Monday, September 21, 2009

Report from ScrapFest 2009



News Flash--Had to show you the project I'll be teaching people to make at Bouchercon. How cute is this? A designer at EK Success did it for us! WOW!

**

Last year Paper, Scissors, Death debuted at ScrapFest, the gigantic scrapbooking event that Archivers holds annually at Mall of America in Minneapolis, Minnesota. This year I was fortunate enough to be invited back to share Cut, Crop & Die at the same event. Wow, what a weekend. What a party. What a totally crazy experience.

More than 3,000 scrapbookers showed up late Thursday and stayed until Sunday. They stood in long lines to create “Make-n-Takes,” the projects that can be completed on the spot. They took classes in the open mall spaces where long rows of tables were set up. And of course, they shopped.

What a total delight it was to say, “Hi” to fans who’ve read and enjoyed my series. I was greeted with hugs, requests for photos, books to be signed and green peppers. Yep, Kathy at Archivers remembered how much I love veggies, so she brought me two green peppers from her garden. I also saw other folks from the scrapbooking community—including the adorable Julia from Bo Bunny Press, my longtime friend Joy from EK Success, and the wonderful Katey from ANW Crestwood. You know, when you’ve been in an industry for a decade, you meet a lot of people, you go through a lot of changes, and you might make a lot of detours, but you still see the same faces.

My philosophy when leaving town is to schedule multiple engagements. That way, I know I’ve spent my time and marketing dollars wisely. So I started Friday morning at ScrapFest (9am to 1pm), coffee with my Midnight Ink publisher and my publicist from 1 to 2pm, went to Barnes & Noble at MOA (2 to 5pm), then onto Uncle Edgars to sign books, and finally, dinner with my wonderful editor, Connie Hill. The next day (Saturday) started at ScrapFest again, Barnes & Noble again, and then onto Scrapbooks Too, a lovely store nearby, where I met the sweetest people. One shared her Diet Dr Pepper with me, and another gave me two beautiful cards she'd made. On Sunday, it was back to the Mall where I signed until 5pm, then left for the airport. Home at midnight. Posting this morning here and at http://www.spottedcanary.com/ where we're running a six-week long contest. You could win $500 in scrapbooking supplies and a chance to name a character in Book #3, out this coming May (National Scrapbooking Month).


I thanked Archivers in the Acknowledgements of Cut, Crop & Die for all their help and support. This year—in my upcoming book--I owe them an even larger thanks, because this year, it was more like old home week. I don’t sit down when I sign. I think it makes an author harder to approach, so by Sunday, my energy was totally flagging.

One of the Archivers staff noticed I was fading. She hustled me into their back room and fed me chili. I mean, you’ve got to love people who work as hard as they do and yet have the time and kindness to other people.

We moved a lot of books. We pressed a lot of flesh. More importantly, we solidified old relationships and build some new ones. All in all, it was a great weekend.

5 comments:

Terri Thayer said...

Congrats! My goodness, Joanna, you do stuff a lot into a weekend. I hope you take a little time off this week.

Betty Hechtman said...

You do know how to pack a weekend, Joanna. It sounds like you got a lot of benefit from your effort.

Joanna Campbell Slan said...

Terri and Betty, I'm whooped. What kept me going was all the positive energy from the Archivers' staff and my readers!

Hugs to both of you...now off to the sofa and a good book.

Camille Minichino said...

Sounds wonderful, Joanna, and makes me look forward even more to a great dollhouse/miniatures show in San Jose where I'll be signing Oct 10 and 11.

However, now I feel like a slug because I SIT!

Joanna Campbell Slan said...

Camille, I stand to be approachable, but anyone taking one look at your smile would know you are exactly that. You don't NEED to stand. I do.