Monday, May 21, 2007
I'm Home
After my week-long sojourn into the wilds of South Carolina, I'm now home from my first ever signing tour. It was an interesting experience, to say the least. There were some logistical problems (the Myrtle Beach store canceled the signing because it's closing; one of the stores did not receive all the copies of Watchers in the Night it ordered; one of the stores didn't receive the poster it was supposed to have; and one of the stores did not receive its copies of Secrets in the Shadows). Practically every store said they weren't getting as much traffic as usual, both because of the lovely weather and because of some other local events. But I did sell at least one book at every venue, which is great--I've heard plenty of horror stories about authors sitting around for hours without selling any books.
I had always heard that authors are more successful at these book signings if they do more than just sit at the table and hope people come to them, but for my first couple of signings I couldn't get over my native shyness enough to do it. In the end, I managed to force myself to talk to anyone who came in the store who didn't give off too strong a leave-me-alone vibe. It was great, because all except the first Waldenbooks I signed at positioned me directly in the doorway, so customers had to pass by me to get into the store. If they made any eye contact, I introduced myself and handed them a bookmark. That was something I found myself able to do without feeling like a used car salesman! And I definitely sold more books--and had more fun--once I started doing it.
In addition to the sit-down signings, I also went by as many Books-a-Millions and Barnes & Nobles I could find, signing their stock. There aren't very many Books-a-Millions around where I live, so I'd never actually been in one before. I was very impressed with them. (Mainly because they all seemed to have ordered a good number of my books and had them facing out on the New Releases shelf! But also because almost everyone I met was very friendly and enthusiastic.)
All in all, it was a great--though exhausting--trip. Now I have to deal with the aftermath of all those neglected emails and other chores. And going back to my day job and the backlog that will have built up since I was gone. So happy Monday to me!
posted by Jenna Black @ 12:29 PM
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1 Comments:
I'm so glad your signings went well! Get some well deserved rest, but not too much. You've still got work to do!
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