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Readings or Signings? What's Best?
by Lorraine Bartlett
Ask five different authors their opinions on any given subject and you're likely to get five different answers. But the five authors I spoke to about the differences between book signings vs. readings seemed pretty much on the same page.
So what is the difference between a book signing and a reading? According to Lonnie Cruise, author of the Metropolis Murder series, "A reading pretty much gives me a captive audience, so I try to keep it brief. Hook their attention and reel 'em in. Signings are more like a hit and run accident. People hit my table, have me sign a copy, and run--often ignoring the cookies and coffee." (Fear not. The cookies wind up in Lonnie's freezer.)
Judy Clemens, author of the Stella Crown mysteries, also prefers a reading or "event." "A talk or reading involves getting up in front of people and sharing."
Virginia McMorrow, author of the Tuldamoran Mage Trilogy for young adults, has another thought. "Signings make me uneasy. You never know how many people will show up, especially when you're a newly published, unknown author. There's less pressure at a reading because you can make the session more 'up close and personal.'"
S.W. Hubbard, author of the Frank Bennett mysteries, agrees. "At a signing, you just sit at a table in a bookstore and try to reel in passers-by to buy your book. If the store is busy and you don't mind being pushy, you can certainly sell some books this way, but often it's a lonely, depressing two hours. At an event you get a chance to talk about your book, the writing life, and, hopefully, charm your audience. This usually leads to more sales and is a lot more fun.
"Lately, I have been focusing on just signing stock at stores where I can't do an event. That way I can meet the staff, the store will put "signed by the author" stickers on the books and (hopefully) put them face out on the shelf. This usually sells as many books as sitting there for two hours signing."
How does one prepare for a reading or event? "Practice, practice, practice," said McMorrow. Romantic suspense author Dorothy Bodoin agrees. "Practice reading so you won't stumble over your own words."
Clemens follows a basic outline, but changes it for each occasion, depending on the town and her ties to it. "Sometimes the planner gives me ideas for things the occasion stems from, or what the audience will be mostly interested in, and I gear toward those things. People always want to hear about my writing process and how I got published, so that's always a big part of it."
Hubbard concurs. "Every single group just wants to hear about how you get your ideas and how you got published. I talk about the inspiration for each book, and then I tell funny stories about the trials and tribulations of getting published, coping with editors and marketing departments, and the adventure of book promotion. You need to internalize your message and speak from the heart. Try to be funny (even if your books are serious). Don't drone and don't complain. Nothing is more deadly than listening to someone who's reading from a typed speech."
Cruse likes to read from her first chapter and stop with the first pause in action. "I don't like readings that have an excerpt from the middle of the book. I'd much rather catch the reader's attention with my first page and a few after."
Clemens agrees. "I usually read the first chapter, or a portion of it, since it won't give away anything, but it gives people a good idea of my protagonist and her setting.
McMorrow has another view. "It depends on the age and audience. When reading to young adults, I try to pick something to make them laugh or something with good back-and-forth dialogue. For adults at a convention, I try to pick a memorable scene, with just enough to tantalize them into buying the book."
Bodoin chooses something shocking or chilling and ends in a cliffhanger. In other words, her favorite part of the book!
"Reading from my book is usually the briefest part of my presentation, and often I don't do it at all," says Hubbard. But I'm always prepared to read in case someone requests it. You want to choose a passage that has some action and dialogue, but not something that will give away the ending. You can give a little set-up to what's happening in the scene. Then, read no more than two or three pages. Try to end in a spot that leaves them hungering for more."
Something all the authors agreed on was to include a question and answer period in your talk. Says Cruse, "I want feedback from the audience on what their thoughts are about mysteries in general. In helps my writing."
"The more interaction, the better," Bodoin agrees. And allow plenty of time, says Hubbard, "it's usually the most popular part" of the talk.
So how does one target a reading audience? "I mostly speak at libraries, so it's often a book club," says Clemens. "They are so welcoming. I have never done a library talk that hasn't gotten me an article in the local paper."
Hubbard also likes reading groups, which are very popular in her home state of New Jersey. "I've probably done thirty or forty book groups since my first book came out. Everyone I know belongs to one, so I started out by appearing at my friends' groups. That led to word-of-mouth from friends of friends. I promote my availability on my Web site, on my postcards, and I tell bookstore owners so they can recommend me to their patrons in book groups, or invite me to groups they sponsor in their stores. Church groups and civic groups are also good sources. The groups are always really nice to me, there are great snacks, and sometimes I even get a gift!"
