Are you a bookworm? Do you obsess over what is the latest book on the stands or who is the most popular author currently?  Some people are such nerds that a life without books seems dull and listless to them.  They would rather visit a book fair than visit an art gallery or watch the latest movie.  If you are one of them, don’t be disheartened as a book fair is not less grand or glamorous an event nowadays.

Book fairs are commonly held to promote new books and increase the sale of old books. If you are a novice in authoring books, or if you are in the book publishing industry, book fairs give you a fair chance to let people know about your arrival on the author’s brigade or increase your contacts within the industry.

Networking is an inevitable need in the book industry. Being a good writer isn’t enough. Having a wide network is paramount to sustaining yourself here. Competition is huge; a large lot of writers are emerging everyday to showcase their writing skills.  In order to be not nudged aside, you need to be adept in your networking skills.   Participation in book fairs or being a mere spectator too will lead you somewhere. Sitting at home thinking that someone will want to read your book will remain an unfulfilled fantasy.  You need to get out and showcase yourself.   Book Expo America is known for creating buzz for new books.

You get to interact with other authors, publishers, distributors, and others involved in promoting your book. You know where you stand as compared to your competitors.  You learn what mistakes you are making if your book is not being sold, or you will know the reason why your book is so popular so that you can capitalise on your winning factor. Most importantly, you will know the pulse of the readers. Readers are what make a book successful or a complete failure. Some of the popular book fairs are those organized by the American Library Association and the Michigan Reading Association.

In this age where there are hundreds of authors and millions of books, to get registered in the memory of readers is very difficult.  Only if they have some emotional connection with you or if you have met them in person, you can make an impact on them.  Attending a book fair and promoting your own book will have a much greater impact in terms of increasing the readership base and sale of your book.  Promotional material distribution that covers information like author’s contacts, website address, means of purchasing book online, and book summary serves to increase curiosity in the minds of the attendees who may later turn out to be your fan following. Efforts really pay off.

A book fair can be a daylong event, or they may last for a few hours. It may be a lone event or part of a larger event. It is a great way to spend your weekends.  You won’t get bored for sure.  Such events have themes like social books, educational books, books for youth, books for adults, and so on.  If the theme suits your nature, attending such an event will surely be a great day out with your friends, family or lover.  If you have a child, you can take them to such an event to inculcate good book reading habits in them from an early age. The Bologna Book Fair is worth visiting if you want to take your child along. It is the oldest and the most popular international book fair for children.

Some book fairs offer books of a wide variety at low prices to generate interest in the readers.  This is a good strategy to promote books to an audience who wouldn’t want to spend on high-costing books.  But, once they get hooked on to something, it is difficult to get them off the habit. The London Book Fair is a perfect example of an event of incremental popularity.

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