The Importance of a Book Signing
Some people will tell you that book signings are old-fashioned, a thing slowly creeping into the world of publishing past. As both a reader and an event coordinator, I have strongly say that it is not.
As an event coordinator, I’ll tell you that yes, they can be slow. People don’t stop as often as they maybe used to. If it’s an author they are unfamiliar with they have a tendency to be stand offish, uncaring, or nervous. Fix this by offering candy or baked goods, or even a few free books, and you’ve sealed the deal. Like a sales person, all you have to do is get them up to the table. Your merchandise, a friendly face, and their sheer curiosity will do the rest. As an event coordinator I will tell you that you shouldn’t worry if not very many people buy your book that day, that’s not entirely the point of a book signing. The point of a book signing is to get your face, your name, your book titles and book covers lodged in their brain, constantly tickling the edges of their frontal lobes. Every time they see your work, for years to come, they will say in their head: I met him/her, I should buy this. In this day of e-books, many wont buy from you in a brick and mortar store, but will rush home and purchase a kindle edition.
As a reader with severe extrovert tendencies, I will tell you that it is incredibly exciting. Meeting an author, whether you love everything they’ve ever done, or just barely opened the first page of a book, or have never heard of them – to me – is so very exciting. I want to hear their voice and the way they talk, let their real voice intertwine a bit with the inner one I’ve imagined in my head. I want to know a few factoids, a few mannerisms, put their work in a greater perspective. Yesterday, when I met Karleen Koen for the first time, I just wanted to bask in her author-ness, in her bookishness. Of course, I ended up chattering hopelessly because that’s what I do, but my oh my how awesome it was to hang out and listen. It made me want to get home afterward as quickly as possible and finish reading the book that I had meant to finish before the signing. It made me want to buy the other books she has written, and all I can think about this morning is that there is a signed copy of Now Face to Face in hardback sitting on the shelf at the store… and how it needs to be mine.
My goal is to bring more book signings to Half Price Books Humble and one day maybe be as event filled as Murder By the Book in Houston. Book signings are not dead and they should never be dead. If you are an author interested in setting up a book signing, email me at andiklemm@rocketmail.com.
Anakalian Whims 
authorssmith said,
September 21, 2012 at 3:29 pm
I still hope to swing by someday. 🙂
Anakalian Whims said,
September 21, 2012 at 3:34 pm
I would LOVE that!
The Edge? | SueAnn Porter said,
October 14, 2012 at 4:07 pm
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