The goal was to make at least $50, not profit, just revenue. It cost me $45 for the site and another $45 for insurance. Then, on top of that, I had to purchase stock and various accoutrements needed to sell at the markets, including signage and a table.
For me, the markets were going to be the new norm, spending weekends selling my books along with prints of my artwork. I'm happy I did it - it was an experience - but it wasn't for me, I'm not that person, even if I wanted to be.
I sold seven books and made $70, which was above my minimum to stay in the game. My mum gave me an anecdote about my uncle, who sells leather goods at marketplaces from here to Lithgow. He started with very little business, but now people are calling him up to buy things.
I had one young guy walk past and see my Level Up At Life book and exclaim, "I need that!" Before handing me some cash. And another young lady had been on my website and had come down especially to buy print versions of two of my books, which was encouraging.
But all in all, people were ambivalent, the lady next to me sold more bars of soap than I sold books. And most people who walked past were the wrong demographic. I learned a lot from this event, and I might do some specialty events in the future.
But mostly it has consolidated in my mind that people don't read that much these day's thanks to the internet and our short attention spans, and that I should move on from books, I still have seven or eight in the works, I'll defenitely finish atleast half of them, but I may kill off some so I can more on with my life.
I hope the people who did buy my books get a lot out of them, because at the end of the day, that's all that matters.