I suck at booktok, and think I'm cooler than I am in person

Hi , welcome back to my author newsletter with alien peens, monsters, magic, and the readers who love them!

In the last month, I've posted on my social media maybe a couple of times. I believe the decline in posting is because a majority of the time I want social media and my books to be more of an escape from my brain circling negativity.

Yes, there are obstacles and twists and tough situations in books, but you're along for the ride without the pressure of it being reality and the wonderful feeling of satisfaction when characters succeed in the end.

I've always found it easier to chat with readers through my newsletter regularly instead of posting on social media because you are here because you want to be, and you are engaged in the positivity that stories offer. More often than not, my newsletter is full of supportive readers who motivate me and love the alien universe I've created that we can share together.

This realization of social media being more about what gains attention, and attention is usually more prevalent with negative commentary, has shifted my focus of 2025 into searching out in-person events!

It's been a while since people gathered personally, and I'm super excited to search out local events that I can then use as fodder for social media. Because as much as I've thought about what has brought viral authors to the forefront, I just haven't found a gimmick that works for me.

There are book twerkers. There are humorous book skits, and motivational authordoms, but I find my introverted self struggles with finding something I want to share that won't cut into writing the next book.

With my focus issues, I find it takes me way too long to transition from tasks without getting distracted. It took me 8 years to complete my first book. This was the stepping stone to convincing myself that it's possible to finish books and not simply have a stack of partial beginnings. I no longer distribute that book, not because I'm not proud of it, but because it doesn't represent my current writing style.

With my new focus on in-person events for 2025, that comes with a bunch of preparation. From banners, table runners, table swag, and more. On top of all that, I have to apply and be accepted into the limited author spots for events.

Yesterday, I emailed to let you know that I was accepted into the Hot & Steamy Bookish Event for Vancouver WA in MAY 2025! I'll be driving 3 hours to go, staying at a hotel for a night and then returning after the signing the next day.

As an author, making the decision to go to in-person events is an investment. One which my mom has been supporting whenever she can. Birthday cash in September, Christmas cash for the holidays, she's always investing in my dreams.

Graphic design artwork costs, printing banners, table runners, printing bookmarks, swag costs, stocking printed books, hotel costs, driving expenses, and sometimes even flight expenses if an out-of-state event. One semi-local event can cost an author around 1,000 to set up, another 200 to 400 for the table at an event, not including cost of printing books. 200 to 300 a night for a hotel room, and if out-of-state, that can be another 1000 in flight expenses.

Meaning, most of the time, in-person events are more of a marketing expense than a profitable endeavor for famous authors that show up and sell more books than the costs of attending.

I would have to sell around 250 signed books at an event to breakeven on an average event.

As an indie author, this seems like such a large amount of books! Especially since all of last year 2024 I sold a total of 41 physical books in an entire year! Most of my sales are e-books and Kindle Unlimited pages.

It's crazy to think about, but if 40 people pick up my book at the event I would be so excited to see the same amount of readers turn my books into shelf trophies as I had in the entire year of 2024 in only 1 event! Who knows if I reach 10 more readers, 50 more readers, or a 100 at the event, but Hot & Steamy has sold out their tickets at previous events, and that means, even if I don't sell a single physical book, my booth will be seen by around 800 to 1000 people estimated. I'm unsure how many tickets they sell or what the maximum amount of attendees they can have for the given space, but I'm estimating conservatively, it's mostly likely more than that.

The last in-person event I did was at the PNWA several years ago, before I even started writing alien romances. I had my first book out and sold 10 books to fellow authors during the author signing event at an event for writers. I know writers are also readers, but I have a biased opinion that writers are more picky about what books they choose to buy because we also have to delegate time towards our own books and our reading time is limited by that.

Planning out what to bring is my biggest hurdle. Since all of my books are standalone... do I bring more of the first books or an even amount of all my books? Do I bring 50 of a book I'll recommend as my favorite starter, and then 5 of each of the rest of the books just in case?

I have Her Alien Exchange that I'll have prepared for the first time in print, Her Alien Savior, Her Alien Warrior, Her Alien Prince, Her Alien Insurgent, and Jewel of the Alien Bandit. Then I plan on finishing Her Alien Captor in time for the event.

That's seven books! Plus my romantasy books Taking Medusa and Breaking Fate. And Riven's Flame that I hope to have ready by May as well. Making a total of 10 books! I have no idea how to plan out which books and how many of each to bring!

