Signing… How Strange…
I Am Signing Books in a Bookstore…
That’s right, for the first time THIS CENTURY (that I can remember), I have agreed to do a book signing. Signings are a waste of time for me.
But because Writers of the Future folks think they are worthwhile for their award winners, and I am a judge, and my friend Lisa Silverthorne was a winner this year, I agreed to go along for support. And then the Writers of the Future folks roped in Ron Collins (a winner from years back) and another judge, Todd McCaffrey.
So it will be great fun sitting there for three hours talking with my friends.
I know a lot of you think hand-selling is worthwhile. Keep up that belief and never ever look at the time lost, the costs, and the amount of money made. Or how much writing time you waste and the value of what you could be writing. Do it to stroke your ego (if anyone shows up to have a book signed, otherwise your ego might take a hit.)
I will be there to support the great work that Writers of the Future does and also for my friends and for some great writing discussions. So once every 24 years or so a book signing might be worth it for that.
9 Comments
Vincent Zandri
Generally speaking I don’t do book signings anymore either Dean. Occasionally I’ll head to NYC and do a stock signing at Otto’s Mysterious Bookshop (I once signed a book for Michael Connelly). But I’d rather be writing and at the same time running a BookBub promo in which case I’ll move thousands of books over the course of a weekend on top of getting in 8K new words or so. I can do this from my home writing studio or an apartment in Florence, Italy…But your event sounds more like a fun meet and greet!
Vin
dwsmith
Yeah, stock signing for Otto would be something I would do as well. (grin)
We had fun. When Kris arrived to pick me up an hour ahead, there were six writers standing around talking. Fun. At one point Todd went out into the store and somehow found two want-to-be young writers and brought them back and the poor girls were overwhelmed by Todd and Lisa and Ron. Got a hunch it was a life-changing thing for those two. (grin)
Signed four copies of Writers of the Future #40, plus five for the store stock. One was for the wonderful store manager, another for a writer friend, one for the girls, and one for another want-to-be writer. So it was fun to do exactly as I said would happen, hang around and talk publishing and writing with my friends.
Michael Lucas
I presume they had, say, one copy of each of your titles for people to buy? 😉
I have done exactly one bookstore event. It was right here in Metro Detroit, so assorted family members could see that I was a real author invited to a real bookstore, dangit!
But totally not a business decision.
Kerridwen Mangala McNamara
So… things are different at different phases of the game, I would imagine.
As a very new writer still trying to get ANY readers… might in person selling work eventually?
Granted, my first experiences argue otherwise, but a farmers market that had no traffic and a tent tiny local comic con where people wanted only graphic novels… may not have been fair venues to test the question…
Planning a marketing push for next year… trying to figure out what the components should be.
dwsmith
Honestly, write more books and keep learning how to be a better storyteller and get your work out in all the bookstores online like Amazon, Kobo, D2D and so on. And then write more books. Promotion of any sort won’t help you much if you don’t have product for people to buy.
Kerridwen Mangala McNamara
Well, yes.
But by the start of 2025 I’ll have 18 books out in 3 linked series. (And I’m planning to hit 30 by 2026. Now that I know I can do this!)
So once the product is out there, it becomes a question of how to get it to move. At least I’m guessing that even sheer volume doesn’t just sell itself.
So is there ever a point where in-person sales are a cost effective approach?
dwsmith
Yes, if you are not after sales, but fans and single readers. If you are good with building a fan base one at a time and spending a lot of money to do it, then yes.
But in any signing you will never actually sell enough copies of books to cover your costs, (with a very few exceptions.)
Kerridwen Mangala McNamara
That’s what I thought, but it feels like swimming uphill when talking to anyone other than right here.
(Actually at a con right now – for authors/creative, not fan thing, lots of workshops – and it’s frustrating because they are all in that conventional mode. Lots of drafts and plotting (not writing into the dark for these guys,
Oh no) and in-person selling stuff… trying to remember why I’m there is more to support some friends…)
dwsmith
In 2024 that old way just looks silly, doesn’t it. Spending years and years on one book just to have a traditional publisher (if you are lucky enough to get that far) kill it and all the dreams. But nothing you can say to someone on that path. Trust me, I have tried.