Bookseller Reception

Well, last night, after months of planning, my RWA chapter had its first (who knows if it will end up being annual) Author/Bookseller Reception. And I really think it was a huge success! I sort of suggested it back in April or so when I'd read an RWR article in which Eloisa James had mentioned that her chapter does an annual Bookseller Luncheon, and I thought, what a great idea! Houston is a BIG city, and we have plenty of bookstores (our invitation list topped 40!). What a great way to introduce authors to local booksellers and booksellers to local authors.

So...we brainstormed, and planned, and divvied up the tasks between board members (I was drafted to be Secretary after someone else had to quit for personal reasons), and then got to work. We ended up having it at one of our local author's houses, and it was lovely. There were about thirteen booksellers in attendance and maybe twenty authors, and pretty much everyone mingled with everyone else. Then, when it was time to leave, the booksellers took home goodie bags that were filled with promo items from most every pubbed author in our chapter. We also handed out bound pamphlets entitled 'What Every Bookseller Should Know', which included creative and useful tips from Stephanie Bond (used with permission) on how to revitalize romance sales. We also requested giveaways from RWA National, so the bags were chock full!

We did hors d'oeuvres (provided by the authors), and bought chocolate dipped strawberries, champagne, and wine. I made mini cherry cheesecake bites. It was really quite elegant. What a relief....we've all been worried over bookseller turnout, and I think we had the perfect number. I came home happy. (Obviously, I'm still on hiatus from writing...)