This Saturday, I found myself in Abu Dhabi again! Not for monster trucks this time, but to attend the book fair at the Abu Dhabi National Exhibition Centre (Adnec).

I was there to promote my book, Distracted Housewife in Dubai, and potentially sign a few copies – but I knew from the moment the publisher asked me to attend that it would be a hard sell.

Selling books is like trying to convince a cat to take swimming lessons—tricky, to say the least! It’s a real adventure that can leave you feeling like you’re lost in a labyrinth of words.

First of all, you have to contend with the literary jungle out there. It’s a wild and untamed landscape, filled with countless books vying for attention like a pack of hungry lions. You may have penned the next great masterpiece, but it’s like being a needle in a haystack, or rather, a book in a library.

And let’s not forget about the changing reading habits of today’s generation. Trying to sell books to people who can barely make it through a text message is like trying to sell broccoli to a kid who only wants candy. They’re more interested in swiping through memes and binge-watching TV shows than turning the pages of a good old-fashioned book.

There’s more! In the age of social media, everyone’s a critic. Selling books means putting your precious creation out there for the world to judge, like walking into a lion’s den armed only with a feather duster. Negative reviews can sting like a swarm of bees, and even positive ones can be as elusive as a unicorn sighting.

But wait! It was a book fair, I hear you say .. surely everyone was there because they love books? And, if that was the case, someone must have been persuaded to part with 40aed (it was discounted!) to purchase a copy? Well, a slight problem was the attendees were mainly Arabic-speaking, and my book is in English – not everyone wanted to read in English, which I completely understood. But I had lots of nice conversations with all sorts of people and it honestly was a great and exhilarating experience just to be there.

And though selling is not my forte at all (giving copies away would have been my preference and a lot easier for me!), I actually managed to make two sales to two lovely customers. Here’s a pic of me with one of them!