Tips For a Successful Booksigning

You have your book. You hold it confidently in both hands, taking in the design of the cover and savoring the feel of each page as they slide between your fingers. When you think of all the hard working - the writing, the editing, and arduous search for a publisher - you know this moment is to be treasured. It goes without saying that the prospect of selling the book is both exciting and nerve-wracking.

Yet, if you wish for a publisher to take on another work of yours, you must prove that your current work has selling power. For the new author, this often means taking on the bulk of the marketing, promotion and selling. Booksignings are but one way to bring exposure to your work.

As an author and publisher, I have had to arrange booksignings not only for myself, but for other authors as well. Depending on where you live and whom you contact, arranging an event with a bookstore can be as simple as making a phone call, or it can be like pulling teeth. Some bookstore managers may be more willing than others to allow a new author to set up a booth and peddle signed copies, while others may adhere to strict policies that limit in-store events to larger names. However you go about scheduling a booksigning, you want to be certain that when the day arrives (and well before then, too) you are ready to smile, sell books, and sell yourself.

Here are just a few tips to consider when planning your book event:

1) Confirm early, confirm often! Nothing is more embarrassing than showing up to a book event to discover you have no books. Probably the only thing worse that can happen is arriving at the store to learn your event isn't even going to happen! Don't laugh, I've seen it happen to authors, and it has happened to me. When you schedule a signing event with a store, take the time to confirm the event with the store manager in the days and weeks before the event.

Don't book a day three months in advance and assume all will be well, and that a large table with a welcome banner bearing your name will await you as you enter the shop. If you are Stephen King, maybe. If you are Joe Smith, local poet, call ahead and confirm! I personally managed to spare myself the expense of driving twelve hours to my hometown one year for a signing by calling ahead a week before the event. The store where I had reserved my signing had fired their events coordinator, and along with that canceled all events. Good thing I called, because nobody called me to let me know!

Make your plans, then make sure everybody is included in on them. Make sure the store is able to order your book, especially if you are published with a small or POD house. As a rule, you should nonetheless bring spare books with you in the event any store cannot order them.

2) Broadcast, broadcast, broadcast! When you have a date set, make sure everybody knows about it. Don't depend on the bookstore to heavily promote your event. Most times a store may include notice of signings in newsletters or bulletin board announcements, so you need to take the initiative to let people know about your event. Once I attended a bookstore signing in Maryland and learned the most the shop had done to promote the event was to tape a sheet of paper on their front door, on the day of the event! There had been no advanced promotion, so nobody knew to come.

Call friends and family, post announcements to your website, blog, MySpace, on Craigslist...anywhere of local or regional interest. If your book is relevant to topics that might attract certain groups (say, a book about religion or environment), contact corresponding local groups in the area and let them know. If you write Christian works, call area churches and get the announcement in bulletins. If you write about bird-watching, contact the local chapter of the Audubon Society. Do what you can to bring in warm bodies. Those who don't buy your book may boost the store's business, and the manager may be apt to bring you back another time.

3) Create a standout base of operations! You have to compete with an entire bookstore for attention, so you want to be certain your table is eye-catching an attractive. Showcase your book, of course, but it's always a good idea to have a poster of your cover on hand, something that can be seen from a distance. Depending on the theme of your book, some props will make for nice icebreakers with potential customers. When signing one of my Catholic mysteries, I used to decorate my table with religious icons and rosaries I made myself. Granted, I gave away more rosaries than sold books, but even doing something like that can make an impression.

More than likely you will be at the mercy of the store with regards to where you are placed - once I was shoved with a group of authors to the far back of the store, while people milled out in front and never came our way. If this happens, recruit a spouse, relative or friend to direct traffic. When allowed, have somebody up front distribute flyers or postcards to let people know your are there. If you cannot leave your table, make sure you have help to mill the store and promote you without being too pushy.

4) Offer promotional incentives! People love free things. Why else do you see people at trade shows giving away keychains and candies and knickknacks? People may not make purchases immediately, but when they need an exterminator they may get a number from a refrigerator magnet!

You don't have to go broke buying promo gifties, but it is a good idea to have some things on hand to give to passersby. Make postcards with your book cover, URL, and book information. Give away candy, engraved matchbooks, keychains, mini-calendars. Create a gift basket filled with goodies relating to your book and collect names and e-mail addresses for a drawing. It draws attention to your table, AND you have a means to create an opt-in mailing list for future readers.

5) Be engaging! I can't tell you how many times I have seen authors slumped at table, twiddling with their pens and looking bored. That's no way to sell books. Granted, I've attended functions where people will blatantly crab-walk around your table to avoid confrontation, as though authors are carnival barkers trying to lure them into a scam. Truth be told, we're not all like that, and oftentimes we are grateful for a smile and a hello.

Regardless of the event atmosphere, be engaging and friendly. Make eye contact as often as possible with passersby, and give the impression that this is not a hard sell. Break the ice with a word or two about your book, bring along a notebook and let people know you're writing the sequel write there. Stand up and walk around the booth, ask people if they are interested in the book's topic. Don't be pushy, but do hand out cards when you can. Somebody who may not buy now may do so later, so give them a reminder in a business card or postcard.

6) Always smile...even when you don't want to (and you won't want to)! Ultimately, somebody is going to say something rude, whether intentionally or not. In my tenure as author and publisher I have had to deal with sniggering teenagers, uptight dowagers, and just plain jerks. Whether the ill will is borne of jealousy (I wrote a book and they didn't or couldn't) or ignorance (I haven't been on Oprah so my book must stink) I can't say. But, whatever flies in your face, combat it with a smile.

The saying is true: you attract more flies with sugar than salt. To let down your guard when you are rubbed the wrong way can have some disastrous effects on your promotional efforts. For one, you're in public, so people will see your hands wrapped around the customer's throat. That's a good way to be banned for life from any bookstore. It's not happened to me, thankfully, as I usually keep a good amount of candy at the table to ease the pain.

When people smile, smile back. When people scowl, smile back. When people ask why you haven't been on Oprah, smile back and say you turned her down. That might get a double-take and a chink through their defenses, whereby you can follow up with why you're book is so damn great.

Above all us, have fun at your event. Whether you sell one book or a hundred, that you are able to schedule a booksigning when so many other authors are still trying to get published is a grand feat. Enjoy the moment, and get ready for the next one.

About The Author-- Kathryn Lively offers book marketing tips to authors, and writes for CINIVA, Virginia Beach website design.

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