Adventures at Book Signings
Terry Odell
First, forgive my absence here at TKZ. We were away for a week, and I was off the grid, and coming back to “real life” is a slow process.
I’m an indie author. The vast majority of my book sales are ebooks. But every now and then, I have the opportunity to get out among real life people who like to read print books. They refer to them as “real” books, but I’m not going to get into my feelings about that here.
Most of my signings are either at conferences or at library author events. As an indie author, I have to supply the books, usually sold on consignment if it’s a conference, or I handle the sales at libraries.
I’m not a big name. Occasionally, I get seated to a Big Name Author, and spend most of the time chatting with their long lines of people wanting their books. Craig Johnson, Julia Quinn, and Brenda Novak come to mind.
Once, back in the day, when I was with a small publisher, they sent the books to the conference. Twenty of them! I’m not a big name, and if I sell five, it’s a good day. I asked the organizers why they ordered so many, and they said, “Oh, you can just return the unsold ones.” What they didn’t know was that the publisher charged for returns, and I was out a bunch of bucks because I wasn’t going to ship them back to me, and they wouldn’t fit in my luggage.
But, last weekend was different. Our neighborhood/development/community has an annual Holiday Bazaar, and I have participated for the last three years. I set up a table with my books on display, and try to remember I’m supposed to be outgoing and personable. I ‘bribe’ people to my table with a bowl of chocolate, my lip balm, and post-it notes.
It’s an interesting event. Vendors sell jewelry, baked goods, photographs, and lots of other handmade craft items. I’m the only one selling books. Unlike a writer’s conference or library event, people aren’t coming predisposed to buy books.
I had one woman approach my table and ask if I’d read all the books I had on display. I smiled and told her I’d written them. She leaned forward and said, “I’m 73 years old, and I’ve never read a book. I don’t know how I graduated from high school.” I told her she had the opportunity to make one of my books her first, and she actually bought one.
Another woman approached with an image of the books she’d bought last year. She’d given them to her 99 year-old mother who loved them, so she bought some more.
I had one woman tell me she wrote a novel during the pandemic but didn’t know what to do with it, and could she pay me to help her get it published. Ummm… not sure I can be much help. I’ll wait to see if she contacts me.
**Note to self: Rookie mistake. Next time make a sign that says “Meet the Author.” Too many people looked at the books on display and it took them a while to realize they were all written by the same person, at which point they asked if I was Terry. (Except for the one guy who asked if I was Dan’s wife—he’s much more outgoing and involved in the neighborhood, and people know him. Me, I’m an introverted writer who likes sitting in my office with my characters, so I’m not known to many people, nor do I know many of them.)
Another mistake. I forgot to bring my business cards. Thought they were in my purse, but after all the switches because of our travel, they weren’t. Fortunately, my lip balm and my post-it notes have my contact information and website on them.
Since almost everyone who comes to the bazaar lives in the ’hood, they know each other, so a lot of their “shopping” time is spent chit-chatting and catching up. The noise level in the small building/room gets high. It’s as much a social event as a sales event.
I had people come up to my table who told me they were so glad I’d come back—but they didn’t buy. Others marveled at my output. Most of them didn’t buy, either. But I did make enough sales to make it a respectably profitable day.
This year was the first time we could take credit card payments. (The building now has wifi). Technology! I have a Square card reader, but it’s old, and I haven’t used it in a couple of years. Turns out my new phone has a different plug in thing (I don’t speak tech), but I have an older iPad mini that uses the same connection, so I figured I’d be able to keep up with the times. However, I thought I’d try to be more up to date, so I ordered one of the new gizmos that could take chips and tap to pay. It was supposed to be delivered the day before the bazaar, but of course, it was delayed, so I was back to using my iPad mini.
Once at the venue, the woman at the table next to me told me if I had the Square app on my newer iPhone, it would take charges without needing a gizmo, and she walked me through using it. When my gizmo finally shows up, it’s going back to the store.
Something else that I think helped sales. Most of the people who came to buy were used to paying with cash, so although I’d bumped up my prices a little to cover fees, I told them I’d discount cash sales. People love a bargain.
