Well, we survived our second Texas Book Festival. I don't mean that to sound bad, but as I've mention before, I was hesitant to spend the time, effort, and especially money on an enterprise that seemed to be light on return. Sure, we did our part to raise money for Texas libraries and the kids and I really enjoyed attending the free readings and activities, but as an exhibitor, let's just say, there were flaws.

An Attendee's Point of View (David and the kids)

But let's start with the positives. As festival attendees, there was very little to complain about. Sure, there weren't as many big names as in the past (Obama and Amy Sedaris last year, Clinton and Daniel Handler - Lemony Snicket - two years before), but there were plenty of authors to suit differing tastes, and the children's author selection was outstanding.

The weather was incredible. Mid-70s on Saturday, and I think it made it to the 80s on Sunday, with a light breeze. People were out on the grounds of the Capital, lounging in the grass, listening to the bands, reading books, and eating corn dogs - it was a gorgeous weekend.

Gabe, Olivia, and I got to meet several authors:

• Kristin Gore (Author of Sammy's Hill, Futurama writer - She's a smart funny writer and is hot? Sorry Tina Fey, you just moved down a spot on my list.)
• Jeff Kinney (Author of Diary of a Wimpy Kid - Gabe read the book waiting to get it signed and couldn't stop laughing.)
• Mo Willems (Author of Knuffle Bunny and Knuffle Bunny Too - Best reading of the festival. Seriously, I've got the tape to prove it.)
• Sally Cook (Author of Hey Batter, Batter Swing! - She called Gabe a "crank." He was touched.)
• Rob Kidd (Author of the Young Jack Sparrow young adult novel series - Gabe and I were interested, Olivia wanted to abandon ship.)
  

We made crafts in the children's activities tent, learned some magic tricks, ate junk food, and played football on the Capital grounds.

Overall, I was impressed with how the festival was run. The volunteers were courteous and prepared. We had a great time.

An Exhibitor's Point of View (Robin)

Okay, first of all, who plans a book festival on the same weekend as the Komen Race for the Cure? But we'll get to that in a minute.

We arrived Friday afternoon to set up and were pleasantly surprised with our location. We were in tent 400, right next to the Texas A&M Press tent, near the Entertainment tent, with easy access to the street. Our booth was between a one-book author and the Texas General Land Office.

We arrived early Saturday morning to finish setting up, and then we waited for the crowds to show. Last year, we were so busy, I didn't get a chance to sit down for the first four hours, and we brought a friend along to help. In fact, I was so swamped with inquiring minds last year, I didn't have a chance to relax the entire festival.

This year, the tent was noticeably empty. People wandered in and out, but very few stopped by any of the booths Saturday morning; we didn't sell anything until 10:30. (Last year, our first sale was at 8:30 - thirty minutes before we were supposed to open.)

Early estimates from the organizers put the festival's attendance at 40,000 - about the same as last year. Maybe, but 40,000 people didn't come through the exhibitors' tents.

Those who did were, for the most part, supportive and kind. We still got a lot of double takes, not as many as last year, but the most oft spoken comment we heard after we were asked to give our spiel was: "How cool."

We had writers, readers, booksellers, and editors drop by and say hi. We even had an author drop by and visit who we had rejected but who was able to sell the story to another magazine. I had a great time talking to everyone. Even David, who, as a general rule, doesn't like people, admitted to having fun during the twenty minutes he was in charge of the booth.

Our neighbors were nice. On Saturday, one of the men at the Texas General Land Office booth bought a copy of The First Line to read during the lulls. He liked it so much, he bought several more issues on Sunday. That right there made the entire weekend worth it.

Were we satisfied with the festival organizers? For the most part, yes. We enjoyed the donuts and cookies. Communication could have been better. The tents were supposed to be closed at 5:00 on Saturday, but the festival organizers decided to keep them open until 6:00 because of a concert on the Capital steps. We weren't told. At least not anyone at our end of the tent - and we were right next to the organizers' tent. We heard about it from another exhibitor, but they thought it was a rumor. I had to go ask the organizers if it was true. Someone should have sent a volunteer around to tell us.

Why did the festival start so late on Sunday (11 instead of 10 the year before)? Was it because the Komen Race for the Cure? It was cool to watch the race wind through the city streets from our hotel room Sunday morning; it was a nightmare to try to get to our booth with most of the streets surrounding the festival closed off. We had to break several traffic laws and cross a couple of barriers just to get to the festival in time to set up. Terrible planning.

(By the way, Austin is a football town. Why is this not in the spring?)

Fall in Texas is a great time to have an outdoor book festival. However, you don't expect it to be in the high 70s / low 80s. By 4:00, the inside of the tent was stifling. It didn't help that there were huge lights in our tent, adding more heat to the mix.

Sure, the organizers can't control the weather, but they can try to make the tents more comfortable. By Sunday afternoon, it got so hot, some exhibitors were pulling out fans and raising the sides of the tent to let in air. We did appreciate that the volunteers came by every once and a while with cold water. That was nice.

Did we make money? No. This is an expensive book festival for a small press to attend, especially in relation to the costs and number of people who attend the bigger festivals (LA, Miami, and Chicago). Last year we sold enough to cover half our costs. This year, the festival costs rose, but we made only half last year's number. (Was attendance down or was it that the same people showed up as last year, and they already had our books?)

But compared to most of our neighbors, we did great. We had a small but steady stream of people file by. Some of our neighbors went thirty minutes without anyone stopping just to chat. (Surprisingly, the Texas General Land Office, which sold maps, seemed to do great business. I was amazed at the number of people who bought maps.)

It's just my two cents, but they need a better - fairer - pricing structure. I know some festivals charge lower rates for small presses and individual authors, and some charge lower rates across the board, but ask for ten percent of the sales. True exhibitors, like the Texas Folklore Society and one-book authors, shouldn't have to pay as much as a small press, and a small press shouldn't have to pay as much as a university press or an independent bookstore. At least this year, the festival allowed people to share a booth.

Apparently, Barnes and Noble's book sales are the measuring stick for the success of the festival, but that's only because they have a monopoly on selling the attending authors' books. How much do they pay for their tents? Do they get a discount because they give a percentage of their sales to the festival? What is that percentage? And where was Austin's own Book People? Or Borders? Even faux indie Intellectual Property made it to the party. (In truth, we don't expect or want special treatment. We thrive on trying to survive in a time when books seem to be losing their luster.)

Will we come back? Ever year we can. We love that there is a book festival in Texas. I love meeting new people, talking to authors and readers, and the whole experience is worth it. Even if only one kid gets to go to college.

David and Robin