I went
to support an author’s book signing the other day. She’s a friend of my sister. I went to high school with her brother, Ben,
whom I haven’t seen in at least 25 years.
The event was typical in that only a handful of friends and relatives
showed up – and maybe a half-dozen random walk-ons. She may have sold a dozen books. It really wasn’t worth her time, when you
factor in she’s getting a royalty and not the full amount collected. Plus, she had to travel from Brooklyn to get
to the location in Manhattan and back.
She might have gotten a thrill out of it, but the presentation, Q&A,
and signing – as a matter of dollars and cents – didn’t pay off for her.
So what
went wrong?
First,
the event needs more promotion. You
can’t just show up and think a crowd will automatically materialize.
Second,
you need to list an upcoming event with local media and various websites so
people can discover you.
Third,
the event has to promise something more than just a full-priced book for
sale. There needs to be an incentive
offered. I suggest authors partner with
a business or an organization and they hand out something of perceived value
that benefits the sponsoring group and the author.
Fourth,
social media needs to be employed in a targeted way so that people can learn
about your event.
Finally,
authors need to build massive lists of connections and to record the emails of
everyone they’ve ever met. When the time
is right, let people know about your schedule of events via email.
Book
signings can and should be amazing.
People come to hear an author talk about what he or she wrote and to
provide an insightful look at how the book came to be and to define its
significance Authors have a rare chance
– with an appearance – to control the conversation and inspire others to read
their work. Many reviewers talk about
books and authors are interviewed by bloggers, but at a book signing the author
can take command and deliver a passionate and conviction-driven speech that
wins those in attendance over.
I remember
doing book signings 20 years ago to promote my first book The Florida
Homeowner, Condo & CoOp Association Handbook. They could be fun opportunities though I
remember being nervous before each one.
To meet your reading public is a little strange, writers don’t want to
really meet their fans. They like to see
book sales, reviews, and fan mail – but to meet fans is a strange scenario to
the writer who’s more at ease with writing rather than holding a two-way conversation. Writers like to describe, dictate, and
create; we don’t want to negotiate, which is what a conversation becomes.
On the
other hand, book signings are like mini-weddings. It’s your special day and you feel honored.
All eyes are on you. It’s your time to
be center stage and to shine.
So go
set up some speaking engagements – promote them and try to enjoy your day in
the sun. You might even sell more than a dozen books.
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Brian Feinblum’s views, opinions, and ideas expressed in this blog
are his alone and not that of his employer. You can follow him on Twitter
@theprexpert and email him at brianfeinblum@gmail.com. He feels more
important when discussed in the third-person. This is copyrighted by
BookMarketingBuzzBlog © 2015
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