After working as the book signing coordinator for my local romance writers group, I realized that signings are not about selling books, but about building awareness with booksellers and readers. I also realized that in my career I would keep signings to a minimum. Why?
Signing Aren’t Effective: If you want to cultivate relationships with booksellers, do yourself a favor and don’t request a signing. Most store chains have adopted a policy refusing to host one unless a set number is guaranteed to sell. If you want to have a signing to connect with readers, attend events designed specifically for your target audience. For example, romance authors should participate in RWA’s Literacy Autographing or in the RT BookFair. Authors with small presses and e-publishers find great success in these events because the die-hard readers can’t get their books in traditional outlets.
Signings Aren’t Economical: Let me present the situation as a word problem: “For writer/mom Joan to do a book signing, she must first arrange for a $10 an hour babysitter. While Joan’s book sells at $5, she’s getting the royalties and makes 50 cents for every book sold. How many books must Joan sell at a 2-hour book signing for her to cover costs?” The answer will make you consider the world of babysitting. Now let’s look at the others costs Joan accrued to do a signing. If Joan followed all of the tips available on making a signing successful, she would have spent a good chunk of her advance on promo items, prizes for contest drawings, laminated posters of her book, snacks to lure readers to her table, etc.
Let’s not forget the amount of time she spent sending out news releases, writing her intercom announcement, and creating a presentation to go with her signing so it can be classified as an ‘event’. These are just a few recommended tasks to sell ten books. That’s right. Ten books. If Joan is lucky. Authors who have done book signings will tell you that selling 10 -15 books in two hours is more of the norm – on a good day. More often than not, no one will buy your book from your signing.
Granted, these scenarios might not apply to your situation, but you still can’t determine if the effort you put into the event will pay off. You need to decide if there is a marketing strategy that is more economical of your time and money than book signings.
Signings Aren’t Good for the Ego: A lot of new authors want to experience the rite of passage of a book signing. Ambitious writers are determined to do whatever they can to guarantee a good sell-through. These reasons are understandable – to a point. Before you participate in every signing opportunity because it might increase your numbers, first find out your publisher’s expectations. I once attended a workshop given by a publisher’s marketing VP and found that for a new author, she was only interested in the numbers from a specific segment of consumers. She would be excited about the author if the book sold 5% above predictions. However, if the numbers exceeded 5%, then it would be assumed someone in their offices miscalculated the profit and loss estimations.
For those who can’t wait to have a signing, ask yourself if the opportunity is good for your numbers… or good for your ego. If your heart is set on having a signing, budget your time and your enthusiasm. Many debut authors support their first book with weekends crammed packed with signings and later regret wasting that time when they could have been writing their follow-up book. Others cringe as they remember how much money they spent.
So the next time you’re putting together your marketing plan and wondering if you should include store signings, consider the three E’s: effectiveness, economy and ego. Chances are your time and efforts are better spent elsewhere.
This article first appeared in Funds for Writers.
