Last week I went to my first in-person event. I went as a representative of our local Sisters in Crime (SinC) chapter, and my fellow author and our chapter’s Member-at-Large joined me to man the booth while I was in my panel and when I was doing my workshop.
There weren’t as many people there as in the past. Small wonder. There were more, though, than there would have been if a couple of the local news stations hadn’t come by. A number of people said they came by because they saw it on the news.
Anyway, didn’t sell much (low traffic), but the panel and my workshop went well. Our panel was about women protagonists, and we did the panel as our newly-formed group, the Midwest Mystery Works.

We’re testing the waters as a group of mystery writers, hoping the logic of numbers will work on our favor (more brains, more ideas, more opportunities, hopefully). Of the five of us in the group, four of us have female protagonists, so it was a good panel. It was really interesting to hear the guys talk about writing from the POV of a woman and the considerations they have to be conscious of that I don’t have to think twice about.
My workshop, 10 Clues to Writing Mysteries, was well-attended: about a dozen people give or take, pretty good considering the attendees paid $15 for each session. My SIL was one of the room monitors, and she shared that the evaluations rated the workshop pretty high. And I have no idea what that means in the grand scheme of things. I don’t think I sold any additional books because of it, but I do think we gained a few new members of our SinC chapter.
All in all, it was a good day. A long day for sure, but a good day. It was so good to see some of my author compadres in person again. In a couple–EEK! Okay, how about a week and a half or so until I head to Albuquerque for Left Coast Crime. Here’s hoping it isn’t cut short like San Diego. I’ll be on a panel, and moderating a panel for the first time. I had a great time in San Diego for the one day I was there, so I’m looking forward to (hopefully) four days of fun with writers and readers.
Needless to say, since I’m trying to read a book from each of the four authors on the panel I’m moderating, I haven’t been writing as much as I should be. Still waiting on a couple beta readers, but darn it, if I don’t hear back from them by the end of the month, I’m sending the manuscript off to my agent anyway.
After a couple gorgeous early spring days last week, we’re back to 30s and maybe 40. Ugh. It even snowed the other day, just a coating, but still. Hope you are all enjoying spring where you are (and fall, for those south of the equator). Keep on writing!
March 26, 2022 at 6:52 am
I’m very glad everything went smoothly, Julie, even if there wasn’t the attendance there might’ve been, or the sales. Those in-person events can be terrific ways to bond with other writers, as well as sell a few books and so on. It’s good to hear your workshop was well-attended. It sounds interesting! At any rate, your Muse
bribedconvinced me to tell you it’s time to get back to writing… 😉LikeLiked by 1 person
March 26, 2022 at 6:54 pm
LOL! Hmm, bribed, huh? Hope it was something good (chocolate??) My last betas finally sent me their feedback, so I’m eager to make a few adjustments and get it off to my agent. Hope your new release is going well, and keep on writing!
Have a great rest of your weekend, Margot!
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March 26, 2022 at 8:38 am
Hi Julie, it sounds like you had a good event even if the traffic was low. I have had similar situations with book events and I’m sure people are still being careful. Good luck with all your endeavors.
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March 26, 2022 at 6:55 pm
I agree, I think people are still being cautious, but it was nice to see people in person again. There were half a dozen fellow Sisters in Crime members there I finally got to see outside of a screen again.
Have a wonderful rest of your weekend, Robbie!
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March 26, 2022 at 9:52 am
Love the idea of forming that group. Is that a permanent marketing group for your writing?
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March 26, 2022 at 7:02 pm
We’re trying it out. How permanent it’ll be depends on how things go. We’re considering buying a group ad for Bouchercon, but our logo isn’t quite finished yet, so we’ll see. The cost isn’t too bad if it’s split five ways. There’s a new indie bookstore in Rochester that’s looking for authors to do appearances over the summer, and one of the members has a connection to a bookstore in Duluth, so we’ve got a few things we’re going to try to arrange. The panel went well, and we seem to work well together so far.
Oh, and I plugged Ava during my workshop. 🙂
Have a great rest of your weekend, Chris!
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March 29, 2022 at 11:55 pm
Hello, Zoey. Why, is this a new photo of you? And is that a bit of belly I see? Would it be okay if I just stuck a couple of fingers in th–Nope! Okay, that’s fine. (Retracting my hand quickly.) It’s okay. Maybe later. I’ll go ahead and let you sleep then.
Hooray for a successful event! Maybe not a ton of books sold, but you got your name, your face, your book out there, met new people, maybe gained more SinCs. That’s great! I hope you have a wonderful time in NM, though I’m still grumbling about that fateful San Diego trip. {Grumble. Grumble.} But I wish you well! At least you’ll be sort of close to me! Happy reading! 🙂
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April 1, 2022 at 6:14 pm
It is a new photo–she was napping, and I couldn’t resist! I know, I’m still bummed about the San Diego trip, too. But your jujitsu adventures are so much fun, I almost feel like I’m in the bleachers cheering you on 😀
Happy Writing, Betsy!
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April 1, 2022 at 10:02 pm
Ooosheebooboo, Zoe-Zoe!
Yeah, blasted Covid.
And thanks. I’m glad you’re enjoying my adventures. 🙂
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