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September 25, 2009
Getting Ready for SPX
We'll be spending the weekend at the annual Small Press Expo (SPX) in Bethesda. We'll stand behind a six-foot table on which are displayed our various titles. We'll smile and try to look interesting, approachable, and worth spending a few minutes talking to. Sometimes this will work and people will stop to talk or browse the books. Other times, the masses will pass by without looking, leaving us to wonder if we have bits of breakfast clinging to our faces.
We're doing a few things differently this year. For one, we'll be debuting a book for the first time. About a week ago, Robbi frantically started illustrating a book we've been talking about doing for some time--Nasty Chipmunk. For about 12 hours straight, she hunched over her table with her ink and quill.
Fortunately, Nasty Chipmunk is full of endearing woodland animals, which Robbi enjoys drawing. There is a lion, a vulture, a rhinoceros, a grandmother, an elephant, and a homicidal bunny, among others.
In the middle of things, Alden expressed an interest in launching her painting career.
Robbi says the baby has a nice sense of line.
At the end Robbi's artistic flurry, Nasty Chipmunk was illustrated, and in just enough time to scan the images and place them in the layout. We made 50 copies and hope to find 50 people who each want one. Or 25 people who each want two.
All week we have been making books. Now that we have 28 titles in our catalog, preparing for each book show is an ordeal. But Alden has been pitching in, and we've been getting the work done.
In the midst of it all, Robbi designed us some new business cards. We used to each have our own card, but now both of our names are on one, which seems appropriate, given that we are almost always in the exact same place.
In preparation for SPX, we've also tackled one of the most vexing problems we've faced at these various shows--that of finding a way to make a prominent, readable sign to let people know who we are. The biggest sheet our biggest printer can produce is 13 x 19. Not exactly tiny, to be sure, but a size that still gets lost in a huge ballroom. Lots of other creators and small presses have created elaborate signage that hangs from elaborate scaffolds behind the booth. We have never felt quite so bold as to consider this option. But the other day, Robbi got inspired, did some online research, and ordered us a banner.
Before she ordered it, however, we had to figure out what to put on it. It seemed natural that "Idiots'Books" should appear. Also, we added the two illustrations that describe our respective efforts on our web site: a skillet with a typewriter to stand in for the writing side of things and a skillet with an easel for the illustration.
We wondered if we might add an additional layer of texture and interest: a phrase, perhaps, to describe what we do and also raise questions among those browsing the aisles. After a long conversation in which many potential phrases were discussed, critiqued, praised, and mocked, we settled on the following:
Making books. Seeking genre. Living in a barn.
As seen on the finished banner:
We are, in fact, making books. This much is clear. We do, in fact, live in a barn. It's the excuse we offer for our child's poor manners. As for the genre seeking, I can't say that we spend much time or energy trying to find words to describe what we do, but it is true that what we do persistently eludes attempts to be defined. Genre is important for mainstream publishing, because things that don't fit into pre-established categories with pre-established audiences are really hard to sell. "Seeking genre" is a quick way of letting people know that we're not about easy answers, whether the question is about what, how, or why we're doing what we're doing.
Once we had the banner in hand, the next challenge was how to hang the thing. Again it was Robbi who threw herself into the problem. She went to Home Depot and came back with elaborate clamps that hold pipes perpendicular to the surface they are clamped onto. She also came back with two six-foot lengths of lead pipe. Putting it all together, we were able to create two parallel standards between which to display our banner (note that these are two three-foot lengths of pipe; the actual banner will hang 3 feet higher).
Today, fearing that the six-foot lengths of lead pipe (very heavy) might slip from their moorings and crush the skulls of nearby book lovers, we decided to see if aluminum replacements could be found. Robbi returned with eight-foot lengths.
Which were quickly tamed with the help of the hack saw.
This evening we have been packing our books, pens, table cover, clamps, pipes, business cards, and yes, the brand new banner for tomorrow's early morning drive across the Bay Bridge.
It's lucky we have a minivan now.
If you are in DC, Baltimore, or somewhere else nearby, think about swinging by for the day on either Saturday or Sunday. We will be giving out free copies of the Story Circles we created for Urbanite.
Alden will not be with us, however. She has agreed to stay home and answer phones. We figure once the world picks up our new business card, sees our new banner, and reads our new marketing slogan, the orders will come rolling on in.
I think she's ready.
Posted by bogenamp at September 25, 2009 09:48 PM