Book signings

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    Rob-Con 2010 …

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    So I did a book signing this weekend at Rob-Con, a comic book convention that’s held every July in Bristol, Va. The event is sponsored by Mountain Empire Comics, and I want to give a shout-out to Rob, the owner, for having me back at the con again. Thanks, Rob!

    Yep, that’s me on the right, telling someone all about the Elemental Assassin urban fantasy series. Many thanks go out to Wheezley, my significant other, for snapping the photo.

    A couple of weeks ago, I did some posts on book promotion, and one of the things that I mentioned was that I don’t do any book signings at chain bookstores any more. Why not? Well, I just never seem to have any interest or sell more than a book or two.

    But going to Rob-Con is totally different. There, folks know all about superheroes and fantasy books, movies, and TV shows. So even if I don’t sell any books, I can still have a good time talking to people. I much prefer doing events like Rob-Con or group book signings rather than sitting by myself in a chain store for two hours. And yes, people will think that you work at the store and ask you where the bathroom is when you do those kind of signings. Sigh.

    So how did I do at Rob-Con? Well, I sold seven books, and several more people came over and got me to sign copies of the books that they already had. Any time I can sell more than five books in two hours, I feel like I’ve done okay. And of course, I handed out some bookmarks and flyers to everyone who stopped by my table. Overall, it was a fun way to spend a Saturday afternoon. 😉

    For those of you who might be interested, I’ll probably be doing a signing for Venom at Mountain Empire Comics sometime in late October, when the store has its big Halloween sale/party. I’ll post the details when I get them.

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    More (promotion) games people play …

    So earlier this week, I talked about some of the promotional things that I do for my books. Today, I thought that I’d share some things that haven’t worked so well for me:

    1. Print ads: When I was first starting out, I bought several print ads in various magazines, like Romantic Times and Romance Writers Report because that’s what all the info that I found online said to do — and I quickly had my eyes opened about how expensive these sorts of ads are. Even small, black and white ads can cost you a pretty penny depending on the publication.

    I’m not saying that it’s bad or wrong to buy print ads in these or other magazines, but I just didn’t get the return on my money that I thought that I would. These days, I usually only buy online ads, because with one click, a reader can go to my Excerpts page or to Amazon to buy the book — something they can’t do with a print ad. And let’s face it — as a society, we’re all about the instant gratification. That’s why e-books are becoming more and more popular. With one click, you can start reading right then and there.

    2. Book signings: Also when I was a newbie author, I went around and set up book signings at all the major book chains in my area. Some of them went okay, some of them did not. I once sat in a Books-A-Million for two hours on a Saturday and only had one person come over and ask about my books — and that was only because she was my old high school Spanish teacher and I recognized her and called out to her.

    In general, if you’re sitting there by yourself, more people are likely to ask you where the bathroom is than about your books. Seriously. These days, the only place that I do local signings is at my local comic book store because I know that I will sell several books there. Not a whole lot, but enough to make it worth my time. Besides, the owner has been great to me, and I have a lot of fun talking to the folks who come into the store, since they are mostly fantasy fans like me. I have always had a good experience at the comic book store. The chain stores have definitely been more hit or miss for me.

    3. Personalized stationary and business cards: I know, this seems a little weird. But in the beginning, I spent way too much money getting personalized stationary and business cards printed up, because again, that’s what I thought you were supposed to do. I did use the stationary to write to booksellers, and I did pass out the business cards at various places.

    But really, I think the bookmarks and flyers that I design myself are just as good, if not better than stationary and business cards. Certainly, I seem to get more use out of bookmarks/flyers — I just hand them out or stuff them in envelopes knowing that they have the most important info about my books and how to contact me on them. And I don’t have to worry about putting a bookseller’s address on them or addressing them all individually when I’m doing one of my massive mailings.

    So there you have it. Some promotional things that haven’t worked out so well for me. Got questions? Ask away in the comments.

    Coming up on Friday: Some final thoughts and tips about promotion.

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    Romantic Times convention wrap-up …

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    Last week, I attended the annual Romantic Times convention in Columbus, Ohio. So I thought I would do a little wrap-up of some of the sights and sounds:

    1) Southern Ohio is a massive speedtrap. Why is the speed limit 55 mph when the road is straight, flat, and I can see for two miles?