20 Her Alien Exchange, 10 Jewel of the Alien Bandit, 20 Her Alien Prince, 5 Her Alien Insurgent, 5 Her Alien Savior, 20 Her Alien Warrior, 15 Taking Medusa, 5 Breaking Fate, 10 Riven's Flame, 10 Her Alien Captor. That's 120 books and a limited amount of people that would be able to grab their choice of books before a book runs out, not even including if a reader is excited and wants to grab more than one. I'm kind of floundering on the book stocking stage.

Which is why, I need your help. If you are planning on attending the Hot & Steamy PNW 2025 in Vancouver, and you do want a book from me, be sure to fill out my pre-order form and help me out with my planning:

https://forms.gle/B4L9FjUiUxrYoaL19

If you are a fellow author and have attended bookish events like this before, do you have any tips? What do you usually bring?

I'm hosting a giveaway for a free ticket to Hot & Steamy and a free signed book that you can join below. Join me at PNW25 Hot & Steamy, play games on Friday, and say hi at my booth on Saturday!

Enter to win the free ticket and signed paperback with using KingSumo here: PNW25 HOT & STEAMY SKY ROBERT AUTHOR SIGNING!

From the KingSumo, you can add more entries when you check out the Eventbright page to grab your own ticket, and if you win the giveaway, you get a free signed paperback by me when you come, as well as an extra ticket to bring a friend! Books are always more fun when you share!

You can get 35% off today with code: HS35 with EventBright:

https://www.eventbrite.com/e/hot-steamy-in-the-pnw-25-tickets-914793069697

I'll be driving down to the event from Seattle, and you can pre-order your signed paperbacks from my form here, as I have to plan ahead on how many books I bring to my signing table and will have a limited supply: https://docs.google.com/forms/d/e/1FAIpQLSePssJnUItI-6NO3Sr8asecc8eZD8cgbtj6fYvFrwjPj_5NTw/viewform?usp=sharing

I hope to see you there!

Until then, you can check out the rest of my stand-alone alien romances in the Trillume Universe while we wait for HOT AND STEAMY and my goal of having HER ALIEN CAPTOR, the next of the necia warrior books, and RIVEN'S FLAME, a dragon romantasy, available by MAY!

Discover all books by Sky Robert:

1) Jewel of the Alien Bandit 2) Her Alien Exchange 3) Her Alien Prince 4) Her Alien Savior 5) Her Alien Warrior 6) Her Alien Insurgent 7) Her Alien Starbreaker (launching in the anthology Beyond Earth) 8) TKManAteHer -Short Erotic Terminator Sex Bot Romance

Books by S.M. McCoy

1) Taking Medusa 2) Breaking Fate 3) Kingdom of Acatalec has been pulled for future relaunch

Check out the author store here for signed copies of paperbacks! https://payhip.com/BrokenBooksPublishing

All of my books are standalone alien romances, each a separate complete romance, read in any order, and with their interconnected plots, each book layers and you find out more about the world the more you read. Have questions from one book? Read another one, and you're sure to find more answers, and perhaps more questions as the universe unravels. That's what I love about sci-fi adventures set in the same universe, there's so much room to play!

xoxo

Sky

NEW RELEASE!

Being the only vampire-dragon hybrid is hard enough. Having my powers divided by my conflicted heart gets me to “It’s complicated”.

Available with Kindle Unlimited as of January 27th! Read Today: Buy Hybrid's Heart: A Forbidden Vampire Dragon Triad Romance

Check out Fated for the Dark Fae King in KU Buy Fated for the Dark Fae King

Standalone plot with spice adventures of fated mates, space vampires, knotting, and bonds that will last beyond the stars! All available in Kindle Unlimited!

https://books.steviemarie.com/jotab

https://books.steviemarie.com/heralienprince

https://books.steviemarie.com/heralieninsurgent

https://books.steviemarie.com/heralienexchange (Freesies with this newsletter, dig it out of your e-reader!)

https://books.steviemarie.com/heraliensavior

https://books.steviemarie.com/heralienwarrior

(Next book Her Alien Captor I want to work on for NaNoWriMo)

https://books.steviemarie.com/takingmedusa

https://books.steviemarie.com/breakingfate

It's available for 99 pennies on Amazon, or from my author store:

Amazon: https://books.steviemarie.com/tk

Author Store: https://payhip.com/b/XgOuk

Also available on Audible! https://www.audible.com/ac/TKManAteHer-Audiobook/B0D5GC1ZDK

Beyond Earth's Anthology will only be available until March, where you get to read my newest book Her Alien Starbreaker and for the same cost get 7 other spicy out of this world romances! Check it out at all the places here: https://books2read.com/besfa Or on Amazon here: https://www.amazon.com/product-reviews/B0DPTGXK9H/

Happy Reading and thank you for being part of my author journey!

~Sky