Balt. Addendum...Mark Your Cal.s for Next Year...

The dust has settled. We are meandering our way back to Maine, making bookish stops here and there. I wanted to put down some final thoughts about Balt. before they are lost in the ether that fills my head...

First off, it was not just a great show for us. We heard from at least two dealers that it was their "best show ever" and from another that it was his best non-ABAA show ever. It was among our best as well. The show had, I think, great "stickiness", in addition to solid sales. Lots of great conversations, interest and genuinely engaged humans. We have already had 4-5 follow-up calls.

The promoters are among the best I've had the pleasure to work with. They have a huge marketing budget and know how to use it. They did a great job getting not just warm bodies in the hall(s), but bodies with interest and a willingness to buy. My involvement with them was very minor, and yet I did newspaper, radio and TV spots with/for them. They are second to none on the PR front. Admittedly, that the show is the largest of its kind in the US certainly helps.

All these positives notwithstanding, I hope they succeed in drawing another 1-2 dozen book dealers. I'd like to see the number of dealer hover just north of 60 or so and I think they were a bit low. There have been changes in the last two years (fee increases and the added day) that drove away some dealers. Personally, I still think this show is a very cheap date for the traffic and market it draws. There should be a waiting list for dealers to get in...that said, I hope they continue to draw a reasonably wide range of types of dealers...as it makes for a more interesting show (for both dealers and regular humans).

We will be back next year (already registered...with luck, we will keep our very nice location). I can't wait to get back (though my feet could wait a good long time).