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Blogs by Maggie Bishop
Top 10 Don'ts of Book Signing by Maggie Bishop
11/17/2008 1:28:13 PM
We all need help selling our books and this list will help you avoid irritating readers and book store staff.
10. Arrive late and show disrespect for the staff’s efforts. Show up without confirming the signing at least the day before. That way, if your signing has been overlooked, the staff has time to be prepared.
9. Limp handshake. Be proud of your writing and show it through a firm handshake.
8. Forget own supplies such as a pen, name tag and water. Demand free coffee or food as your reward for showing up.
7. Chatting on cell phone or talking with friend when a customer approaches. Don’t become that store clerk you complain about. Give the reader the respect they deserve.
6. Grab a customer by the arm and demand they “buy my book,” put down other authors and books, use a guilt trip “I need the money to feed my kids,” or steal another author’s customer when at a group signing. These are ways to make a reader avoid you and the store in the future.
5. Eat onions, garlic or tuna before a signing or chewing gum during a signing. You want customers to cry over your prose and not your breath.
4. Sit behind the table, do crossword puzzles or read, and ignore customers. Get over being shy and develop an outgoing persona for your moment before readers.
3. Wear revealing clothing, shorts, old shoes. Dress as you would for an interview–one level higher than the customer. You want to invite people into your space through your appearance.
2. Ignore or be rude to the help or, worse yet, blame the staff for low sales; if asked to sign stock, sign more than requested. The store needs to make money in order for you to get paid. The staff will chat about you after you leave so make sure they feel good about your visit.
1. Attitude that you are doing the store a favor, signing only because the publisher demands it, or that the reader is lucky that you appear in person. The reader is royalty, not you.
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More Blogs by Maggie Bishop
• Top 10 Don'ts of Book Signing by Maggie Bishop - Monday, November 17, 2008
• Prologue to Perfect for Framing - Tuesday, October 21, 2008
• Maggie Bishop Interviewed 2009 - Wednesday, October 08, 2008
• Review of You Mean I Have To Look at the Body?! by Marcia Cham - Monday, October 06, 2008
• Review of The Collard Patch by Mary Lou Cheatham & Paul Elliott - Monday, October 06, 2008
• Mom’s Most Handsome Man – Japan 1963 - Sunday, September 21, 2008
• Maggie Bishop as Guest Speaker April 2009 - Friday, October 20, 2006
• Villains & Appalachian Villains - Tuesday, October 03, 2006
• Crazy Cruising Tips (The Pay Off) - Thursday, September 21, 2006
• More Crazy Cruising Tips (The Set Up) - Sunday, September 10, 2006
• Crazy Cruising Tips (Booze on Board) - Monday, September 04, 2006
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