Yesterday, I took part for the first time in a vendor fair. Several of my author-friends have done fairs before, and the feedback I always get is that they’re hit or miss, either you sell lots of books or you don’t — and I should qualify that when I say “lots” I mean maybe three an hour. Since my local high school was hosting the fair and the money raised would be going to a scholarship fund, I thought I’d give it a try. And lo and behold, I sold lots of books!
There are things you can do to make your vendor fair appearances more successful. Here’s what I did:
1. Publicize the event. On social media in advance (if you like) and on the day of.
2. Create signage. I have a bunch of really cool plaques that I’ve made in the past regarding various contests that Baby Grand and I have placed in, but I needed some signs specific to this event. Keep in mind that your signs don’t have to be state-of-the-art. Mine were rather rudimentary. I created them last minute on Microsoft Word — I couldn’t access InDesign for some reason — and made them in, seriously, five minutes, but they worked: 
3. Bring with you the following items: table (be sure to know the size of your selling space and whether or not you have access to electricity), chairs (at least two — even if you’re alone it’s nice to have an additional seat, either for an unexpected friend or for your arm or purse to rest on), clean solid-colored tablecloth, sign-up sheet for your mailing list (even if folks don’t buy books, they often sign up, either out of interest or pity), a bunch of books (I brought 30), several Sharpies, a camera, and perhaps something to keep you occupied when things are slow (I brought my Kindle, although it never left my purse).
Making 'Baby Grand' (& Other Literary Rugrats) 