Selling Books In Person At Live Events With Mark Lefebvre [Video]

How can you be successful at connecting with readers and selling books at live, in-person events? What are some practical tips as well as mindset shifts that can help you make the most of the opportunities? Mark Leslie Lefebvre shares his experience.

In the intro, Beventi (https://beventi.co/) for author events, Reader survey results [Written Word Media (https://www.writtenwordmedia.com/the-2024-reader-survey-results/) ]; “How do I market myself without feeling gross about it?” [Author Stack (https://www.theauthorstack.com/p/how-do-i-market-myself-without-feeling) ]; 12 Concepts for Authors to Make $8333/Month (https://www.kickstarter.com/projects/writermba/eightthreethreethree) ; Results of AI training survey [Draft2Digital (https://www.draft2digital.com/blog/2024-ai-training-survey-results/) ]; LionsGate partnering with RunWayML (https://runwayml.com/news/runway-partners-with-lionsgate) ; Networking workshop [LSF (https://londonswf365.com/networking-mastery-create-powerful-relationships-that-get-you-hired/) ]; Blood Vintage (https://www.jfpenn.com/bloodvintage) .

(https://www.thecreativepenn.com/kwl)

This podcast is sponsored by Kobo Writing Life (https://www.thecreativepenn.com/kwl) , which helps authors self-publish and reach readers in global markets through the Kobo eco-system. You can also subscribe to the Kobo Writing Life podcast (http://kobowritinglife.com/category/kwl-podcast/)  for interviews with successful indie authors.

This show is also supported by my Patrons. Join my Community at Patreon.com/thecreativepenn (https://www.patreon.com/thecreativepenn)  

(https://markleslie.ca/)

Mark Leslie LeFebvre is the author of horror and paranormal fiction, as well as nonfiction books for authors. He’s also an editor, professional speaker, and the Director of Business Development at Draft2Digital. His latest book is A Book in Hand: Strategies for Optimizing Print Book Sales via Signings and Other In Person Events.

You can listen above or on your favorite podcast app (https://www.thecreativepenn.com/podcasts/)  or read the notes and links below. Here are the highlights and the full transcript is below. 

Show Notes

• What does “going wide” really mean?

• Benefits of in-person signings and events

• Always connect. The power of creating personal relationships with readers

• The different types of in-person events

• Using props to attract the right readers to your booth

• How to grow your email list and audience from in-person events

• The logistics of in-person events — payment systems and inventory

• Managing your energy when planning for and attending events

• Staying relaxed about changing technology and using it to your advantage

You can find Mark at MarkLeslie.ca (https://markleslie.ca/) .

Transcript of Interview with Mark Leslie LeFebvre

Joanna: Mark Leslie LeFebvre is the author of horror and paranormal fiction, as well as nonfiction books for authors. He’s also an editor, professional speaker, and the Director of Business Development at Draft2Digital.

His latest book is A Book in Hand: Strategies for Optimizing Print Book Sales via Signings and Other In Person Events. So welcome back to the show, Mark.

Mark: Always great to chat with you, Joanna.

Joanna: Oh, yes. Obviously many listeners might know you from author events or listen to your podcast, Stark Reflections. So you were last on the show in September 2021.

Mark: Has it been that long?

Joanna: Yes, it has been, which is crazy. You’ve been on the show lots over the years. We co-wrote The Relaxed Author together (https://creativepennbooks.com/collections/the-relaxed-author) , and we’re going to come back to that later. So it’s been almost three years since you’ve been on the show—

(https://creativepennbooks.com/collections/the-relaxed-author) Mark and Jo over the years

Give us a bit of an update on your writing and publishing journey, as you’ve had some big milestones lately.

Mark: So I’ve continued to write in my Canadian Werewolf series. Book seven, Only Monsters in the Building, that was released earlier this year, 2024. I’ve got book eight planned for mid-2025.

So that’s been fun because in 2021, I think, I had only had two or three books in that series. So I’ve continued to chug away at that. Only one book a year, just sort of standard speed.

I did release a co-authored book with D.F. Hart, Accounting for Authors (https://amzn.to/