So, You're Going to a Book Signing (As An Author)?

A few useful tips and tricks I've picked up over the years

Photo by Hush Naidoo Jade Photography on Unsplash

Since being an author is such a solitary thing, it’s nice to get out there every now and again and meet readers. You know, actual real people, in real life *gasp*. Book signings are perfect for this - you already know the attendees like reading, and like books. That’s half the battle. All you’ve got to do is hope they’ll also like the genre/s of book/s you have on offer and that you can persuade them to part with their hard-earned cash.

Signings aren’t cheap, more so in recent years. So I’ve put the following information together, gleaned from many years and many signings, and I hope you find it useful. Not everything will apply to you, of course, so take what you need and discard the rest.

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Before the event

• Consider putting a pre-order form up. These can be created for free in Google Forms, but you will have to figure out payment yourself (i.e. beforehand/on the day/will you offer installment payments), or you can use a newish service called Beventi, which isn’t free, but does handle a lot of admin for you

• If there is one (and there usually is), engage in the signing reader group beforehand. You can’t assume readers will know who you are or what you write. Do takeovers, promote your books, get out there and engage with people. Hopefully that’ll get readers interested in you and your books and increase your chances of making sales. As part of this, consider doing a giveaway/s where folks have to come and collect their prize from you on the day. Hopefully they were going to buy from you anyway, but it gets them to your table and gives you an extra opportunity to sell. You don’t have to give away copies of your books if you don’t want to (in fact, I usually don’t, since ideally I want readers to buy my books) - your prize/s can be anything from swag, to chocolates, to quirky little gift ideas

• Promote the signing to your existing readers on your available channels—it’s good manners, it helps everyone and shows you’re a team player. Plus some of them might be in that area and come by, too!

• Make sure you order your books in plenty of time. Issues can easily arise, so make sure you’ve left enough time to get them sorted before the signing

• Ask a trusted friend/family member/partner to help you on the day—it’s company as well as help, and means you don’t have to worry about lugging all your valuables to the toilet whenever you need to go, or asking someone nearby to watch your table for you

• Think about your pricing, whether you want to undercut certain retailers, etc. Factor in delivery costs to your cost price. Also, if you can afford to, consider doing deals—this usually encourages more sales and works particularly well with books that are in a series