Tag: book signings

Marketing Primer: In-Person Marketing and Events

Setting up in-person events takes making connections and planning in advance.

Types of Events

  • Book signing (new releases, special events)
  • Speaking engagements (author talk, informative lecture)
  • Community organization events (any event that allows vendors)
  • Writing groups (guest speaker)
  • Art collaborative events (art walks, art fairs/festivals)
  • Craft fairs (schools, senior center, maker markets)
  • Community festivals (seasonal, renaissance, kids)
  • School or library talks (information presentation, career day)
  • Informational presentations (conferences, comic cons, literature events)

Setting up a book signing

Book signings are not limited to book stores, but if you do want to hold a signing at a bookstore, focus on local and independent stores. Chain bookstores often don’t work with indie authors because of buyback restrictions and they may not take consignments either.

Local stores are more flexible and offer better royalty splits on books sold during a signing or on consignment books. A 60/40 split is common with many indie bookstores when books are excepted on consignment.

If you wat to branch out from bookstores, pitch libraries, restaurants/cafes, or a business related to the book’s theme. When working with a for-profit organization or an event center, you will likely need to rent the space or give a percentage of sales to the venue or owner.

Be sure to book your signing 1-2 months in advance. Venues or organizations who hold regular events need plenty of time to fit you into the schedule. It’s also important to give yourself enough time to make sure you will have books available.

Speaking engagements

You don’t have to wait for someone to ask you to speak to their group or organization. Prepare a presentation and pitch yourself to groups.

Author talks or informational presentations are great options when you don’t have a new release or something to celebrate but still want to stay active in the community. Pitch yourself to bookstores, libraries, charity events, schools, Comic Cons, writing conferences, or festivals.

Have a topic ready to pitch. Write out a 100-word synopsis of the content and have a sample ready for consideration. Don’t just talk about your book. Focus on the issues your book deals with or pick a writing or book related topic you feel comfortable speaking on.

Charge a speaking fee or ask to sell books in lieu of payment.

People do not buy goods and services. The buy relations, stories, and magic.

Seth Godin

While marketing can be intimidating and time consuming, the more you focus on building relationships with readers, the more success and satisfaction you’ll experience.

Indie Author Basics: Organizing Events

Organizing your own event can be intimidating, but knowing what to expect and how to prepare can make it a little easier.

Book signings are often the first type of author event that comes to mind, but don’t limit yourself to only one mode of celebrating your work. Consider setting up a reading, author talk, educational presentation, workshop, release party, themed or holiday event, or join a local arts event.

Bookstores

If you intend to approach a bookstore for your event, there are a few important factors to consider.

Many bigger, chain bookstores will only schedule events with agented authors whose books have buyback options (most POD printers do not offer this). It can be challenging for indie authors to set up book signing or author talks at these stores, but it is always worth speaking to someone in person to see if they alternate arrangements.

Smaller or independent bookstores have more flexibility to work with authors. Many will take books for a signing on consignment and offer the author a profit split for those that are sold during the event. Some may even agree to stock consigned books for a specific amount of time.

When contacting book stores, you often need to reach out to the buyer for your genre. If they aren’t listed on a website, call the store and ask to speak with the books/fiction manager about setting up an event. Do this 1-2 months in advance.

Be sure to ask: whether they will order the books or if you will nee to provide them and when they will need them by, what the profit split is for consigned books, if will they stock leftover books, what equipment they will provide and what do you need to provide, where in the store the event will be held, where you can hang posters to advertise the event, and if they have any other rules or restrictions you should be aware of.

Other Venues

Don’t limit yourself to bookstores for you events. Coffee shops and restaurants are great alternatives for release parties, readings, or speaking events. You may need to rent the space or purchase a certain amount of food/drinks. Each business will handle this differently, and it may take some negotiating and shopping around to find something that works with your budget. Hotel conference rooms tend to be more pricey, but can host larger crowds.

If your book has a specific theme or character’s job central to the storyline, you may consider approaching a related organization or business. One author posted about hosting a signing at a fire station because her main character was a firefighter. It was a great success, because kids were able to see the trucks while the adults chatted about books, making it a fun family event.

Other Events

Pay attention to what community events are available in your area. Craft fairs and makers markets are often open to a wide variety of artists, including authors. Many of these events require paying either a booth fee or a share of sales. Consider not only your potential sales, but your chance for exposure at these events.

It’s often a good idea to sell books for a rounded price to make it easier for people to pay cash and not have to worry about providing change. Also, consider having a way to take credit card payments on a device such as Square.

Art walks, festivals, Comic Cons, and holiday events are also great options for authors to sell books. Look for separate booth fee pricing for artists. Not all events will offer this, but if the option is available, the booth fee is usually significantly cheaper than those for businesses. Be ready with a tall banner sign and business cards or postcards for people to take to remember you and your books later.

Final Tips

Set up or sign up for events as early as possible. Events like this often sell out quickly and venues have a variety of events all year that you will need to schedule around.

Bring you own bags (personalized if possible) to events not at bookstores. Books are awkward to carry around all day without a bag.

Have smaller, cheaper items available for sale. Book themed bags, pens, bookmarks, jewelry, etc. make great small gifts for book lovers even if visitors aren’t particularly interested in your books.

Have a short pitch ready to tell people what your book is about and don’t be afraid to sing it’s praises!

Indie Author Basics: Responsibilities of an Indie Author

Without a traditional publisher, what do indie authors need to handle on their own?

The list may be long, but it doesn’t have to be overwhelming. Breaking everything down can help you decide which tasks to learn to do yourself and which to hire out.

I’ll break these down in the coming weeks, but here’s a broad list of what indie authors devote their time to when not writing:

Production costs

These costs include editing (developmental, copy editing, proofreading), cover design, formatting, setup, distribution fees. Next week, I’ll break down costs for each of these as well as options for reducing the overall cost of book production.

Marketing

Marketing includes building a plan and carrying it out, learning about paid advertising and booking ads, setting up and managing social media accounts, participating in online and in-person events, writing and sending out press releases, and much more.

Networking

When it comes to networking, it’s important to engage with the author community, join groups and lists, make friends for support, find beta readers or critique partners, and learn from others in the industry.

Collaborate

Collaborations that are popular right now include box sets, worlds, promo groups, etc. These collaborations help authors expand their audience and reach, as well as learn more about marketing and promotion.

Reaching Out

Reaching out to media, stores, businesses, etc. is part of marketing, but for many people it’s a different skill than interacting on social media or booking ads. Different types of stores have different requirements for booking an author signing, and bookstores aren’t the only option for signings. Learning how to approach a business, radio station, newspaper, etc. the right way can make a difference in being accepted.

Events

Without an agent or publisher, indie authors are often responsible for organizing their own signings, publicity events, participation in books fairs, speaking engagements, conferences, etc. Learning about what types of events are worth while, how to get involved, or what type of classes to submit to a conference can help you make solid plan.

Over the next few weeks I’ll be discussing each of these topics in more detail. Follow the blog to make sure you don’t miss a topic!