I have been recovering from my time at Ad Astra this entire week… not because it was a chore, but because it was totally amazing! So amazing that I wore myself and my helpers out just drinking it all in, taking advantage of all the amazing opportunities and bringing Love, Time, Space, Magic into the world.
We had an absolutely stellar weekend which tripled even our best estimates. Our book launch was fun, well-received and well-executed, thanks in large part to the support of our authors and convention staff. Props to everybody who pitched in to make sure we were well-informed, the guests were entertained during setup, and that we were stocked with an assortment of wonderful goodies for people to enjoy between readings. Our guests said afterward that the launch was fun, low-key, well-paced, and that the readings were entertaining and of a good length.
The best news, however, is that we sold out of Love, Time, Space, Magic, demolishing all or our best estimates for sales. During the weekend, we sold nearly 50 copies of the book, which given the size of our company, and the convention size, is absolutely through the roof! We are currently out of copies and I am going to be ordering more from the printer this week.
Additional to the commercial success of the book during launch weekend is the positive feedback we have received from respected members of the local industry on our book design and cover standards. We had lots of compliments on the cover, many people stopped to tell us how beautiful they thought it was, and our book design seminars were well-attended by people eager to learn the craft.
The recognition of our design standards is a big victory for Pop Seagull, because from the very beginning we have striven for excellence in all things illustration and design, determined to be the very best we can be and bring world class standards to our books, whenever possible. This time, we really pulled out all the stops, and it’s great to hear that recognition from the community. I really hope that the workshops we did this weekend will be the start of many such events, because I feel there is a big need in the indie publishing community for this kind of knowledge and more people need to be informed about the design choices they make for their products. In fact, that sounds like a blog post in the making…
Right now, I’m out of town and missing my camera cable, so I’m going to do a series on the different days of the convention and some of the highlights, with photos, next week. Until then, I just wanted to announce what a success it has been, and that we plan to build on this success by bringing you more fabulous, beautiful books.
Thank you, from the bottom of my heart.