- To recap. My takeaways:
- Make it obvious you’re the author.
- Have swag to attract people to your table.
- If you’re indie and can set your own pricing, make things look good. I had a ‘bundle’ price, and a lot of people bought three books when they saw they were getting a bargain.
- Stand, don’t sit all day. Initiate conversation. It’s hard for me, but got easier as the day went on. One lead-in that worked for me (and killed more than one bird), was to ask if I could answer any questions about my books.
- If you have more than a couple of books on display, get ready to talk about which one(s) you’d recommend. When people ask which is my favorite book, I ask if they have children, and if they say ‘yes’ I ask which is their favorite. I try to find out what their interests are, or point out things about my books–especially the ones based on my travel–that might engage them.
- Think of it more as introducing yourself and making contacts, not sales.
Anything you have to add?
New! Find me at Substack with Writings and Wanderings
Deadly Ambitions
Peace in Mapleton doesn’t last. Police Chief Gordon Hepler is already juggling a bitter ex-mayoral candidate who refuses to accept election results and a new council member determined to cut police department’s funding.
Meanwhile, Angie’s long-delayed diner remodel uncovers an old journal, sparking her curiosity about the girl who wrote it. But as she digs for answers, is she uncovering more than she bargained for?
Now, Gordon must untangle political maneuvering, personal grudges, and hidden agendas before danger closes in on the people he loves most.
Deadly Ambitions delivers small-town intrigue, political tension, and page-turning suspense rooted in both history and today’s ambitions.
Terry Odell is an award-winning author of Mystery and Romantic Suspense, although she prefers to think of them all as “Mysteries with Relationships.”
I love book signings in my hometown…well, actually I like booksignings period because it gives me a chance to connect with readers. I usually get a friend to bake tea cakes and offer them. When customers ask if I baked them, I say no, but I wrote the books. Most of them always seem surprised even though there’s a banner above my head that says “Meet the Author.”
Sounds like a good idea. In this case, I didn’t want to compete with the people selling baked goods. Maybe that “Meet the Author” sign won’t be as effective as I thought.
Good tips, Terry! I still have a couple of tubes of your lip gloss. They’re memorable marketing.
Do you ever display any of your gorgeous photos of your book locations? Those would catch my eye.
In the last couple of years, I’ve had good success offering bookmarks that show my book covers. Bookmarks are colorful and have the same contact info and sales links as a business card but people feel like they’re getting a gift. They’re apt to toss a business card but are more likely to keep a useful bookmark.
Another attention-grabber are published magazine articles about my books and/or me. I display those in clear plastic covers. People may seem reluctant to pick up a book but they’ll pick up the articles and start asking questions. Being featured in glossy magazines gives credibility to my books and to me as an author.
As you say, buyers love bargains. I offer a deal: buy two or more books and receive a free novella. Originally I’d only planned to publish the novella in ebook but turns out the bonus of a free print novella has sold a healthy number of full-length books.
Good suggestions, Debbie. I would need a lot more space (or display fewer books!) to include my photos, but I have used a few as book covers, and I’ve talked about that. It’s striking up conversations that’s always the hardest for me.
The only magazine article that included me showed up VERY early in my writing gig, and I don’t think I even have a copy anymore.
I’ve given away copies of “Seeing Red”, my Florida based short story collection at conferences, but I should consider having those on hand at signings as well.
