Has anyone tried promoting their novel or comic at a local bookstore, comic shop or other IRL venues?

[Leonotis]

Hey everyone,

I was wondering if any of you have ever tried promoting your novel or comic in person like leaving flyers, business cards, or posters at a local bookstore, comic shop, convention, library, or art fair?

I’ve been mostly promoting online, but lately I’ve been thinking about doing something more local. I’m curious how effective it is, and if shop owners or event organizers are usually open to that kind of thing.

Did it actually help you gain readers or subs? Or was it more of a “fun to try, but not much return” kind of experience?

Would love to hear if it worked for you!

Read Leonotis comic | Tapas Web Community

Read Leonotis | Tapas Web Community

[kyupol]

Haven't tried doing the things you mentioned but as far as irl promotion goes, it's more passive in my case. Only when the topic gets brought up, I mention it.

I'm already fairly known at my work as "that guy who draws Blackpill comics" (irony... I'm the last one to say 'its over'...)

And some people I used to go to the same church with... They're aware of my comics.

[stiatent]

I tried a bit in past, I guess its based on the culture of your country/town
I live in Trinidad where it's not common to read webcomics
Vs some countries in Asia where manga/ novels is huge and people read em on the buss to school/work.
Lots of art outlets here are more fixated with 'promoting nationalsim' and miss the mark with the masses who are already fans of foreign media and local artists who dont want to be limited to just local themes. So small creators here are left to wrestle with that.

Just better for me to promote online as you can find groups with specific interests - horror webcomic groups, fantasy webcomic groups etc

You'll probably have to do some observations on your local target demographic and how they indulge and become invested in media. Maybe some of that can help in crafting promotion strategies?

The one time It worked for me locally was when I sold some pins/buttons for a local 1-shot themed series I was working on at time. The images on the buttons had "the best of both worlds" a character holding the national flag or something representing local culture. People already thought the characters/art looked cool and since its a button they can pin onto their clothes/ bags, without them feeling 'like i was forcing a series on them' lol. The buttons sold out real fast when I had a booth at a local Japanese Anime convention .

Most of the locals I know aren't die-hard or super commited to fictional worlds and are mostly outdoorsy and upbeat so kept that in mind. I only printed around 100 buttons so it wasn't something I aimed to do in long run and on the flipside I got bored drawing local themed art. XD

Wishing you all the best coming up with strategies and attracting new fans! Keep it up

[filippocupi]

I'm a huge fan of Japanese manga. I've had a story brewing in my head for a while now. From the beginning, I thought of it more as a manga or manhwa than a novel. The problem is that I'm totally bad at drawing.
So the only thing I've tried to do, in my spare time, is at least start writing it, and then I've been checking out some Asian production houses. But so far, no concrete answers. Maybe it will remain just a dream... but then again, what would we be without dreams?

[Oriflamme]

I sorta did promote IRL. At my old job, back when I worked in the game industry, there is this after work group called the WIP club. At the beginning of each month, we take turns presenting the creative endeavours we do on the side. Some wrote book, others made small video games, I presented my comic and more. I still go to these meetings, even though I haven’t worked there in two years, because it is nice to keep in touch, and to have an audience to talk about your art. I don’t think more than a few people from there subscribed, but the free food is also nice.

Read Married to the Duke of the Abyss | Tapas Web Community

[Leonotis]

The reason I’m asking is because my story(more so my novel as my comic is doing ok with all ages) seems to resonate more with a younger audience. I shared it with a few kids aged 8–11, and they were completely hooked.

The thing is, none of them had ever heard of Tapas or any online webnovel platforms. So now I’m wondering if maybe my real audience isn’t online at all.

That's why I thought it’d make sense to try promoting near schools, libraries, or community centers instead. Maybe that’s where the readers who’d actually enjoy it are.

[stiatent]

Yea you're right communities, libraries and schools is deffo the safest way since kids being minors and parents/guardians will want a hand in what the kids consume.

My nephew 7 and cousins' kids within the 8-14 bracket (mostly boys) are all into Roblox, which consists of games made by independent artists.
Exposed through watching youtube gaming channels and a hobby shared among classmates. Because youtube gaming channels often play independent games they have more appreciation for those vs AAA games. Lil nephew went as the monster from the indie game poppy playtime for halloween n all.
Mentioned this as it just shows that indie creators already have impact among the kids making the opportunity easier for other small creators.

While yours is a webcomic/novel, maybe see what strategies you can borrow from these indie creators to gain that following too? Not sure about kids books specifically but i’m sure the successful ones have strategies via youtube etc too.

Meanwhile my 3 year old niece likes Shin Amy n has me drawing that for her these days (which i had no clue about when she initially asked lol). Goes to show at all ages they really like wacky meme-ish internet things, which again was likely created by an independent artist on the internet.
In the past generations it was Saturday morning cartoons on cable tv (no luck for small creators back then), but you have luck with todays generation seeing so many of them get their content online like youtube etc

Guess if you have kids within 8-11 range in your family you can see their reaction towards your works in realtime to help come up with ideas.