Doing a Bookstore Signing

Bookstore signings vary from place to place. Here is the experience I had at a local bookstore.

I checked their website to ensure they did do book signings. I wrote in to contact the person listed as in charge of the process. I explained my book and my background. She called me up and together we arranged for an afternoon for me to come in. She had me listed on the website and on their in-store bulletin board for a month up until that time.

I came in with a box of books, pens, and origami flowers. She had a table and two chairs ready for me at the center of the store. I sat at that table with my books, alert and ready for people to talk with!

I had let several of my friends know about the signing, and they stopped by during the afternoon to keep me company. The bookstore was very quiet on the day I was in, and nobody but my friends bought any books :) Still, it provided great, free publicity! Also, I left behind a few copies of the books, which the bookstore put on their shelves. It would have been very hard for me to get my books on those shelves otherwise!

From Terrie - Homeschooling Author
One important thing to know about book signings: Unless you bring in your own people or are famous, most people sell only one or two books at a signing. However, the reason you continue to have them is to build a relationship with the staff. If they like you, they give your book better placement and recommend it to others. Also, in the weeks leading up to the signing, they display your book with a poster. Often the book will sell really well during those weeks, even if no one comes to the signing.

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