What a crazy time these last several days have been, running around advertising, trying to get everything together for the big events, and trying not to get too stressed out over them.
Barnes & Noble was up first on Friday night from 6 to 7 pm.
I had a case of nerves ahead of time and stressed over last-minute things. Once the event started, though, I calmed down. About a dozen people came throughout the event, all friends and family (thank you!!!), which gave it a much more relaxed atmosphere and helped me not to be as nervous. I sold 8 books, and it was fun signing them. The store wasn’t busy, and I don’t think anyone came to the Marvel Fangirl event that was supposed to run after my event. It was a nice night weather-wise, so I imagine most people were out enjoying it. It may not have been a packed house, but it worked for me, getting my feet wet for the first time. It was a great experience.
When setting up the event, I had the choice of sitting near the front of the store at a table and just being available to sign books or using the event space on the second floor to have a book discussion, in addition to the book signing. The event space was an open space on one side of the selling floor with a podium and chairs set up for an audience. I decided to go with the latter and have the discussion. I’ve heard that straight book signings can be awkward, and I didn’t want anyone to feel pressured into buying my book. I also thought a discussion would be a better way to engage potential readers and get them interested in the book. I don’t know if it was the right choice or not, but it seemed like the right one at the time.
The Bookstock Literary Festival was another interesting experience, even though I didn’t sell any books. I manned the League of VT Writers table to promote books by League members, including my own. Part of the reason for no sales, I think, was the location of the table. The festival organizers had canopy tents set up along a walking path on the green. The tables that fronted the walkway got a lot of business, but those around the sides didn’t get as much traffic. The LVW table was on the side and also toward the back, close to the used book sale tent. By the time the people got to our end of the green, they saw the big “Book Sale” sign and made a beeline for that tent. In their defense, I probably would have done the same thing, though I would have gone back and checked out the places I’d missed afterward. Oh, well. I’ll have some good feedback to give them about the experience, anyway.
On to the next event!
© Lori L. MacLaughlin and Writing, Reading, and the Pursuit of Dreams, 2015. All rights reserved.
I like the idea of the event space for a book discussion. The last book signing that I went to talked about herself and the book first. It made the book more meaningful when it was time to purchase it for her signature.
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That’s what I was hoping would happen. Thanks very much for your input!
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Sounds like fun. Oh how I miss bookstores.
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It was fun, once I stopped being nervous. Bookstores are my favorite stores. I could spend hours in them.
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You learn something from each one. Glad you did sell some books at Barnes and Noble.
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Thanks, Alex! Each event is definitely a learning experience.
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I like that concept of an event space. I’ve been to some places where the author was crammed at a table in the middle of the stacks. Yikes!
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Oh, that sounds uncomfortable. I’m glad I didn’t have that experience
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so exciting!! And I would have gone with the space for the discussion too. I’ve heard straight up signings can be scary and awkward and I try to avoid awkward lol
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Me, too! The events are stressful enough without them being awkward. 🙂
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Sounds like you’ve got some great events going for you. How fun! Hope everything keeps going smoothly. 🙂
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Thank you, Loni!
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Congrats on your 2 events! I’m sure putting up the flyers helped, and it was smart of you to choose a location you felt comfortable in at the store. Bad luck on the location at the fair though. Oh well, live and learn. Have a lovely weekend! 🙂
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Thanks, Lexa! All these experiences will make things easier for next time, I hope.
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