The last public event I did was a book festival on the grounds of a library. Everyone came predisposed to buy books. I shared the canopy with 2 writers from the Sisters in Crime Austin chapter, so we had a big sign that told people we were selling crime fiction books. I’m an introvert, but I love to talk books and these folks were book lovers. I had tootsie pops on the table, a wall hanging of a black cat that said “I read books because murder is wrong.” That alone got people laughing and talking. All my books were author copies received from the publisher through my contract so I could set the price and every dollar was mine. I had numerous large print copies so I sold them for $10 a piece or $17 for two (y’all probably know these cost as much as $30 on-line). Folks do love a bargain. They flew off the table. I also bought a new Square and my husband coached me on how to use, it but 95 percent of the sales were cash. I had the best time chatting with these book lovers. When I told them all my romantic suspense are set in San Antonio, they were all the more interested (the library was in a town about 30 miles north of SA). One of the other writers also came fully prepared with swag, candy, and table art to draw in shoppers and thoroughly engaged with them. Her books sold well. The third writer, who came late, had a few copies of her books, she had sheets on racks that featured her book blurbs, and that was it. She sold a few books and left early. Bottom line, presentation is super important, the willingness to put yourself out there is critical, and even if you don’t sell a ton of books, (which I did), it can be fun. And you’re getting your name and your books in front of people. Attitude can keep it from being as painful as back surgery.
Events where people are predisposed to buy books are the best. Having free copies to sell is fantastic. Sounds like a wonderful event. Thanks for sharing, Kelly.
A great tip from Liz Curtis HIggs, who always sells out physical books when she speaks: price every book at $10. It makes things simple, no need to make change except with with other tens. I’ve tried it, and it works.
You still have the best lip balm. Use it all the time.
I agree, JSB. I’ve always sold my books for $10 each, with discounts for multiple book purchases. This is the first time the building had wifi, so vendors could accept credit, and because of the cut Square takes, I upped the price a bit for cards, but it was still cheaper than if they bought them from the Zon. Plus they got autographs. I had 4 people prefer to charge; everyone else paid cash.
Here in the Colorado Rockies, lip balm is a must.
Great tips, Terry. Standing is especially important.
I endeavor to make eye contact, smile and be authentic and focused on the person in front of me. Like you said, it’s about making connections with potential readers. Thanking them for stopping by is important, too.
Oh, yes, Dale. The all-important thank-you. Good reminder.
“Not a real book” is an insult for the type of book, the media of the book, the audience of the book, the publisher or lack of publisher of the book, the gender of the author, etc., etc. People get off on insulting books and their authors.
Next time someone says “real book” when it’s not paper say, “It’s the same book, just not on paper.
My reply is usually along the lines of “the words are the same; it’s just a different way of delivering them.”
At a book fair I attended, some of the authors had QR codes displayed on their table which led to their website or sales sites for their ebooks. That’s a fast connection for people with their smart phones. A number of sites online will create one for free for you to use.
My business cards have QR codes for my website and my FB author page. Of course, in the aftermath of travel and trying to get everything ready, I somehow missed transferring my cards to my everyday purse. But having the codes printed on heavy paper stock or in one of my plastic display holder things (I don’t know what they are actually called, but I think I got them either as a Amazon Vine Voice person or for a low low price if I had to buy them) would be something for next time. Thanks.
I like the table display you set up, Terry. The banner in front of the table looks great, and the “Books Make Great Gifts” sign with the prices is a nice draw for buyers. (With all the books you’ve written, I think you’re going to need a bigger table next year!)
I enjoy those kinds of events as an author because it’s a chance to meet readers and get to know them. I don’t think I have any tips to add to the ones you and the others have noted, but I wish you would send me one of your famous lip balms. 🙂
Thanks! email me your address, Kay, and I think we can work something out. I got that banner on a whim (and on sale) thinking if I used it twice, it would be worth it. I think I’m up to four times. I don’t get out much.
Great tips, Terry!
I just took part in a craft bazaar in my hometown, which also featured 4-5 other local authors. It was a blast. I sold 9 books, which I call a win. Especially since I made some new friends and got to visit with old friends.
For me, it’s really hard to put myself out there. Sometimes I wish I could just put a bag over my head and be someone else. But, after an hour or so, I get comfortable with it, especially when I remind myself it’s not all about me the author…but them the readers.
🙂
Have a great day!
I was the only author there. Since this was a neighborhood event, a lot of the people knew me. I wish I could say I remembered their names, but I’m terrible at that. It was definitely a different vibe, because there was as much chit-chat amongst the attendees (I won’t use the ‘g’ word) as buying. When someone I actually knew came by, it helped me get into ‘friendly’ mode.