What I Learned From My First Book Signings

For any writer thrilled to (finally) share their work, a book signing should be an exciting time. Puppy dogs and ice cream. I’ve done two signings so far, and it was exciting to prepare to share the experiences with friends, family, and supporters. It took much more work than anyone had ever told me to set them up, and that, of course, is time and focus that wasn’t devoted to other writing, work, or play. And as many of us know, all work and no play makes Jack a dull boy. (An homage to James Howell and, most famously, Stephen King.)

I learned a lot and met some great people through the book signing experience. (The people at Mysterious Galaxy Bookstore, by the way, are fantastic. Both locations: San Diego and Redondo Beach. I imagine it could have been much more difficult to work with bookstores that found “un-famous” authors to be a nuisance.) Here is what I learned:

  • Always be prepared with more books (in your car, if necessary). You never know.
  • If you’re getting a cardboard poster of your book cover made to display, plan a month ahead. At least.
  • These people, humbly speaking, are there to see you, but respect their time. Multiple sources told me I should speak for 30-60 minutes. Surely, an author should provide their “fans” (should that be what we call them?) insight into the process behind the book, interesting details, etc. While 30-60 minutes works for some authors, I spoke for what I hope was an engaging 10-15, and that worked out well for everyone, especially those with kids. It is, after all, their time as well. (You can see the video from my very first book signing HERE.)
  • People will gobble up your promotional materials. Have them available.
  • It’s up to US, as writers, to promote just about everything with our work. Mysterious Galaxy included me in their social media, which was great, but we have to be our own promotional machines. There’s a lot to learn and do.
  • Your besties might not show up at your signings, for whatever reason. All good.
  • You’ll never forget the people who showed up for you. I’m pretty sure I never will.
  • No matter how many books you sell, it’s not about the money. Not once did I do any dollar calculation of books sold. (Mysterious Galaxy handled all the transactional details anyway.) For me, that was never the motivation to start a 5-year-plus writing project.
  • Black Sharpies are awesome signing instruments.
  • And the number one thing I learned: The book signings were fun, but the writing is considerably more fulfilling and necessary. An unexpected discovery that’s probably quite healthy. It’s about the work first . . . THEN the promotion. This is the beginning of everything else in the process of exposing the work.
  • What have YOU learned?

Now, it’s time for me to get back to work and play. So I don’t lose my mind.

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