    2) Columbus is a pretty cool city. The hotel was on one of the main drags through town, so there was lots to see/do within walking distance, which is always nice. I especially liked the North Market and all the food goodies inside. Yum!

    3) I hit several panels during the convention — one on blogging, one on Twitter, a suspense panel with Barry Eisler and some other authors, a panel on contemporary romance, and one on publicity/marketing. One of the best panels that I went to was one with Jim Butcher and Charlaine Harris talking about how their books went from being books to being TV shows. Charlaine was hysterical. A very funny lady, and Jim was really cool too.

    4) I also did a panel with author/TV producer Julie Kramer. We talked about how authors can pitch themselves and their books to the media. Julie had the idea to go around and figure out a quick pitch for everyone who came, which I thought was a really cool idea. I hope folks went away with some good information and some ideas for pitches.

    5) During my panel, I had a bit of a fangirl moment. An author came in and described her book. As soon as she said Warprize, I knew that it was Elizabeth Vaughan, author of the book by that same title. So me being me, I pointed to her and shouted across the room “Elizabeth Vaughan! Warprize! I love your books! My friend loves your books!”

    Elizabeth probably thinks I’m a freak now, but I went up to her after the panel and we had a nice little chat. She’s putting out a new book in the Warprize series, so I’m looking forward to that.

    6) I met lots of authors at the conference, like Victoria Dahl, Julie James, Michelle Rowen, Shiloh Walker, Jackie Kessler, Heather Brewer, Kasey Mackenzie, Kat Richardson, Mark Henry, Lilli Feisty, M.A. Ellis, and tons of other folks. Almost everyone was really nice. One of the things I love most about conferences is putting faces with names and meeting other authors in person. It’s a treat.

    7) The RT folks are great too. I chatted with the ladies who put the magazine together every month, and they are a lovely bunch of women. If you like books, RT really is a great magazine to subscribe to.

    8) Of course, I did meet a few folks who weren’t so friendly or were downright rude. Meh. It happens. So what do I do when someone is less than polite to me? I simply don’t read their books. I know that people get tired and cranky at conferences (including yours truly), and I can’t even begin to imagine the demands on the big-name authors from fans at an event like RT. It’s got to be tough and exhausting for everyone to want a piece of you during a conference. Still, I always try to put my best foot forward and be nice to everyone. I hope I succeed at that, but at least I know that I’m not acting like a total diva. And yes, I have seen authors act like divas at conferences/book signings. It’s not pretty, and that kind of behavior does not endear an author to anyone — not to readers, not to booksellers, and not to other authors.

    9) The big Saturday book signing went well. I had 15 copies of Spider’s Bite to sign, and I sold them all. This is the first time that I’ve ever sold out of books at a conference, which was a really nice feeling. Plus, several folks were looking for early copies of Web of Lies. I didn’t have any since the book isn’t out until May 25, but it was still nice of folks to ask. I also signed copies of the Bigtime books, although I didn’t sell out of those.

    To everyone who came up and talked to me at the signing, thanks. I really do appreciate that and all the nice things that you had to say about my books. You totally made my conference. 😉

    10) My only complaint about the book signing was that the aisles were not nearly big enough, but they never are at these things. I was down the row from Jeaniene Frost, and her line quickly took up most of the aisle. They really should have given her a table by herself. Eventually, they did move her out to a bigger area. On the bright side, I got to chat with her fans about her books (which I really like) while they waited in line and some of them were interested in Spider’s Bite as well. So I figure it was win-win for everyone.

    11) It always amazes me how clever people are at the book signing. Like Jackie from Literary Escapism, who had a board for authors to sign that she’s going to do a giveaway with. I thought that was really cool. And I’m totally going to invest in my own board to get my favorite authors to sign. Framing that and being able to see all the autographs is a great idea. Kudos, Jackie!

    Instead of books, another lady had labels (bookplates) that she had authors sign. I thought that was clever because it meant that she didn’t have to try to lug a bag of heavy books down the crowded aisles. And I’m not just saying that because she said that she loved my books and had me sign several labels for her. 😉

    So there you have it. Some highlights from RT. If you’ve never been, it really is a fun conference and worth checking out. Got questions? I’ll answer them in the comments.

