Anatomy of a Failed Standing Room Only Author Event

The author could have walked away with hundreds of dollars in sales…but didn’t

Photo by RU Recovery Ministries on Unsplash.

The author could have walked away with…

• hundreds of dollars in book sales,
• dozens of names for his email list,
• a handful of sold tickets for his upcoming paid events,
• a smattering of social media posts from the crowd,
• next-day visitors to his website,
• future event opportunities.

But he didn’t.

Thirty people filled up the chairs almost immediately. Then the organizers brought out three additional rows of chairs and those filled up quickly. Then others continued to straggle in and stand for a riveting one-hour program.

After a wonderful presentation with historic and modern slides, the expert and animated narration and sharing of anecdotes, the answering of a dozen audience questions with good humor and extensive detail, the author at an event I attended earlier this year, sold three books out of a cardboard box to those with exact change from a darkened corner of the room opposite the exit.

No he didn’t.