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Book Signings 101
by Lorraine C. Enos

So the big day has arrived and a box of books all bearing your name on the front cover has arrived at your doorstep, now what?  If you’re like millions of authors before you, one tool in your promotional arsenal will be a book signing. Book signings are a way for you to meet your old fans, get your name and face in front of new fans, and maybe even sell a few books.

“Even if I don't sell a lot of books, people still see me or take a business card,” said Tim Miller, author of Without a Trace.  “I use what I call the ‘rock band’ theory for doing signings.  The most successful bands I've heard of would tour and tour and tour during their up and coming days. I've learned through my experience that’s the best way to build a following.”

Like all good things, book signings don’t just happen:  they require planning, a little bit of luck, and some hard work. Here’s a road map to help you plan your first—or your one hundredth—book signing.

Pick Your Targets

Unfortunately if you’re the average author, bookstores aren’t going to be crawling out of the woodwork begging you to hold a book signing at their store.  You’ll have to make first contact and convince stores— and not just bookstores—that cater to your target audience to host book signings or “author events,” as some authors like to call them.

If you haven’t already done so, now is the time to make a list of all the groups that your book might appeal to.  Once you’ve got that list in hand, sit down with your phone book, or log on to Switchboard.com, and make a list of all the bookstores in your local area (vaguely defined as how far you are willing to travel for an author event).  One of the easiest ways to make this list is to just cut and paste the information from Switchboard.com into a word processing document.

When targeting bookstores it’s important to pay attention to what their specialty is.  For instance, if you asked a children’s bookstore to host a signing for your romance novel, you’d be wasting their time and yours and you’ll look like you didn’t care enough to do your research ahead of time.  The truth of the matter is that authors published by independent publishing houses often find it difficult to interest large or even small bookstores in hosting signings.

“One thing that has really surprised me is the fact that, in my own personal experience, I have found the  independent bookstores the most reluctant to schedule signings,” said Kristie Leigh Maguire, author of Emails from the Edge.  “I would have thought since they were independent bookstores and I am an independent author, they would have been more receptive than the chain bookstores.”

Think Outside the Bookstore

Bookstores aren’t the only places that host book signings. Authors I know have had successful book signings in coffee shops, dress shops, and other interesting venues.

“I've had minimal luck with bookstores,” Miller said.  “The coffee shops, on the other hand, are always looking for different events to draw customers into the store.  If someone buys a book and sits down to read, they'll probably buy a couple cups of coffee.”  However, Miller did warn authors tempted to try signings in coffee shops that he’s become “addicted” to iced mochas since he started on the coffee shop circuit.

Get creative and write down every type of store, restaurant, or other retail outlet that you think might be interested in hosting a “Meet the Author” event.  Some possible tie-ins:

The list is endless and depending upon your type of book, I’m sure that you’ll be able to identify several potential tie-ins.  Once you’ve got your list completed, go back to your phone book, or Switchboard.com, and compile a list of other local stores that might be interested in helping you. You should also expand your list to include restaurants and cafes.

Miller has not only convinced a number of coffee shops to host book signings, several of them now carry his book on consignment.  “Mine is the only book for sale there,” Miller said.  “Can't beat that.”

Making Contact

Once you’ve made your list, and checked it twice, it’s time to make first contact.  Some authors prefer to make cold calls and just call up each retail outlet, ask to speak to the manager, and then pitch them their book.  Others, especially those who aren’t home during the day when most managers are working, prefer calling and asking for the name of a contact person and then following up with a letter and a brochure about their book.  Even if you are a cold caller, you should still offer to send them information about your book.

Whichever method of contact you choose, it’s important to master the art of the follow-up and call your contact one week to 10 days after you first contacted them.  During the follow-up call, you should introduce yourself, ask if they received your information, and ask if they have any questions.  After you’re done answering whatever questions they may have, ask them if you can schedule a date and time for your book signing or if you should call back.  Whatever answer they give, thank them politely for their time and get off the phone.  This is not the time to practice your worst used car salesman techniques, because store managers have friends and they’ll remember whether or not you were overly pushy.  And you can bet if you were pushy, they won’t recommend you—or your book—to their friends.

Regardless of what their answer is, you should follow-up your phone call with a polite note thanking them for their time.  If you send these on postcards or note cards bearing the cover of your book, so much the better.  Be sure to include your phone number and contact information again to make it easier for them to get in touch with you.