  • Book signing update …

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    Quick update: I’ll be signing books from 1-3 p.m. Jan. 23 at Mountain Empire Comics in Bristol, Tenn. Spider’s Bite doesn’t officially release until Jan. 26, but if you come to the comic book store that day, you can get the book early. And you know you want to … 😉

    Some other writers/artists will be signing their books throughout the day, including Charles Vess, who’s known for his work/illustrations with Neil Gaiman, among other folks. So it should be a good time. I’ve just got my fingers crossed there’s no snow that day!

  • The truth about book signings …

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    So I’m back after the long holiday weekend. Hope everyone had a good turkey day. I know that I still feel stuffed from all the food! 😉

    Someone asked me the other day if I was going to be doing any book signings for Spider’s Bite when it comes out in late January. The answer? Yes and no.

    I plan on doing one signing at my local comic book store. Yep, that’s right. Just the one signing. Well, maybe one more at my local library, if they’re up for it. So two signings, total.

    Why so few? Because the truth is that book signings kind of suck.

    Don’t get me wrong. I absolutely love meeting readers, and I am more than happy to sign books until my fingers bleed (not that my books are popular enough for that to happen, but hey, it’s something to strive for).

    But my previous signings at my local chain stores have not gone all that well — I’ve never sold more than a handful of books at them. At the worst signing, I only sold one book — and that’s only because my high school Spanish teacher came into the store completely by chance and took pity on me. How sad is that?

    Mostly, during a signing at a chain bookstore, it’s me sitting at a table for two hours as people walk on by, desperately avoiding making eye contact with me. And the people who do approach me? They mostly want to know where the bathroom is. (Seriously, people will ask you that all the time).

    Of course, it might help if I were a great salesman, but the truth is that I’m not. I’m good at talking to folks one on one, but not necessarily at attracting their attention in the first place. And honestly, all of this kind of ties into one of my pet peeves. Because I don’t like the folks who sit outside of the grocery store selling doughnuts, Girl Scout cookies, or whatever to raise funds for their cause. You know the ones I’m talking about, where as soon as you approach the door, the folks run over to you, get in your way, and shove their product into your face. If I wanted to buy your doughnuts, I would come over and ask you about them. Otherwise, leave me alone. I’m only here to get groceries, nothing else. Okay, mini rant over. 😉

    The bottom line is that I don’t want to be that kind of person. I don’t want to hassle people. I figure folks can read the sign, see the books, and figure out why I’m there. So I sit at my little table and leave it up to them to walk over to me (which is probably the wrong approach, but it’s the one I’m comfortable with).

    And then, there’s the manager at one of my local chain stores. A while back, I tried to set up a signing for Hot Mama, and I called her four times — even speaking to her once or twice on the phone. She promised that she’d call me back and that we’d set something up, but she never did. It was such a hassle trying to pin her down that I didn’t even bother trying to set up a signing for Jinx. I went by the store the other day and dropped off a cover flat for Spider’s Bite, along with my contact information. And, of course, she hasn’t called me. And I know that she won’t. Sigh …

    And really, it’s kind of a pain to even set up a signing at a chain store in the first place. Because to sign at a Barnes & Noble, Borders, or wherever, you’re supposed to have your publicist set it up. (And having a publicist is not as glamorous as it sounds because she’s also the publicist for tons of other books that are also coming out that month from the publisher. You are one author/book among dozens).

    Last year, when I was considering doing a signing for Jinx, I was told by my publicist that one of the local chains wanted me to guarantee that at least 40 people would show up at the signing. Seriously — 40 people. Can you believe that? I don’t even think I know 40 people, much less have the gumption to ask them to interrupt their Saturday to come to my signing and buy a book. That’s just rude.

    All of this is why I really love the signings at conferences like RWA and RT. Sure, they are big, massive, noisy, and exhausting, but people are there to meet authors and buy books. Even if I only sell a few books, I still have a good time, because there are tons of other authors and readers to talk to. And, you know, authors that I want to meet myself. 😉

    I also like signing at my local comic book store. The owner there has been great to work with, and his customers love all kinds of fantasy books. I think it’s a win-win for all of us. Because even if no one buys any of my books, I still get to talk about Buffy, Chuck, and all the other latest, greatest fantasy TV shows, books, and movies.

    So yeah, I’ve basically decided that me signing all by my little lonesome at a chain store isn’t really a good use of my time. I might sell a few books, but that’s also two hours that I could be writing, reading, or blogging. But you know what? The next time I see an author at a bookstore, I’m going to go over and at least say hi to them — because I know exactly how lonely those two hours can be.