The Dos and Don'ts of book signings

Happy Wednesday, everybody!  I hope you’re having a good one.

With my big signing in Dallas this Saturday (May 22nd, 2:00, Barnes & Noble Southlake) and the Only the Good Spy Young tour coming up (details to be announced), I think this might be a good time to revisit the subject of author signings and some helpful hints to make sure you have the best time possible.

All authors and stores are different, of course, but here are some Dos and Don’ts that I think might be helpful.

 

DO visit the store’s website to read their rules and guidelines for events.  Some stores may allow you to bring your books from home to have autographed; some may not.  Some stores may require you to purchase at least one book at the store; some may not.  Some might require an advance ticket; some may not.  You won’t know until you check, so I always recommend checking. 

DON’T assume that the guidelines a store used for one event will be the same guidelines for another.  (For example, the Southlake store probably had to do things a little differently for the 1,200 people who came out to see Rick Riordan last week then they’ll have to do for the significantly smaller crowd that will be on hand to see me.)

DO doublecheck the time and location for the event beforehand because some signings may be sponsored by a store but held at an off-site location (like a school, church, or community building) because of crowd size.

DON’T expect to just walk in and walk out in a few minutes.  Sure, this is probably not a problem for 90% of authors and events, but sometimes signings last much longer.  Most of the frustrations that stores and publishers hear from parents is that they didn’t expect to have to wait in a line.  If you’re going to an event that’s supposed to be huge, it’s best to be prepared for this possibility.  (If I had to give an average, I’d say that my signings are usually about two hours long including the Q&A session at the beginning and the signing line.  It, of course, varies a lot event to event and author to author.)

DO plan on purchasing something at the store hosting the event if you can.  Sure, some stores may allow you to bring in books you bought elsewhere, but if you can afford it, it’s generally very nice to support the store that’s bringing the author in–that way they will hopefully bring in more authors!

DON’T worry about what to wear, how you’ll look, whether you’ll fit in, etc.  You are going to a book signing!  WIth other people who like the same books that you like!  In other words, you are going to be with people with whom you already have something huge in common.  Sure, many of you will go to different schools, live in different parts of town, etc, but you all like reading and have at least one favorite author in common and if you ask me that’s the start of a fabulous friendship right there!

DO make it an event if you can!  The people who seem to have the most fun at signings are the ones who come with a group of friends, go out to a special dinner or ice cream with their mom or dad before or after–do something to really make it a fun night or afternoon out.  Sometimes groups will dress up like Gallagher Girls or all wear sunglasses like Kat on the cover of Heist.  It doesn’t make any difference to me, of course, but I like to see people having fun.  Author events are just that–events.  They can be a really special day with friends or family.  It’s not about the autograph, in other words.  It’s about the experience.  Do something to make your experience special.

DON’T forget your camera.  I, personally, have no problem taking pictures with readers.  Of course, this is another one where different events might have different rules, but at the very least you’ll probably want to snap off a few pictures while you’re standing in line or listening to your favorite author talk. 

DO teach someone else to use your camera. While most authors don’t mind posing for pictures if the line (and time) allows, everything really does move more quickly whenever everyone is ready, the camera (or cell phone) is out and charged, and all everyone has to do is smile and click.  

DON’T be afraid of authors.  We really are nice.  Well, most of us are nice.  (Many of us are concerned about Jen Barnes and the large amounts of evil that could be hiding in her hair.  Seriously.  She has a lot of hair.)

DO try to go to as many events as you can--especially if you want to be a writer.  It’s imporatant to hear writers talk, absorb what you can about this business, and most of all, realize that writers are just people with jobs.  That’s it.  I’m just a person.  This is just a job.

DON’T assume that your favorite writer will be coming back through.  Tours are incredibly expensive and pretty rare, so if you get the chance to meet your favorite author–take it.  Also, these are probably not the times to be picky and say that an author should come to this store and not that store because you don’t want to drive across town.  Remember that most authors are coming across the country–meeting them on the other side of town might be the only chance you’ll ever get.

DO call the store if you can’t make it and see if you can pre-order an autographed copy of the book.  Most stores (especially independent bookstores) will have a stack of “pre-orders” set aside for us to sign before we leave.  These are almost always people who couldn’t make it to the event because of conflicts or simply because they live too far away.  In these instances, the store will take your name and credit card number and the author will sign a book just for you and you can pick it up/have it delivered later.

 

And that’s it–my list of Dos and Don’ts for Author Events.  The key to take away is that every single event will be different.  You can never say how many people will be there, how long it will last, or anything like that.  You can, however, visit the host store’s website, review the rules and guidelines, and come prepared to have a blast.

Hope to see you all this weekend in Dallas or in LA, Orlando, or at one of the upcoming tour stops for Only The Good Spy Young–as soon as I have details about those I will post them ASAP.

Take care!

Ally