When they say yes

After you’re done jumping up and down for joy (please do this silently so they don’t think you are a raving lunatic), it’s time to iron out some details.  Important questions to ask include:

Who will supply the books? 

Chances are that if your signing is not being held in a bookstore, you’ll need to supply the books.  However, even if your event is being hosted by bookstore, you and the bookstore owner may decide that you’ll supply the books because of timing issues or financial issues.

Maguire advised that even if the bookstore is going to be supplying the books to check with them at least one or two weeks before the signing to make sure they have received their book order.  She added, “It is always a good idea to have a supply of books on hand just in case the store’s order did not come in.”

How many books to bring? 

When you’re supplying the books, you’ll need to figure out how many to bring by asking your contact how many books he or she thinks you’ll sell. Whatever number they give you, add a few extra just for safety stock.

How much of a cut will the shop take? 

If you’re supplying the books, it’s important to ask how much of a cut the shop will take.  The best way to ask this question is “What percentage will you need for hosting my signing?”  Broaching the question first allows you to look like a professional and not a starving artist in search of a hand out.  Some shops won’t take a cut at all and others will take up to 20%.  Before committing to a signing where you’re purchasing the books and the store is taking a cut, make sure that you’ re going to at least break even.

Who will actually make the sale? 

Depending on the venue of your book signing, it may be easier for you to actually sell the books yourself.  However, some store owners want all transactions run through their register.

How big of a space? 

It is very important to know how much space you’ll have available so that you’ll know how many copies of your book to bring and how many extras—such as posters, flyers, etc.—to bring.

What’s the format of the signing? 

Some venues will want you to give a presentation on either the subject of your book or on getting published.  In some instances, you may even be asked to participate in a panel discussion with other authors.  Although panel discussions and presentations can be fun, I’d caution you about volunteering to do panel discussions or lectures on writing or publishing because in many instances your audience will consist of other writers who want to find out how you got published and not potential buyers.

What kind of promotional tools will the store be doing?

Maguire suggested encouraging the store to “send out press releases, flyers to their mailing list, and to put up signs around the store about your event.”  She added, “If the bookstore is not going to do any promotions for you, then I don’t think it is worth scheduling the signing. There is only so much that the actual author can do to promote the event – especially if it is in a distant locale.”

“Make sure everything is coordinated with the representative of the bookstore where you will be signing,” Maguire stressed.  “Get to know this person as much as you can ahead of the signing by correspondence, emails or phone calls – or if you can, in person.”

Make the News

About three weeks before the big event, take the time to write a killer press release detailing your author event. Remember that the sole purpose of a press release is to interest journalists in writing about your event.  Typically journalists have seen hundreds of similar releases, so it is important to have some hook that interests them and makes them want to write about your event.  Although a listing in the coming events section of your local paper is nice, a feature article about you and your book is even better.

Once you’ve written an exceptional press release and proofed it, start surfing the Net and reading your local papers looking for contacts.  It’s usually better to send a press release to a specific individual than to the all purpose editorial box.  Once you’ve made your list, make sure to stash it in a safe place on your hard drive so you’ll have it the next time you do an author event.

About 10 days before your author event, email or fax your release to news outlets.  You want to give them enough time to prepare a story, but not too much time or it might get lost or appear too early.   Follow up several days before the event to make sure they received the release and to ask if they need any additional information.

Miller said doing interviews with the local newspaper before a signing had been a good source of publicity for his author events.  He also suggested providing full color flyers to the stores to hand out in advance of the event.

When stories about you appear in the paper, make sure to cut them out so you can use them in your press kit.

Set the Stage

Plan to arrive at the “Event Venue” at least half an hour ahead of your scheduled event to give yourself time to get familiar with the layout of the store and do any last many preparations.

“Arrive at the store well in advance so the store representative won’t be panicking thinking you aren’t going to show,” Maguire said.  “By arriving in advance, you will also have time to check to see what the store has done to get you set up for the signing. If things need to be changed around a bit, you will have time to do so before time for your signing.”

Many authors set up displays related to their book.  For instance, my novel Whisper Alley is set in Japan and I could set up a display of origami cranes to draw interest.

