Book signings can be a lot of fun, and my wife and I always try to attend if someone we know is making an appearance. (One of the most important practices that I hope all authors will adopt is to support each other!)
Last night, Barry Eisler did a signing at the Barnes & Noble in Bethesda, Maryland, so we made the trek over the river to see him.
Barry is one the best authors I've observed when it comes to making public appearances. He's smooth, professional and charismatic. That's a hard act for a lot of us to follow. But that doesn't mean we can't do our best to make book signings (and other public appearances) successful.
I've never done a book signing, but I have been to a lot of them. Here is some advice based on things I've observed:
1) Make sure your appearance is professional and appropriate. I won't tell you how to dress -- that will vary a lot depending on who you are and what your image is -- but try to look nice. Speak clearly and confidently. Don't hem or haw, don't "um" and "like," don't swear gratuitously. (Book signings are invariably held next to the kid's books section, so shape your content as necessary.)
2) Meet and chat up the employees. Remember, they're the ones who will be selling your books once you're gone.
3) Introduce yourself to audience members individually before you begin. People love to have a chance to meet the author personally and say hello. I think that making a personal connection with readers is the most powerful tool an author has for selling books. Granted, it's difficult to meet very many fans. But if you're already taking the time to go to the bookstore, make the most of it.
4) Make sure the people in the back can hear you. The spaces used for author talks are often awkward, so it can be hard for everyone to hear. Learn to speak using a microphone, and learn to speak up when one isn't available.
5) Prepare for the formal portion of your talk, keep it reasonably brief, and make it interesting. Now is not the time to speak extemporaneously. Make sure you know what you want to say. Introduce yourself, talk about your work in general, then talk about the current book. Include a couple of stories or anecdotes (funny or otherwise) in your talk; maybe something about researching the book, or writing the book. People enjoy hearing about the process. Even if the audience seems familiar with you and your work already, give them the 5-minute talk about who you are and what you write anyway. It's necessary for the new people in attendance, and won't bother the veterans.
6) Don't read from your book. This is controversial with some people, but I think that it's good advice. Readings often don't make sense out of context, they usually aren't particularly entertaining, and many authors aren't very good at reading aloud. Most of us would be better off using the time doing something else.
7) Leave sufficient time for Q&A. People love to have the chance to ask questions. Make sure to repeat an abbreviated version of the question before you answer it. A lot of people probably weren't able to hear the question the first time around. Also, don't let one person monopolize the questions.
8) Refer people to your website for more information. Give them the address.
9) Speak confidently about yourself and your work. Don't be arrogant, but don't be a shrinking violet either.
10) When you sign the book, stick a business card or bookmark or something in it. This isn't a necessity, but I think it's a nice touch. It should have your website address on it so that people can look you up once they get home.
11) Be spontaneous when necessary. The above advice is most appropriate for signings with a crowd of at least 20 people or so. Many times you won't get that. If that's the case, improvise. You might want to dispense with the more formal portion of your talk and just speak informally to the audience. Try to get a sense of how they're reacting to you and tailor your approach as necessary.
12) Remember, the audience is there because they want to hear what you have to say. Make sure you're not wasting their time. Make the experience entertaining, rewarding and informative.
Now get out there and sell books!
