Book Signings - Janice Thompson, Author

Of course, the most logical thing an author can do to promote his/her books is a booksigning. Here are a few ways to have a great signing:

The Perfect Booksigning

Contact your local bookstores even before your book comes out.
Give the store owner/manager a press kit and ask for a signing when the book comes out.
If possible, help the store promote your signing.
On the day of the signing, arrive early and greet the store owner.
Give away candy (or other “teaser”) directly related to your signing. (When I do a signing for my book HURRICANE I bring a container of salt water taffy because there are two places in the book where the characters watch the taffy machines at work.)
Have business cards available
Have brochures or postcards available (if your publisher doesn’t provide these, you can make them yourself)
Connect with patrons in the store, whether they buy your book or not

Give these questions some thought:

What local stores could you contact?
How could you help promote your signing?
What candy/teaser could you give away?

Finally, we’re going to talk about something you might not have thought of: Product. Some time ago I started a company with two fellow authors. We offered mentoring, editing, PR services and writing lessons/courses. My particular job description (teacher) involved coming up with the writing courses. I wrote over fifty of them in a short period of time, on every subject I could think of related to the various writing genres. For the first time (outside of my books) I had product. Something of value that others might want.

The company has come and gone, but the lessons remain. I’ve used them in many different ways, but here’s the one way that’s made the most money. Years ago, I spoke to a writing group on two subjects: fiction writing and non-fiction writing. I only had a total of an hour and a half to cover both. (Can you imagine?) Obviously, I could only give an outline, not a thorough teaching. But I came up with a plan to make a little additional money, outside of my speaker’s fee and the money I made from book sales. I offered my courses. These were, after all, writers. They wanted to learn. I offered my “product.” How, you ask? I got creative, of course. I offered all of my fiction courses for a “bundled” price and all of my non-fiction courses for a “bundled” price. Five people took me up on the package. Over half of the money I made that night came from my lessons/product.

Me? Sell Product?

So, what about you? When you hear the word “product,” what comes to mind? Can you can put together lessons or courses? What about audio recordings of your teachings? If so, will you sell them on the Internet? At speaking gigs? To writers groups? To churches? The possibilities, after all, are endless. So are the “ways” to present your lessons. You can do them as podcasts, as interactive chat sessions, as downloadable audio files people can listen to on their ipods, as .pdf or .doc files. You can link your product to your website or blog and promote via social networks like facebook, twitter, shoutlife and more. (Though, you’ve got to be careful about selling product directly on facebook. We can talk more about this later, if you like.)

If you don't have a shopping cart set up on your website, think of adding one. Once you come up with your "product" (whatever that is) you can sell directly through your site.

Here’s a fun product idea:

You can tailor your teachings to the groups where you’re asked to speak. For example, if you speak to the DAR, you might come up with a series of lessons to help people research their heritage/lineage. If you speak to a women’s ministry, you might come up with a series of lessons for women in ministry. If you speak to a church, you might sell your “100 Exciting Evangelism Ideas” CD afterward. Speaking to children’s workers? Offer several teachings on how to be a more creative teacher. You get the point. On and on the possibilities go. Burn the lessons to a CD as .pdf files and sell them after you speak.

We’re about to wrap up our teaching. Friends, there are many other ways to promote yourself. You have to approach the process with creative flair. Don’t be afraid to try new things. Don’t be afraid to put yourself out there. And don’t be afraid to admit it when things do work out as you’d hoped. Just learn from the experience and move on. Stick to the things that do work. One final word: People often have a hard time promoting themselves. Feels a little funny. But you’ll get used to writing about yourself in third-person after awhile. And though it might feel odd to list your credits, affiliations, etc. you will eventually discover that these things won’t just encourage your potential readers – they will encourage you. And an encouraged author is a happy author!

That’s it for marketing and PR, folks. Remember, everything you’ve learned here can benefit you personally, but can also be used in a second way. Think about offering your services to a published author. Help him/her with blog tours, web related marketing and much, much more! The possibilities for a savvy marketing guru are endless!