How to Do a Book Signing - Thursdays with the Author

How to Do a Book Signing

I suppose first, I should make clear that I've never done a huge book signing at a major library or bookstore. But I have done a book signing at my local library and it was one of the funnest nights I've had in a long time.

Our local librarian, like most great librarians, is uber-supportive of writers. Especially local writers. We live in a small town so a visit to the library isn't just about checking out books. It's social time with one of the coolest ladies in our town. When I was first publishing Dark Mountains, she told me she wanted to host a book signing for me after it was published. I told her that would be cool and kind of blew it off. I was a soon-to-be self-published author from a teeny-tiny town in the middle of Illinois. No one would want me to sign their books for them.

Shortly after publishing, she asked again and I said yes and we set a date for a few months later. It would be in the evening, after most people would be off work, and not as busy as they would be on the weekend. She agreed to provide cake and punch and I told her I would plan all the advertising. She offered to help hand out fliers and spread the word. In the two months leading up to my book signing, I made a checklist of what I wanted to do.

Before Your Event

1) Make Flyers

These flyers should include your name, the name of your book and the date, time and location of the book signing and contact information for you or for the location of the event. Include anything pertinent, like if you were hosting a give-away or door prizes. Put the flyers everywhere. Gas Stations, restaurants, libraries, book stores, public notice areas, etc.

2) Make a sign-up sheet for reserved copies. 

I was slightly worried that I wouldn't order enough books and thought this would help ensure the people that were coming, that they'd have a copy. I left a copy at the library and kept one at home. You can also have them write their preferences for how they'd like it personalized. It may save you time writing the messages out before hand and just signing them in person.

3) Order plenty of books in plenty of time to have them printed and shipped. 

I ordered 50, really not expecting to need any more than that. A month out from the event, my tally sheets for reserved copies were already nearing 30 so I ordered another 25 books

4) Make bookmarks or leaflets.

Bookmarks are best since they can actually be used by your readers. On one side, your name, book title and contact info (website, email, blog, etc). On the other side you can have the blurb from your book, quotes from reviews of your book, your author bio, etc.

5) Raffle Prize

I chose to do this to draw in more people. I gave away two prizes. Anyone that came to the book signing could fill out a slip for a chance to win one of the prizes and wouldn't have to be present to win. The prizes I got were a Kindle Paperwhite eReader and a $25 Amazon gift card (for anyone that already had an eReader). Also both prizes came with a signed copy of my book.

6) Mailing List

This is an important way to keep in touch with the people who attend your book signing. They are your readers and will want to know when you have more books coming out. Make it simple with just their name and email address.

7) Invite on Social Media and local news

Let me be very clear: This should NOT be the only thing you do to reach people. Neither should it be something you miss. Social media is a powerful tool. If you live in or close to a major city, this could skyrocket the number of people at your event. Facebook, Twitter, Goodreads, Shelfari, your blog, Google+, etc. Put the event invite and all the details on every site you are active on. Also, contact your local papers, radio stations and TV stations. Let them know you are a local author with a book signing coming up. Who knows? You might end up getting interviewed by one of them!

8) Make a sign to put up outside of the event. 

This will vary depending on where your event is at but if they have room for a sign, get one made. Some businesses and library will have a board already set up and can put up your event info prior to the date. Be aware of how much money you spend and what you spend it on. Signs can be expensive to make. I had a canvas sign printed with weatherproofing and extra strength ties and it blew away over a week before the event. (Thank you stupid Illinois winds). It would've been cheaper to make a sturdy plywood sign myself and paint the information on it by hand.

9) Stay in Contact with Your Host

Whether it be a store, library or whatever, keep in contact with your host. Chances are, this won't be their first event so they will have plenty of advice and ideas on how to make it a success.

10) Food

If your host isn't providing something, you need to. Food is a major draw to people. If your event is in a major bookstore, the lure of a free cookie or piece of cake may be the one thing that gets someone to check out your set-up and may end up with a sale and a new fan. Cookies and cupcakes are great and easy to feed a lot of people with. My host ordered a cake from a local bakery that supports the library. She had them decorate the cake to match the cover of my book (which was amazing) and provided punch.

11) Figure out if you are only SIGNING or if you will be speaking as well.

For me, I knew my book signing was going to be smaller in terms of attendance and unless the people coming lived IN my town, they'd be driving at least 10 minutes to come. So I wanted to give them all that I could for making the effort to come. I flirted with the idea of doing a little talk on self-publishing but I had to remind myself that I wasn't at a writer's conference where people wanted and needed to hear that kind of information. This was a small town book signing with a majority of people being family and friends. So I decided to do a question and answer session. This worried me a bit because I wasn't sure if anyone would ask anything. Also, you never know what people will ask, so if you aren't comfortable with speaking in public or coming up with answers on-the-fly, this option might not be for you. As it was, I had lots of questions like where I got my inspiration, coming up with names for characters, being an author and a full-time mom, what it's like to write, specific questions about characters (which pleased me to no end that a lot of the people had actually READ the book before coming), and what I was going to publish next. It was a lot of fun and it really is an enjoyable experience being able to interact with your readers and fans.