Finding your niche audience is a big part of having a successful reading event. Living in Metropolis, IL, Cruse has a built-in tourist audience, as well as those who live in or have moved away from the area.
Farmers seem to enjoy Clemens's book, which features a dairy farmer. "Men, and even teenage boys, are a good target for my book. They love that my protagonist is a tough woman farmer who rides motorcycles and is uncomfortable around feminine stuff."
Hubbard finds a big audience in the Adirondacks, the setting for her books. "I find people all over the country who have visited there and thus are interested in the books. I do events in the area, send my books to local publications which have reviewed them and interviewed me, and I connected with a small regional distributor who has gotten my books into a lot of small gift shops and general stores who aren't served by Ingram and Baker & Taylor (the big distributors)."
For Bodoin, it's her Web site that attracts the most readers. "I've posted first chapters from all my works there, and host periodic contests."
Selling books is another incentive for doing reading events. "If you anticipate a big crowd at a library talk (if there are several authors appearing on a panel, or if it's your hometown crowd) you can ask an independent store if they'd be willing to come and handle book sales for you," says Hubbard. "Otherwise, I bring my own (and lots of change!). It's nice if someone else can handle the money for you while you sign."
Most of Cruse's sales are at libraries or businesses that cannot order the books for her. "I try to keep a good supply on hand which I've ordered from my publisher at a discount," says Cruse. "I can then discount to the buyer, and still make a profit."
However, there is often a drawback to ordering from one's publisher. While the discount is bigger, the sales may not be reflected on your royalty statement.
Clemens orders copies of her books through Amazon, because it's often the cheapest place. "My publisher will sell to me at fifty percent of the cover price, but if I do that, I don't get credit for the sale, so I don't get royalties. Also, Amazon has free shipping, so that saves right there, because I would have to pay shipping from my publisher."
So how many books do the authors sell at a reading? Cruse figures she averages between 10 and 15, and has sold as many as 40 and as few as one. For Hubbard, it's approximately 80-90 percent of the audience, and many buy more than one book.
Not all talks go well. At Clemens's own hometown library, only two people showed up. Hubband has had several bad experiences. At Wal-Mart's Literacy day, they put her in an aisle next to a woman handing out toothpaste samples. At a bookstore in Long Island, not a single person entered the store during her two-hour visit.
But it seems the good talks outweigh the bad. At a Gilda's Club Book Club, one of the members brought Bodoin a caramel apple pie. "It was memorable and touching because there is a poisoned caramel apple pie in my book."
McMorrow's best experience was with a troop of Brownies. "Some of the girls really got into creative writing and were enthusiastically drawing their main character in the workbook I gave them. The pictures were quite interesting."
Hubbard had one exceptional experience when she was invited to speak by the Saratoga, NY, library, along with Archer Mayor and Julia Spencer Fleming. "They put us all up overnight, fed us, and paid us each $300 dollars. There were 150 people in the audience, Archer, Julia and I worked really well together, and I sold a ton of books. I thought I'd died and gone to heaven!"
Cruse likes to bring a sense of fun to her talks and signings. "I carry a Superman lunch box with candy and pictures of the famous statue. It draws kids, who draw parents looking for their kids. We talk. I sell a book or two. I pass out business cards everywhere I go and have been known to accost tourists at the Superman statue with a card and a lecture about how we got the statue in the first place."
Bottom line: signings and readings are just one part of the book promotion experience. Bodoin tries to find a balance between promotional busy work (like postcard mailings) in between writing. "After I've set a manuscript aside, that down time becomes my business time."
For McMorrow, signings just aren't worth the effort. "I've been concentrating on grass roots marketing: local contacts, vendors, friends, writing articles and short stories, creating a Web site, going to conferences, and networking." In other words, "you have to promote your books in ways that make you feel comfortable."
©2005 Lorraine Bartlett
Visit the above-quoted authors at their Web Sites:
Dorothy Bodoin
Judy Clemens
Lonnie Cruse
S.W. Hubbard
Virginia McMorrow
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