Things You Need For Book Events

One of the first things I did was create my business card. There are many websites that you can order business cards through. I personally love Canva. It costs me $15.00 a month for Canva Pro, and I have used it not only to design my business cards, but I have also used it to design my event posters and flyers. You can also order your business cards, posters, and flyers through Canva after you design them. For your business cards, you will want to design them to match your theme. This way, everything is cohesive. On the front of my business card, I have my name, my children’s book author, my email address, website address, and an E-commerce store icon that lets people know I have a store on my website. I also have my logo (something else I created), on the front of the card. Then, on the back of the card, I have a quote that’s mine.

Posters are something else you will need. I designed mine through Canva, and they are 18 X 24. Posters are necessary for events because they not only draw attention to what you are selling, but they also contain other important information. I have three posters. One was specifically for my pre-launch party, and then I have one with just my picture and information on it. This is used when my illustrator is unable to attend an event with me. Then, I also have one with my picture and my illustrator’s pictures on it, with other information. These posters, on Canva, run $29.00 each.

Bookmarks are another item I designed myself. Again, Canva has many templates that make making bookmarks easy. I give away these bookmarks with the purchase of my books because they have my contact and website information on them.

Below is a list of everything else you will need for your book events and the Pre-launch party. (I will list things for the pre-launch party, but I will not go into details for this party, as it will be in another Blog.)

1. Cash Box
2. Table & Chairs – many events require that you have your own
3. Table Cloth
4. Easel – to display your posters
5. Business Card Holder
6. Frames – I use these to put my flyer in, if there is a counter up front, but I am set up in the back of a place. This lets people know that you are there, along with other pertinent information. I also use these frames at book events to display pictures of my characters.
7. Book Stand – I use a five or six-tier book stand to display some of the books.
8. Pencil Pouch – Inside, you will want extra pens, a notepad, sticky notes, scissors, paperclips, and tape. You never know when you are going to need something at an event.
9. Pens for Signing Books – Make sure you get really good pens. You also want to make sure that they will not smudge once you have signed the book. I keep these in my pencil pouch, and these are only used for signing. I have one for my illustrator and one for me.
10. Bulletin Board Poster Storage Bag – I use one of these to carry around my posters. This bag also protects your posters from getting damaged while traveling from place to place.
11. Rolling Cart – I don’t know about you, but I know that I cannot carry a box of books. So, I use a rolling cart. My rolling cart folds up when I am not using it. Once I get to my destination, I can pull out the rolling cart, stack several cases of my books in there, and then roll the cart inside to the event.
12. Rolling Bag – I use a carry-on rolling bag to carry all of my supplies in, such as my business cards, bookmarks, tablecloth, business card holder, pencil pouch, etc., to my events. This way, you are not carrying numerous boxes, making several trips out to your car, and it also saves your back!
13. Bags – These are used when people purchase your books. It helps protect the book until they get home, and if they have multiple items, a bag is helpful. You can use plastic or paper. I prefer paper. If you use paper, you can either stamp your contact and website information on the outside of the bag, or use a tag with your information on it.
14. Thank You Stickers – I had some made with my logo on them. This is nice, if you are shipping a book to someone, or if you can use them on your bags.
15. Rubber Stamp – I had a rubber stamp made through a local company in my city, which has my contact and website information on it. I use tags, so I stamped the tags.
16. Square Up or Other Credit Card Device – One of these devices to be able to take credit/debit cards at your events is essential. Not everyone carries cash, and if you do not have something to take credit/debit cards, you might miss out on a sale. I got the kind that hooks into my phone, and then I use the app. It works great!
17. Something to let people know you take cash, credit/debit cards – I use a whiteboard easel that sits on the table, so people will know how they can pay.

Next, I want to talk about Swag Bags. Swag Bags are a great way to get your information out there while offering something free to go along with your books. There are many things you can put in a Swag Bag, and at different price points. You want small things, especially if a child is going to be carrying them. Since I write children’s books, I wanted things in my Swag Bag, for a child. After doing much research on different merchandise at different price points, I decided to go with the following:

1. Small Paper Bags With A Rope Handle – I wanted something durable, but small enough for just a few things. I also knew I wanted to use tags, so these made it easy. I also chose them because they fit with my forest theme.
2. Crayons – I got the crayons that come in a clear package, and there are four to each package.
3. Small Brown Notepad – I wanted to have something that went with crayons, and the ones I bought are small, but kids can still draw in them. And of course, I went with brown because they also went with my theme.
4. Rope Bracelet – These are very popular, and kids really like them. They were not expensive, and they come in different quantities. The ones I ordered also came with a variety of colors.

I also put my bookmark in the Swag Bags, too. You do not need a lot of items in your Swag Bags. Usually, there are four to five items. Other items that I researched but decided not to use because of the expense, but items you could use were pencils (depending on who you go through, you can get your contact information engraved on them), stickers, character-themed temporary tattoos, pens, buttons, and postcards. Also, you will probably only use your Swag Bags at your pre-launch book party and other smaller events. Otherwise, this will become very expensive.

Your items that you use at your events, such as the tablecloth, the type of frames, easel, etc., should match your theme as much as possible. Since my stories are about forest animals living in Triple Oaks Forest, my theme is a forest with forest-like colors. I would not want a pink or blue tablecloth, since my theme is a forest. I chose a type of green tablecloth. I also use a lot of wood-type products because again, they go with my forest theme. You want everything to be as cohesive as possible and as professional-looking as possible. Take the time to think about what would go well with your theme when choosing your items. Also, do the research on different sites and companies for the items you want, not only for your Swag Bags, but for your event items that you will use at every event. This takes time, but you will be happy you did!