How I made my first sale

My first sale came at a table I bought at a fall harvest dinner at the Salem Cross Inn. There were people selling arts and crafts, jars of honey and homemade jams, other farm goods, and items hand forged by a local blacksmith. It is an outdoor function celebrating early colonial Massachusetts history.

The first person to buy my book was a woman, a middle school teacher. She picked up the book, looked at the cover, flipped it over and read the jacket copy, started to put it down, looked at the photo on the back, looked at me and said “Hey! You wrote this.” When I told her I did, she asked if I would autograph it. I got a real thrill, and still do, of someone asking for my autograph.

It was a beautiful mid-September day, with a clear blue sky and a soft breeze. There were plenty of people stopping at the table to chat, ask questions about the book and find out more. I sold 10 others that afternoon but the first one, like many other firsts in life, will stay with me for a long time.

What surprised me is how easy it was. I was nervous, fearing that no one would be interested and I would leave with the same number of books I came with but it did not work out that

way.

All of the sales at the next several book signings were easy and very enjoyable. It is a great thrill to know that people like what you have written. In many ways, I treat my stories as a weak child who needs to be protected from the world. After they stand on their own and people like them, I let them go out into the world for all to enjoy.