12) Write a message in your books.

First decide on WHAT you want to write. It can be as simple as Best Wishes! or Thanks for your support, or more elaborate. In Dark Mountains, I wrote: 'Never give up on a happily ever after!' in all my books. It fit in really well with what the story was about. Messages should be written on the cover page or first blank page of your book. DON'T sign your book yet. Save that for the event. But you'll save a TON of time by pre-writing your message (not to mention avoiding a horrible hand cramp!). Make sure you save room for any personal massages you may want to write and for your signature.

At the Book Signing

I can't begin to tell you how nervous I was. I figured no one would show up. Boy was I wrong. I had nearly 40 people show up in my town of 400 and sold even more books than that. I had a few people buy more than 4 copies to give as gifts. I was so busy that I ended up forgetting to be nervous as soon as the event started. Have a few helpers that know you and your book to help people buy books, show them where to sign up for things, direct them to your table, take pictures, etc.

1) Have them sign up for anything as soon as they walk in.

Raffle prizes, mailing list, bookmarks, buying your book. This should all be done when they first walk in or towards where you are set-up. Have someone else in charge of selling books and explaining things. You will be way too busy greeting people. 

2) Greet your guests

Feel free to wander around and greet your guests. Chances are you'll know most of them but say hello, shake hands and make eye contact anyway! If you are in a major store or library, walk around and introduce yourself to people before the event starts. Hand them a free bookmark. Let them know there are snacks once the event starts. You may just pull in a new reader that didn't even realize you were having an event!

3) Have Them Enjoy Refreshments During #2

This one's pretty self-explanatory.

4) Begin With Speaking

Introduce yourself and your book. If you aren't speaking, this is where you stop. If you are speaking, then start your session: question and answer, talk about writing, or something else related to you and your book. This is a good ice breaker, a good way for you to get to know the people at your event, and a great way for them to get to know you.

5) Sign Your Books

If you know the reader personally or if they ask for a more personal note, add it under what you've already written. Sign your name and date it. TRY to use your best handwriting! ;) This would be a great time to remind you to bring plenty of high quality pens! I will tell you this: Try not to talk to people as you're writing. I kept answering questions while talking with readers and two books were ruined as a result of. I started writing what we were talking about! Seriously! You wouldn't believe how hard it is to focus on signing your name or writing a short note when someone is asking you a question!

6) Thank your guests and your host.

Both these things are very important. No one HAD to come to your event so make sure you sincerely thank them for attending your book signing and supporting you. At the same time, you never would've HAD a book signing if it hadn't been for your host so be SURE to thank them properly as well!

After the book signing

1) Make sure you sent a heart-felt thank you note to your host. 

If you had your book signing in a small town store or library, consider donating them a copy of your book with the thank you.

2) Write a newsletter and send it out with all your new contacts gained by the sign-up sheet at your event.

Newsletters are a whole other blog post but I'll give you this little gem for now: Newsletters are exclusive to people who go out of their way to sign up for them. DO NOT put the same info in them that you've been putting on your blog or Facebook. You can put the links in for those things, but make sure your newsletter is containing new and fresh information for your readers.

3) Thank everyone again for attending via social media and post some of the great pictures you took during the event.

4) Notify your prize winners and get their prizes to them. :)

How Social Media Can Help You Become A Better Writer - Thursdays with the Author

How Social Media Can Help You Become A Better Writer

So before I start giving you examples of how Social Media can help you become a better writer, I will give you a general warning: Social Media can also HINDER you as a writer.

Most of us, by now, have visited Pinterest and if you're like most of the world in general, you've become addicted. You've planned your 6 year old daughter's wedding already, you've made a list of places you want to see in the world, compiled a million recipes to try. The list goes on and on. You could get lost in Pinterest for hours, believe me, I know. I've done it. You wake up from your inspired daydreaming and realize you were planning on writing for a few hours and that those few hours are now gone.

The same thing can happen (though not as quickly or easily as with Pinterest) with other sites such as Twitter, Google+, Facebook, Goodreads, etc. I once devoted 45 minutes to reading the Twitter feed of the fictional character Severus Snape because I found it so entertaining. Seriously. 

Using Social Media has it's perils. There's nothing like being sucked into the never-ending vortex of crafts, humor and vacation paradises to waste a few hours of productive writing time.

