The Insecure Writer’s Support Group is all about insecurity
and hopefully overcoming them. Insecurity Buster is a feature I'll do from time to time in which
I’ll provide tips to help you defeat an insecurity.
Today’s Insecurity Buster is…Book Signing Fear.
When you do a book signing, you’re coming
face to face with your fans maybe for the first time, you’re representing your
book in public, and you have to “pretend” you’re an author. All of this can
be stressful.
Here are 3 ways to help you ease into a book signing:
1. Signing at a Park
Invite your family and closest friends, who you know will
support you, to the park or some other place where you can gather without
drawing attention to a crowd. Set up a table with a table cloth, books, and
postcards. Have a
chair so you can sit down to sign books. Greet your friends and family when
they arrive, sign some books or postcards, and then have a little picnic to
unwind and have fun.
TIP: Get clips to keep the table cloth from flying.
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| This is an image of a park book signing I did with my family. I sold 2 books. :) |
2. Home Signing + Holiday Sale
I got this idea from Melissa Maygrove. Set up a book
signing table on your driveway next to a table with gift baskets for a holiday.
Melissa Maygrove chose Mother’s Day and held her event Mother’s Day weekend.
Put out signs as if you’re having a garage sale but advertise it differently.
Example: Mother’s Day Gifts + Local Author Signing.
Don’t forget to put an ad in the paper in the yard sale section. You can also create an event on Facebook, invite everyone you
know in the area, and have them invite everyone they know.
On the day of, prepare your table early, have a water
bottle, shade, a ready smile, and pens. Greet everyone who stops and ask them
if they’d like a book or postcard signed.
TIP: Always have postcards or something else with your book promo on it, so if someone doesn’t want a book you can still send them off with info about your book.
Don’t be bummed if you don’t sell any books. I’ve read that
at book signings, most authors sell an average of 1-2 books. Yes, really. This
isn’t about money, though. It’s about connecting with potential readers.
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| Melissa's Mother's Day Sign + Sale |
3. Sign-Up for a Big Event + Signing
If you’re afraid of doing it alone, you can do it with a
group of authors (5 to 50!) at a book event. I will be doing one of these June
2017 in Florida at the Space Coast Book Lovers Event with about 70 other
authors, including M.J. Fifield! Doing a signing with a bunch of other authors
takes the heat of you, and you can see that everyone else is probably just as
nervous as you are. You may not sell a book with that many other authors in one
space, but you can still make countless connections. That’s why promo materials
(postcards, business cards, bookmarks) and SWAG is so important.
How to ease your book signing fear:
- Hold one of your books so your hands don’t shake.
- Smile and ask the person at your table what kind of books they like. This can work if you’re nervous about talking about your book at first.
- Have a tagline ready that you can recite to anyone who asks what your book is about. Then hand them a postcard with part of your blurb on it (or your book so they can read the blurb on the back).
- Practice signing your signature before the signing and make sure you have a good pen.
- Sit down when you sign, but stand back up when you greet or say goodbye.
- Have post-its on your table to ask so you can ask everyone to write their names down. This will help you not misspell names.
- Thank them for coming and always give them something so they don’t walk away empty-handed.
Author of Hurricane Crimes, Seismic Crimes, 30 Seconds, Ghost of Death, and Witch of Death. Blogger. Reader. Auntie. Vegetarian. Cat Lover.
QUESTION: What are your book signing tips? Have you ever done a spin on a book signing? Tell us about it!
*Add this question and your answer to your August 3rd IWSG Post.
AUGUST 3RD QUESTION: What was your very first piece of writing as an aspiring writer? Where is it now? Collecting dust or has it been published?
*Add this question and your answer to your August 3rd IWSG Post.
