010 – My first event!

So, I did a thing. A month ago, my friend Jody reached out to me. He runs a really awesome shop called Clark’s Collectible & Comics up in Plano, IL. If you’re ever in the area or are looking for a little road trip, I highly recommend stopping by. He’s got a ton of cool stuff! On August 19th, he’s hosting 2023 Smallville Comic-Con, a fun sidewalk sale featuring tons of vendors (details below). I was invited to be one such vendor.

Just one little problem: I didn’t have anything physical to sell other than duplicate books from my own personal library. Thus, I set to the task of doing a crash course in how to format a book for printing. The first thing I needed to do was figure out what to print. I’ve had four Rokkoh stories finished for over a year now, so I thought I’d try that. I compiled the four stories into one document, played around with page and font sizes, margins, and cover art. (To be honest, I had already made cover art because I have a lot of fun doing them, as well as logos for fictional bands. Maybe I’ll post about the latter sometime.) After a few days of tweaking and fine-tuning, I was satisfied with what I had done. I placed an order for one copy just to see what the book would look like. After a little over a week, the first copy of The Rokkoh Adventures was in my mailbox. I underestimated how excited I would be to hold my own book in my hands. This process showed me why self-publishing is so popular amongst writers nowadays, and I’m strongly considering it for the future. Fast-forward to yesterday. Early on in the workday, I get an email saying my package had been delivered. I rushed home during my lunch break, and there it was. A box of 25 copies of The Rokkoh Adventures, ready and waiting to go home with readers.

Now, I want to be clear about something. This is not meant to be the final product. These are not first editions of The Rokkoh Adventures. These 25 (or 26, technically) copies are Uncorrected Proofs/Advanced Reader Copies. Until I decide to officially publish the book, these will be the only copies in existence. I plan to add more to the book at a later date (I came up with some ideas after the larger order was already placed and it was too late to cancel).

Attendees at the 2023 Smallville Comic-Con in Plano, IL will have the first chance to pick up a copy. I will be selling them for $10 apiece, along with some duplicate books from my personal library. Whatever remains after the 19th will then be available for purchase to everyone else. So, if you’ve got a free morning/afternoon in a couple weeks, feel free to come on up and support a bunch of awesome folks!