Help me win a bet

[Tiva Wallon]

Hi all! Ok here it is. A friend of mine said when you have a book signing people don't care if you are sitting the whole time. I say if there are no book buyers at your table then you should be on your feet, greeting people, handing out book marks, post cards ect.

My friend said it was a waste of time to walk a book store and hand out book marks. If the customer came in and walked the other way from your table, then they weren't interested in meeting you in the first place. I told her that some people like to go directly to the section they want, to get the book they are searching for then they might be curious and come see. But if you go to meet these people, hand them a book mark they will know you are there and stop by your table. People are naturally curious and they like freebies.

So who's right? Lunch is riding on this and both my friend and I agreed to let you all be the judges. Do I get lunch at Applebees or do I have to pay for her lunch?

[Rosemarie Piemonte]

Hi,
You definitely need to walk around if no one is at your table. Walk into the section where the genre of your book is sold and attempt to get those people to buy your book first by handing out bookmarks, excerpts, etc. If you wrote a romance and are seated next to the magazines, you should really be lurching around in the romance section. Walk away from your table for 5 minutes and then walk back. Talk to the customers and try to make them laugh too. If they like your personality and realize you're not just a bump in the chair near the front of the store, they'll be buying your book too. I hope you can get a free lunch now at Applebees. Rosemarie

[Tim Quinton]

Just sitting at a table will get you only one thing. A lot of smiles and waves (maybe), but no customers. I can tell you that is a fact!

[Tiva Wallon]

Thanks Rosemarie and Tim, score 2 points for my side!

[Thomas Reed]

The whole idea behind a book signing is to get people to notice you, buy your books and become a great fan. Right? If you sit there waiting for them to come to you then why go to a book signing at all? You did all this work to schedule a book signing at the local Hastings or Mall, you put up flyers, you carted your books in stacked them up, dressed in your finest. "People clothing." you blew up balloons, you haggled with the manager of the store or the Mall. You made sure there was no lettuces stuck between your teeth and that your breath didn't smell like the garlic pasta you had for lunch. Now you are just going to sit there? Naw! Tell me it isn't so! Please! Tell me it isn't so. If there ain't no one coming to you, stand up and be noticed, greet people, talk to them make conversation, give them things, talk about your book, let people know who the person is behind the book. But don't just sit there. Don't put a desk between you and your readers, put your hand out, go get them, drag them over. Tell them how cute the kid is, complement them on their hair do, their shoes and the Moo Moo dress. But don't sit there.

[Phyllis]

I've never been to a book - signing so I am completely uninformed.
That said, would not the same logic apply in this case as in the case of a photographer trying to drum up some business on a slow day; meeting -and - greeting, publicity, advertising your product, working the crowd, etc., etc. ?
To my way of thinking, it not only gets you into the public eye, it gives the backside a rest and helps keep the ankles from swelling up painfully.
Just a thought.
Regards,
Phyllis

[Jeffrey J. Mariotte]

Depends on the store and the situation...as with most things in life. At the specialty store I'm a co-owner of, we host about 300 authors a year. There are, of course, times when very few people come to a signing, and times when hundreds do. During those unfortunate quiet times, however, there's always the chance that someone might come in looking for the author. If the author is away from the table and nowhere to be seen, at Mysterious Galaxy, the customer would probably ask a staffer. At a mega-chain store, though, staffers, except those behind the register, might be just as invisible. You, the author in question, might miss meeting the person who will be your biggest fan and promoter, buy all of your backlist, talk you up online, or option the film rights to your novel, because you were away from the table handing bookmarks to people who had already decided not to look at your stuff when they walked in and saw that you were there.

I stay at or near the table at my own signings, and recommend the same to authors in my store.

Jeff