Selling Self-published Books At A Book Fair: 6 Great Steps

I love engaging with other writers, and selling self-published books at a book fair is a great way to do so. 

Book fairs are a fantastic place to meet other authors, readers, and even find new readers to join your next launch team. Because of this, selling self-published books at a book fair is a one-of-a-kind marketing tactic. 

But in addition to the networking that comes with book fairs (and networking is a topic I have taught an entire writing workshop on!), selling self-published books at a book fair will of course increase your sales and your chances of becoming a self-publishing success story. 

We’ve taught over 8,000 authors how to write, publish, and market their books over the last 10 years. 

Now it’s time to help you learn how to market by selling self-published books at a book fair! Follow these frequently asked questions and six key steps to get started. 

Selling self-published books at a book fair: what’s covered 

• Why attend a book fair? 
• How to sell books at a book fair?
• How to find book fairs to join?
• How to build a network of fellow authors and readers?

Why attend a book fair? 

Selling self-published books at a book fair is one reason why many authors may choose to attend fairs. 

If they make money publishing books on Amazon already and want to add another income stream to their author career, book fairs are a great place to do so. 

You can even choose to attend book fairs (more on this below) that focus on your specific book category and network with other authors. 

Step 1: Attend a book fair to sell more books.

What is the best way to sell a self-published book?

One of the most cost effective ways to sell your book is through word-of-mouth marketing. The more reach your book has, the more natural potential for this type of marketing. Selling self-published books at a book fair sets you up for this in several ways. 

First, when you attend a book fair you organically interact with a variety of writers and readers, thus talking about your book. The more you communicate about your book, the more buzz you generate. 

Secondly though, you can set up your book table in a way that creates interest and grabs the attention of potential readers (we go into this in more depth later on). 

This creates even more conversations around your book . . . and ideally, sales. The more people who stop by your book table, the higher chance of you making those sales. 

Of course, you can sell books in other ways as well. You may have a large author platform and make sales at speaking events or on your book tour. 

But, if you’re still building your platform (and aren’t we all!), selling self-published books at a book fair is a great place to start. 

How to sell books at a book fair?

Selling self-published books at a book fair means you need to bring copies with you to sell. Just as you must upload to Amazon if you want to sell on the platform, you must bring your books to the fair if you want to sell copies. 

How to buy copies of your own self-published book?

There are a variety of ways to answer this question, but you could simply order author copies through Amazon KDP. 

Do your best to do the math before making your purchase (yes, I know, math for authors?!). You don’t want to lug boxes of unsold books out of the fair, but you also don’t want to sell out. 

If you do sell out, you can simply take orders down manually and ship copies out after the fair. You may want to ship out signed copies as an added bonus for the inconvenience. 

Tip: Bring your books in a suitcase with wheels to save your back and your dignity! 

Step 2: Bring your own self-published books to sell.

How to gain attention selling self-published books at a book fair?

With so many other authors also selling their novels, you may want to make your book table stand out by being extra creative with it. 

Consider decorating with the theme of your book, such as bringing props. If you write thrillers, what are some props your characters use that would display well on your table?  

If the book fair allows it, bring a banner that’s on-brand with your book and author brand. A banner will help attract the attention of passers-by. 

Step 3: Set up your book table creatively to draw attention to your books.

How to find book fairs to join?

If you’re eager to get into selling self-published books at a book fair, you can conduct a simple Internet search to find great fairs to join. You can also use Scholastic’s Book Fair Finder. But to help you get started, below are a few great fairs around the US. 

Boston Book Fair 

The Boston International Antiquarian Book Fair is a three-day fair that takes place November 7-9, 2025. The Boston Book Fair is free for students, librarians, and a list of other qualified individuals. 

The Los Angeles Times Festival of Books

The LA Times Festival of Books is known as the country’s largest literary event. Taking place April 18-19 of 2026, you can go as a sponsor, exhibitor, or volunteer. 

You may want to check into being an exhibitor if you want to try selling self-published books at a book fair such as this one! 

Miami Book Fair

Although not as large as The LA Times fair, The Miami Book Fair is a large fair, meaning hundreds of authors and literally thousands of readers attend. During eight days each November, thousands of writers and readers meet in Downtown Miami for what is known as the nation’s premier literary festival.

The Library of Congress National Book Festival 

The Library of Congress National Book Festival is a free, one-day event open to the public and held in the nation’s capital at the Walter E. Washington Convention Center. There are panel discussions and book signings, which are both great places to network. 

Orlando Romantasy BookCon and Midnight Masquerade

Want to try selling self-published books at a book fair that’s three-days long and focuses on romantacy? Attend the Orlando fair and go as a book vendor. 

Author Nation

Author Nation is a five-day event that unites readers, writers, and industry professionals to join together and pursue growth. 

If you want to try selling self-published books at a book fair, Author Nation gives you five days to meet with readers and talk about your book! 

Step 4: Find the best book fairs for you and your author goals, and use the above list to get started! 

How to build a network of fellow authors and readers?

Now that you are ready for selling self-published books at a book fair, it’s important to build a network with authors and readers by engaging with them and their books.

There are a few great ways to build your network while selling self-published books at a book fair. 

Attend panel discussions 

A great way to network at a fair is to attend the featured events, such as panel discussions. You can arrive early and stick around at the end to engage with fellow authors and readers.

The best way to succeed in selling self-published books at a book fair is by engaging with other attendees. What better way to do that than in conversation pre and post events? 

Take time with readers 

Particularly if you have a book table set up, do your best to spend time chatting with the readers who come to your table. Whether or not they purchase a book, they love books just like you do.

Author C.S. Lewis, in The Four Loves, says, “The typical expression of opening Friendship would be something like, ‘What? You too? I thought I was the only one.’”

Give yourself, and readers, time to connect over shared interests in genres, specific titles, or tropes. 

Years ago, I met a reader at a non-book related event, we bonded over a shared love for dystopia, and are still friends to this day. Give yourself the opportunity to meet readers because you never know where it may take you!

Keep business cards on hand

While business cards may feel a bit archaic in our digital landscape, they are still extremely useful. 

Make sure you have updated business cards on hand, as this is a great way to not only succeed in selling self-published books at a book fair, but after the event itself. 

If you don’t have business cards, simply create a QR code that takes readers to your website. I’ve done this before for a writing conference and it made it much simpler for people to scan the code (rather than type in my full author website). 

Step 5: Network with other authors and readers to build your connections and, you guessed it, sell more books. 

Step 6: Always be prepared to share your author information at a book fair, whether via a business card or QR code.

Selling self-published books at a book fair: take your next step

Now that you know how all things selling self-published books at a book fair, take your next step and use our free resource today!