Maguire suggested making up freebies, such as bookmarks or business cards, to give away during signings.  “It is a nice touch to have one special gift to give away some time during your book signing – perhaps give out tickets for the attendees to hang on to for the drawing,” Maguire said. Special prizes could include gift certificates or gift baskets themed to your book.  However, it is NEVER a good idea to give away copies of your book because then some people won’t buy copies but will just hope to win one.  You can also use the contest, or a simple sign-up sheet, as a way to collect names and email addresses of people interested in your book.

More than Signing Your Name

A book signing is about more than selling your books and signing your name:  it’s about meeting people and convincing them that you are a nice person and that they’d like to read what you’ve written.  However, it is important to remember to be nice to everyone and not just people who are buying your books because even those that don’t buy might tell people about the nice—or obnoxious—author they met.

“I am not going to go chasing down every person who walks in the door of the bookstore,” Maguire said.  “However, I will try to get the attention, politely I might add, of people passing by my table. Make eye contact, smile at them and be approachable. Some people have a tendency to think of authors as celebrities and therefore, unapproachable.”

I’ll never forget a book signing I attended once where the author came across as a used car salesman out to sell books no matter what.  He was one of the most obnoxious people I had ever met and even though I was vaguely interested in reading his book, I decided I would never buy it just because he was such a jerk.

Other big “Dos” for author events, according to Maguire, are dressing professionally and being friendly to both customers and employees.  “The employees can make or break you,” she said.

Aftermath

When you’ve signed your last book of the day and packed your promotional material away in your car, make sure to say thank you to the shop proprietor and any employees that helped you set up.  Being courteous goes a long way and will make them want to ask you back for another signing.

As soon as you get home, take some time to write a thank you to the store manager for hosting your author event.  Even though you said thank you when you left, a written note means a lot and will put your name back in front of that store manager.

Maguire also suggested remembering the representative who sponsored the signing for you with a “special something.” Maguire said, ”It doesn’t have to be a ‘big something’; it is the thought that counts.”

When you’ve come down from the rush of being a celebrity for a day, sit down with paper and pencil and make a list of all the things that went right and all the things that went wrong with your author event.  And then get ready to plan the next one.

Side Bar: Do’s and Don’ts for Group Signings

1. Do be Friendly to Other Authors—Authors are all in this insane world of writing and publishing together so take the time to get to know your tablemates.  As an added bonus, if you look like you’re having a good time and enjoying yourself, browsers might want to come over and meet these cheerful happy authors.

2. Do Decide on a Moneychanger—Will you all collect money for your own books or will there be one central cash box? Most signings I’ve done, authors have run their own cash boxes and that has eliminated a lot of problems with divvying up the cash afterwards.

3. Don’t Make it a Family Reunion—Do yourself and your fellow authors a favor and leave your family at home.  A book signing is sales event and not a time to entertain your family.  I recently went to a book signing where an author brought his wife, his daughter, and his daughter’s friend and they all hung out behind the table, crowding the other author’s at our table and our tent mates.

4. Don’t Steal Sales—When readers are talking to other authors or thumbing through one of your tablemates books, leave them alone.  Let me repeat, leave them alone.  I’ve seen authors so eager to make a sale that they’ll shove flyers into readers faces, on top of other author’s books or interrupted conversations to pitch their own book.  There is no other word for this behavior but rude.

5. Don’t Chase Browsers Away—Two sure ways to chase away browsers are to shove flyers in their faces when they are not even vaguely interested in what you have to say and to try to guilt them into looking at your book.  You don’t like pushy salespeople so don’t be one.

6. Don’t be a Space Hog—Take some time before the event to decide how space will be allocated.  Will authors with more books get more space?  Or will everyone share the space equally?  I once did a group signings where 5 authors were sharing a table and two authors (with several books apiece) took up half the table.  They had all of their books laid out, table displays, and other goodies.  The worst part is that we had all split the fee for the table equally and three of us ended up getting short changed.

Copyright 2002 Lorraine Enos. All Rights Reserved.

Lorraine Enos is an award-winning screenwriter and a best-selling e-book author. Her philosophy is that a good writer can write about anything. She's written about e-commerce, local events, pets, and a host of other subjects. Despite her initial hesitations about an accounting degree, she put it to good use in applying analytical methods to self-help in The Portable Coach:  A Do-It-Yourself Approach to Personal Coaching (PageFree Publishing, 2002). Her current work in progress, Whisper Alley, is based on events experienced during her three years at Kadena Air Base, Okinawa, Japan.   Visit Ms. Enos at http://lenos66.com