Book Signings? Love ’em? Hate ’em?

/ Marcia Meara

I’m planning to do my first book signing at a library in a little town south of Orlando, in January. I have no idea what to expect, but I wanted to get some experience with the idea, and thought it would be a good place to start. (Plus they invited me! 😀 ) Have any of you done signings? Can you share any of your experiences with us? I know Evelyn Cullet & Ned Hickson have, so I hope they’ll pop in here, but how about the rest of you? And if you haven’t done any yourself, have you gone to any for other authors you’d like to tell us about? Caitlin? Anyone? (Caitlin, I’d love to share your photo with Ilona Andrews, if you wouldn’t mind.)

14 thoughts on “Book Signings? Love ’em? Hate ’em?”

    • Thanks, April. I love going to them, too…all ONE of the ones I’ve attended. *grin* I went to see Kim Harrison and Jeaniene Frost a year or so ago, and it was great. This will be the first time I’ll have my own table at one, though, and it suddenly looks very different. 😯 But it should be a good learning experience.

      Belinda responded to the reblog of this post on Bookin’ It saying: “Hi Marcia! I love book signings. For me, they are allot of fun. I always try to make my table interesting and ask questions of my patrons. Sometimes, I have a drawing for another, earlier book. And, I always have marketing materials…bookmarks, postcards. I guess it’s whatever you make it!”

      I think she has a good approach to it, and I’m taking notes! 🙂

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    • Hi, Mishka! I think you could be right. I’m actually looking forward to it, though I’m a bit nervous, too. And I don’t have a lot of promotional material, though maybe I’ll work on that. I have some gorgeous bookmarks with WRR on one side and Swamp Ghosts on the other, but by January, I will have Rabbit’s story out, and Hunter on the way, so I’ll have to find a way to include those, or make a second set. I need business cards, too. Belinda mentions postcards. That could be fun. And I can think of ways to decorate my table that people might like, too. We’ll see how it goes, and I will definitely post back here.

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  4. I tend to stear clear of both attending and holding book signings, but that’s my extreme introvert nature at work. When I signed on with a publisher for one of my books, I was up front with them about it from the start — “I’m a hermit,” I explained. “And I don’t speak in public.” They didn’t push me, so I was curious to see the comparison between my paperback and the paperback of a friend, whose slightly larger publisher sent her on an 8 month book tour. She *did* sell about three times as many books as I did during that period, but I managed to write another couple of books while she came home exhausted and with health problems. Of course, there are intangible benefits to the book signing — you can really solidify your fanbase by speaking in person, especially if you’re a charasmatic person. But, if, like me, you write *because* you hate talking to people in real life, my data suggests you can get just as much (if not more) bang for your buck with virtual engagements.

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    • I can definitely see why you don’t do them, Anna, and I don’t think of them as making or breaking an author, by any means. There’s more than one way to get where you want to go.

      I can be very comfortable in some situations, and very nervous in others. But when I’m comfortable, I’m pretty good at talking to people. (Mark says I never meet a stranger.) I taught painting classes for years, and mine were always booked way ahead, partly because I think I made them fun, so I have experience in chit chat and making people laugh. So I think I’m covered on that part.

      Talking about my own books is harder, but once I get started with someone who’s responding well, I’m okay with that, too. I have taken to handing out my bookmarks everywhere I go, and that has resulted in some fun conversations. I gave some to the gal who owns a local nursery last week, and she was so interested in both books that she said she wanted to buy print copies of each, and asked me to bring them to her. I came back the next day with WRR, and am waiting on a new order of SG to take her. Judging from what she normally reads, I think I might have a new reader, unless she doesn’t like my writing.

      And I have no interest at all in going on a tour. Nuh-uh. But it might be fun to (voluntarily) get a table at some more (one-day) signings, or even at some of our local Saturday markets, and sign books or give out stuff. But as you say, I would never want to give up a chunk of time that I could spend writing, and I have no desire to travel to do any of these things.

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  5. I enjoy book signings and have done quite a few. Actual bookstores like B&N are the easiest because they provide the books. But I’ve also done fairs and libraries where I bring all my own stuff. Those are fun if there are a lot of authors. Then, even if you don’t sell many books, you make new contacts with others in the field. To me, signings are much easier than events where you might have to speak at length. I’d rather just stand there and smile at potential customers. 🙂

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  6. Ha! I agree with that last bit. I’m sure I can do that, but no, I wouldn’t enjoy giving an actual talk, very much. Maybe a Q&A, but not something more defined than that. Thanks for sharing your thoughts, Marcia. I do like the idea of making contacts with others in the field. That’s a huge part of getting your name out there, I suspect, plus I just enjoy talking to writers. I find most of them endlessly fascinating, and I love learning how they approach the craft. (Which is why I enjoy my Wednesday author interviews, and hope I hear from a few more writers, soon, because I’m beginning to see empty Wednesdays coming up. Think I’ll post about that here, or on Bookin’ It soon. Time to send out a call.)

    So good to see you here today, and please let me know if you are ready for an Intro post, or have any news you’d like to share with us, so we can then share with our individual followers.

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