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Unless the public knows you I think booksignings are a relative waste of time. The key is to get your name out there in as many places as possible and in as many ways as possible. It takes time. In addition to my novels and some non-fiction coming out shortly, I host two internet Talk Radio shows, am a featured writer for the American chronicle, blog on a regular basis and write to ezine outlets. It takes time and commitment.

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I somewhat agree with you, Phil, that booksignings are a realative waste of time. I really don't like doing them but I do when I can. It is another way for the public to get to know who you are. It is also a way for the bookstore where the signing is held to get to know you and your book so they will be more likely to recommend it to readers.
Kristie Leigh Maguire
Book signings are what you make them. If you go to a book signing with the intention of it making you a national bestseller then you are wasting your time. The real goal of booksignings is to get to know the sales staff, hand out as much information as you can and not be insulted when shoppers come into a store and ask you which way is the rest room. LOL. I've been published since 1990 and I still cringe when I have to do booksignings. Most stores put little or no effort into promotion. It serves to get your name and book on the radar. Unfortunately for the most part, you couldn't sell enough books at a booksigning to even register on your royalty statement... unless you are a NYT author or a USA today other. The real work is grassroots work, building a brand, being consistent, building a fan base that will buy your books whether they see you or not. Using all of the resources and technology that is available to you. And... yes, doing the booksignings sigh.... once your are established and your numbers are high then you can disappear off of the booksigning radar for a while and promote from your desktop. Still getting out there, going to conferences and literary events are a necessary evil in building your career.
Hi all. Thought I'd toss my two cents worth. Since my book has only been available for 2 months, 1 week, and 3 days, LOL not many outside of my home town community know me ... yet. Therefore, I'm focusing all my "in-person" efforts locally for the time being. When friends and colleagues called to ask if I was going to have a signing of Silenced Cry, I suggested they call the bookstore and ask the manager about it. By the time I called the manager myself, he was eager to have me. He said my book what to most popular book they had in the store (imagine that). The signing was so successful that he asked me to go back in November.

On the other hand, I've poured a great deal of time and effort into reaching as many other audiences throughout the world via the internet. I belong to countless number of author groups, I’ve posted on blogs, exchanged web links with several sites, and have taken advantage of every opportunity (including attending conferences) I find to promote my book.

My experience thus far has been that word of mouth is doing its part to sell the book whether its face to face or via the internet. Based on what readers have told me, my book has been read by more people than those who have bought it because it's been passed from one person to another--in some cases more than once. Not great for sales, but it’s doing exactly what I hoped it would do. Excite someone enough to recommend it to a friend.

There’s no doubt that it will take time, but right now, the logic to the madness of my marketing plan for this first book is that the more people become acquainted with my writing, the more will be willing to buy the next one. And ... what good is buying book two in a series if you don’t have the first one. It will be interesting to see what happens to the sale numbers of book one after book two comes out.
Man, I feel like it's the end of the world, as I'm a debut author myself. Trying to get the word out is a challenge in itself. I have been wondering about book signings as well. My question is if book signings are less than ideal, what is the best alternative?

I've joined a ton of groups, created a website, created a myspace page, blah blah blah. i see soooooo many people promoting their book. you know what? i barely remember them because everyone's competing for the market share. it makes me wary because if i'm having a difficult time remembering when others promote, what's going to make mine memorable? how useful is this? i am just looking for some pespective at this point.

Any information would be great...

just my $0.02
These groups are kind of authors clubs where infomation, ideas, tips, success, failures and connections are made-they will not directly sell your book as, like you noticed-everyone is doing the hustle.
However, when I first started you could not find my name on the internet-at least not me-But now, out of 88,000 philip harris' on the internet, I come up #3 and I am listed 3times out of the first ten listings. How, by being in groups, posting articles, blogging, hyping my books, etc. For example, anytime I send in info to my site at Author'sDen, it shows up on google. There are numerous groups where this happens-SOOOO, while the people in the groups do not buy your books, if you play it right, they help to get your name out there-and that, is marketing. It takes time and work-when you get a chance-google your name-then do it a year from now and see what happens if you put in the time-be sure to put quotes around your name when you do that and be sure to use the name that you are using to get known-I think authors who use avatar names and not the name that is on their book are missing an opportunity to be known.
Again, you will not sell any books here but it can help you sell books. I also have two internet TalkRadio shows and have found people here to be my guests-does that directly help me sell books? Not really, butgetting known and interviewing great new people does help indirectly.
You may want to sign up at www.nothingbinding,com That group is aimed at connecting author and reader and selling books-it is really just getting going but it adds to your presence in the author world.
Good lucl!
OMG! I found this post to be very informative. Now I understand. At first I was simply trying to make heads or tales of all of these media outlets. I must be honest, it's difficult at first trying to remember who's who. But I guess it's just a matter of doing the "grass roots" marketing as Donna Hill mentioned. I've googled myself (partly due to narcissism) to find out where i come up. I was surprised that I show up at the top... but not many people use "authoress" anymore.

thanks again for your help. just continuing to work on my information highway presence....

my $0.02
I agree that signings by a new or unknown author - especially in the chain stores - are usually not very productive as far as the volume of sales. And if you're self-published and/or POD, there's a chance you'll have to provide your own books and split any sales 60/40 with the store. If you expect too much from a signing there's a strong possibility you'll come away disappointed. But as Donna Hill said in her post, signings are what you make them. If you're realistic about sales and want to get some exposure, they may not be a total waste.

After 11 years in the writing business I've found other marketing events that work better for me, and I very rarely do chain store signings anymore. I recommend focusing on more productive venues and making store signings a low priority.

Denny Griffin

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