M.L. Olmstead

There is something truly special about the first time experiences in your life, and this process of becoming an author contains many firsts.

In 2021, after twenty years of working on my manuscript, I finally self published The Knights: Lost in the Void. I was so excited to have a printed book with my name on it! Eagerly, I sold the first fifty copies to family and friends, and I even found an awesome cafe/book store called MochaLisa that agreed to sell my book. I was on my way!

And then came the other type of firsts. When I attended my first book fair, I got to meet a local community of authors who were on the same path as me. It was really fun getting to know everyone, but I quickly noticed that customers were not coming by my table at all. Ok, it was my first event, things would get better right?

Event after event, I was lucky to sell two books for half a day’s attendance, and I had to face reality: publishing a book was the starting line. Finding readers required a skill set I wasn’t sure I had. For a full year, I went to any event that would take me, as I worked on improving my pitch, and my marketing materials.

One day, as I was scouring the internet, I found a listing of anime conventions, and the newest offering was the Utica Anime Fest. Since The Knights series was inspired by and followed the storytelling format of anime, I thought it was an interesting idea. So my friend and I booked a table and traveled to Utica. This was my first time in Utica, and my first time as a vendor, and I was nervous. Would people think it was weird that I was selling a book at an anime convention?

And the most wonderful thing happened…people came up to me like it was the most normal thing in the world. They were genuinely interested in what the book was about. They shared stories with me about their own work and their favorite anime. For the first time in my selling life, I sold books in the double digits, and it showed me that there was an audience out there. From there, I gained confidence, and learned how to sell my book at smaller events. I continued to travel to Utica for two years, and every convention has treated me extremely well. Which has led to the most exciting first…my first sell out.

This past weekend, I debuted a new backdrop and table set up, and I waited for the crowds to come in. Even though I had gained my confidence, the nerves always return. What if no one wants my book this time? Those fears were allayed immediately. People came right in at 9:30 and started buying right away, and there was an excitement that I have not seen in the past. I didn’t feel like I had to beg people to buy it. I just let the merits of the story interest them.

Interspersed were the many people who bought the book over the years, that came back to tell me how much they loved it. Another first. Last convention, a little girl used her own money to buy my book because her mom didn’t have the cash. I was delighted to see her again, and she told me she loved the book. Many of these attendees anxiously wrote down their email so that they could find out when The Knights Lost Stories was coming out. In the past, I needed to really push the newsletter on people. This time, people wanted to know more.

I was also very touched when someone with dyslexia explained to me why its so hard to read books even though she loves them, and then she opened up the book and told me the font was more readable than most, and she bought the book!

By 3 p.m., we had sold out of our books, talked to over 100 people, and heard amazing stories of aspiring authors, committed readers, and anime enthusiasm. Even the staff at the hotel remembered us, and we were able to chat like old friends. It was an incredible weekend in a place that first showed me I could sell my book successfully. I’m aware that it could all end tomorrow, but if it does, I have this memory to look back on. As they say, you never forget your first.

In terms of the release of The Knights: Lost Stories, I will announce that date here first. So please sign up for the newsletter: https://mlolmstead.com/

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Thank you all for your support! I hope to see you at an event again soon!