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NO MORE AUTOGRAPH
PARTIES by Dan Poynter
One of the joys of being a published author is
being appreciated for your Work. Getting a favorable response to your book from
a crowd of people is an event most authors look forward to. But many authors
and authorpublishers misunderstand the purpose of a book signing and they
attend unprepared.
Book signings are a form of product promotion not
available to producers of other goods or services. But autographings are not a
party in your honor—you and your book are not even known yet. Bookstores,
both chain and independent, stage events to attract potential customers into
their stores. The stores supply the venue; the author supplies the audience.
Never do an autographing; always offer a mini seminar. Attract
buyers to your autograph parties. —Terri Lonier, author, Working Solo.
An "autograph party" says, “Come and appreciate me (and buy a
book)”; a "seminar" says, “Come on down and I will give you something
free (information) that will improve your life.” Always think of the
benefit to the potential customer. How can you lure them out of the house and
down to the store? Your appearance is a promotional opportunity for you and it
will require hard work.
Patricia Bragg (Health-Science) publishes
health and fitness books. To promote her mini seminar at a local bookshop in
Santa Barbara, she posted handbills in all the local health food stores. Then
she made a postcard mailing to her customer list within a 50-mile (driving)
radius. The store was packed and she was on for over four hours—until
closing time. The store sold out on many of her titles and gave out rain
checks. http://www.bragg.com
Authors are celebrities; they are the draw. People think if you wrote
a book, you know something. And, you probably do. Nonfiction books are written
from the best research you can do, you direct your material toward a certain
type of reader and you further explain your advice with your own experiences.
Book writing is a journey. Often we do not know where the process will take us.
We learn everything there is to know about our subject and, in effect, we are
gaining an advanced degree in our area of interest: we do the research and then
we do the paper. So, authors are pretty special, often interesting and do know
quite a bit about their subject area.
When my parents taught me not to
write in books, they did not know they were raising an author who would
autograph them. They turned my last book tour into a guilt trip.
The
store might publicize your appearance with a sign in the window for a few days
and may place a notice in their event schedule. Attracting the rest of the
crowd is up to you.
These mini seminars may lead to longer ones for
other groups at other locations—for money. Go for the exposure and go
prepared. Your book deserves it.
Dan Poynter does not want you
to die with a book still inside you. You have the ingredients and he has your
recipe. Dan has written more than 100 books since 1969 including Writing
Nonfiction and The Self- Publishing Manual. For more help on book writing, see
http://ParaPub.com. ©
2003
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