Set a timer while you're browsing the various sites. If it goes off and you're still lost in la-la-land, close the browser and start writing. If you're actually learning something writing related from your wanderings, save it for later. You have to start applying what you just learned, which means, WRITE!

So now that you have been properly warned, we can get on with the good stuff. How Social Media can HELP you! Below, I'll post some of the websites I frequent and what can be gleaned from them to improve your writing and your writing career. Not only can you learn something, it will help you enlarge your internet platform as an author!

Facebook:

This site is more communication and marketing than a learning experience, but if you know WHERE to look, you can learn something.

1) Friend other authors, especially best-selling, well-known authors. How they communicate with their readers, run contests and give-a-ways, give snippets of their works-in-process, book launches and their over-all writing process, can be a well of insight to what it takes to be a successful and recognizable author.

2) Make your author page is SEPARATE from your private page. Your readers (or potential readers) don't want to read about your relationship dramas, hear about the epic fight with your sister or how much you can't stand your mother-in-law. Your author page should be professional with only a snapshot of your personal life. You should also have a separate author email to link this page to. All of your social media connections should be listed with this page as well.

3) Make your author page public (without revealing any personal information besides your contact email and other page links). You WANT your readers to be able to get a hold of you, ask questions, comment on your book, etc. IF a reader contacts you (barring any crazy stalker-type behavior), make a big deal out of it. They took the time to find your page and write to you and you SHOULD be thankful.  Even if they were writing you to give you a negative critique, take it as a blessing in disguise. They contacted you because they want to help, even if it's with an unfavorable opinion of your work. If they caught something wrong, fix it. But whatever the case, thank the reader for contacting you and for their opinion.

4) Make sure you've linked all your social media sites to your Facebook page. Instead of reporting to every site, one status update can cover most of them. Also, make sure you don't forget to post links, book updates/releases, new blog posts, etc. 

Twitter:

A lot like Facebook, only more short-winded. No less important for making an impact with your internet presence. 

Biggest tip: follow other authors, agents, publishers, etc. You won't believe the amazing publishing and writing tips you can find from literary agents that post to Twitter!

Blog:

Blogspot.com, blogger.com, etc. the list goes on. Blogging is an important tool for

writers to use. I know, I know... More writing? But it is important. Writing a blog is like exercising for the mind. A weight lifter isn't going to do any heavy lifting if they've never even carried a dumbbell. Same concept for writers. The journalistic and opinion-related blog posts are different from writing novels, but ANY writing is good exercise!

Try to write at least one blogpost a week. It can be anything. Your writing process, sneak peeks, writing advice, etc. 

Make sure you put links, pictures, and contact information in each post!

Also: follow other writing related blogs. Comment on their posts, ask questions. The more involved you are, the better chance they will then read, comment and reshare your blog. 

Goodreads (and the amazon counterpart, Shelfari):

Both these sites are great places for readers to leave reviews. They are also great for creating an author page, which can be linked to your other social media sites, creating free giveaways, connecting with readers and reading and responding to reviews. 

Remember, amazon reviews can only be left after a verified purchase. So what if a reader gets your book somewhere else,  wins a copy, picks up a signed edition at an author event or rents it from the library? Shelfari and Goodreads all allow reviews no matter where the book came from. 

Google+ :

It's a little like Facebook, only a bit more mature. You can post a status, pictures, links, etc. just like Facebook and with a blend of tagging and hashtags like Twitter. Only Google+ takes it a step forward with communities. Communities are groups with specific subjects, and rules about posting, where users can ask and answer questions, share their work, get advice, connect with other authors, agents, publishers and more. The amount of information that pertains to writing on Google+ is mind boggling. Try for specific communities that relate to your style of writing: fantasy writer groups, children's book groups, romance writers, self-publishing groups, you name it, there's probably a group for it!

Google+ can also connect to all your other social media sites, making for easy sharing and reposting. 

Pinterest:

Ah, an angel and demon all wrapped in one. As mentioned above, Pinterest can be a quicksand pit of wasted time. But it can also be an amazing source of knowledge. Pins with writing and editing tips, author and blog links, amazing pictures for inspiration, writing prompts, and more. 

When creating your own author Pinterest page, the same rule applies as to Facebook. Use a separate page as an author and personally. 

When setting up your boards, categorize and place according to importance. Your first boards should be your contact information, links to your books, and your blog. Then boards for other writing blogs, writing tips, story inspiration, motivational quotes, favorite books/quotes and more. Leave the wedding planning to your personal page. Your author Pinterest should be writing related. 

So there are some of the internet pages that have helped me become a better writer and author and learn how to navigate the deep waters of publishing and marketing. There are many more websites out there! Just make sure you aren't getting pulled away from actually writing with all the things you're discovering!

