindra and I hope to see you there!

We use the phrase “unintended consequences” to refer to the usually negative and deleterious ramfications of decisions or actions. These consequences may surprise us, although the application of common sense suggests that we should have known better.

I have recently benefited from unintended consequences, so I’m not complaining.

My latest book, DOUBLE CUT, is the sequel to TRIPLE BURN, which was never intended to be a series starter. In fact, TRIPLE BURN didn’t do well when it was published.

The editor liked it. I liked it. The cover was great. The sub-genre crossover (science fiction reverse harem romance) was popular (and still is). It was marketed via social media and various book promotion services.

Readers didn’t like it. The most common reason I could glean was because the story had a bittersweet ending rather than an unqualifed HEA (“happily ever after”). TRIPLE BURN struggled to get ratings and reviews.

A few years later, I wrote a sequel: DOUBLE CUT. The editor loved it. I like it. The cover is great. The sub-genre crossover remains popular. It is being marketed through social media and sponsored ads on Facebook and Amazon.

Readers like it. In fact, since the debut of DOUBLE CUT, readers have been downloading TRIPLE BURN … and they’re liking it. The little book that struggled to get three reviews now has several and over 40 ratings—the majority positive.

Who would have thought that publishing a sequel to a poorly selling and poorly received book would have such a positive effect? Not I.

But I’m grateful. I am grateful for every copy sold.

The positive response to the newly named series (Triune Alliance Brides) inspires me to continue the series. So, I’ve got a third book planned for release this year—maybe even a fourth. We’ll see.