Oh the Pressure

Swag, get your free swag

 

 



I am busy prepping for the 2013 Lori Foster Reader and Author Get together. My preparations are not especially well-informed since I’ve never been to this event. I was informed I’d need giveaways and I have managed to accumulate some things, such as the candy bags pictured above. My son and I labored many hours (not really) on putting these together. I suspect he helped mostly because he wanted to sample the candies, but no matter, one hundred bags are filled with candy, a magnet, and are stickered with my info. I’m also bringing some stress balls, although they are more like stress cubes. I plan on giving those to people who buy copies of my book while I’m there. And there are more magnets to be included in the goody bags all attendees get.

Since I’ve never been to one of these, and I tend to be a stay-at-home introvert who suffers terribly when forced to make small talk, I’m trying not to get nervous ahead of time. Here’s what I’m worried about in no particular order.

1.       I will make some incredibly obvious new author faux pas and everyone in the vicinity will give me pitying looks

2.       I will sit at my book-signing table and no one will talk to me, let alone buy a book

3.       I will miss some important thing because I was distracted or lost or caught in a crowd

4.       I will have to bring home most of these give-aways because no one will be interested

5.       I won’t like the food and I’ll be hungry all the time

6.       I will make a fool of myself in pitches

7.       I will meet people and immediately forget their names

8.       I will feel like a dork during the ‘party’ portions of the event

9.       Someone will want to talk about paranormals, erotica, new adult, shapeshifters, whatever and since I don’t read those genres I will have a blank and ignorant look on my face the whole time

10.   No one will put a ticket in to try and win my raffle prize

Okay, so I just typed all that out and now I’m really nervous. I haven’t even packed yet. As I review the list, I can see there are some common themes such as meeting people and swag. In an effort to make myself feel more confident, if you are reading this and are going to RAGT this year, mention my insecurities to me and I will give you a bag of candy. Or a stress cube.