Avoiding the "Info Dump" - Thursdays with the Author

I finally got a review on my newest book and although it was a positive 4 star review, one comment had me thinking about what NOT to do as I finish writing the series. 

The comment goes like this: "I gave it 4 stars because I thought it started off a little slow. Sometimes it is a little harder to get into when the author is trying to get her story line set up, especially when this is the first of four books. Once I got into the "meat" of the story, I really enjoyed it."

This is one thing I didn't want to do while writing my books. The dreaded 'Info Dump'.

The first few drafts of this particular book were the worst when it came to inundating the reader with information to set up not only the book, but the rest of the series. In subsequent revisions, some information was moved further into the story, some taken out completely. I was aware that the beginning might start slow for some readers but after trying to move more things around, I realized that the story would have been more negatively affected if I had changed anything else. So I bit the proverbial bullet and left the beginning how it was. 

Being the first in a four part saga didn't help matters. The entire series had to be set up, at least partially in the first book. All the characters, not just the ones in that first book, but the following three as well, needed to be introduced to a certain extent. Then there was the main characters of that first book. It was a lot to try and place in one book. 

Even though this particular reader had a slow start to this book, she eventually got to the point where she could enjoy the story instead of storing and processing all the information I was giving. So I don't see it as a failure. More as a opportunity to learn. 

Many books, particularly with series and fantasy/science fiction books, are filled with more information and back story than most novels. A lot of authors fail to see the information overload they are writing and many readers are left bored, or at the very least, feeling like they're slogging through a biography instead of a fiction novel.

At the same time, the writer can make the mistake of not giving enough information. You don't want a reader going 'huh?' or 'where did that come from?' while reading your book. 

There's a fine line between the two and my hope for this blog post is to help you navigate that line and make your story great. 

So how does the writer avoid the dreaded 'Info Dump' and the incredulous 'huh?' Here's a few tips:

1) Start with Action

Even if it's just in the prologue or first chapter. Action, as well as setting up the conflict, is essential to hooking the reader well enough to get them through the information to come. 

2) Introduce the Main Characters Right Away

This is one thing you shouldn't make your readers wait for. If one of the characters doesn't come until later in the novel you should at least introduce the other main character right away. You can also do a prologue, dream sequence, etc. to introduce the other main character before going with the more solo viewpoint for a while. 

3) Back-story Should be Minimal

A lot of books have one or both of the characters with their own back-story before the main story starts. If the hero and heroine meet each other immediately and it's all sunshine and roses, the reader has nothing to read and will not be able to connect with the characters. The back-story is how we relate, connect and become emotionally invested in the characters. In the beginning of a novel however, the initial back-story that should be introduced is only what is crucial to the characters and their story. Other back-story can come later in the story, when it becomes relevant. Flashbacks, a long-lost letter to the character, and telling the back-story through dialog are good ways to get this done. 

4) Make an Outline of What is Absolutely Necessary To Know Right Away

You don't have to say everything at once. Unless you only want your novel to be a few chapters long, there's no hurry to tell the reader everything. If the first chapter gets the reader interested and invested in the story, they will keep reading. 

5) Who? What? When? Where? Why?

You don't want to give the reader the answers to these question right away. You want them to be asking those questions. The beginning of a book gets the reader curious to find out the answers and that is exactly how you want to write. 

6) Show, Don't Tell

You've heard this before as a general writing tip but it can also be used when explaining worlds and history. Particularly for fantasy and science fiction. 
Don't tell the reader what the world looks like or about the creatures/plants/people in it. Show it. 
Have a character(s) reacting to it, talking about it, experiencing it. 
At the same time, you don't want your characters 'telling' each other things that should have been obvious to them in the first place. The reader will not only see your veiled attempt to hide an info dump, but may quit reading altogether. Ways to avoid that particular trap is by introducing a new character that wouldn't know the information. A story with the info told to a group of children, inviting a new-comer, explaining how it works to a foreigner, writing/finding a letter, etc. are all good ways of adding back-story and information.

7) Tell the 'What' But Save the 'Why'. 

Make sure the reader knows what the character is doing while they're reading. But in some cases, especially when there's a lengthy explanation, save the why for later in the story. Another character can ask why and it can be explained through the character at any time. 

8) If It Affects the Character's Decisions, Write It. 

What is the character's opinion about what is going on? Does the character have to react to the information being presented? Does the setting help or hinder the character's actions? Is the knowledge (or lack thereof) contributing to the character succeeding or failing? These are all questions you need to ask before adding (or not adding) the information to your book. 

9) Never Start a Book With the Words 'As You Know' or 'In The Beginning'. 

Seriously. The Bible is pretty much the only book that can pull this off. 

So there's some tips on how to get your novel started on the right track! Good luck and happy writing!