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When the manager of a large chain bookstore approached me for my very first local book-signing, I was ecstatic. I met with her and we carefully plotted which weekend would be good, based on what events were being held at the mall. First week in December. Outstanding. The bookstore would handle contacting the newspaper, radio and television stations, and see that the information was set up with the mall website and announcements. I designed large posters with the book covers and my photograph, had them printed on vinyl, and delivered them to the bookstore along with a stack of glossy bookmarks. Next, I found some classy invitation kits and sent them out to 50 of my friends, family, and colleagues two weeks before the event. I dropped off comp copies of the books to the radio and television stations, and agreed to be interviewed on the local noon news program. The week before the signing, I sent news releases to the local newspapers, and delivered some information about me and my books to the mall events office. On signing day, all but two of my invitees showed up, I met dozens of new people who bought my books, and the bookstore manager was thrilled. She sold out both titles! Three months later, the same bookstore manager called again and asked if I would do another signing. (Of course! I'm now an old pro at this stuff.) This time, she chose the date, which happened to be Easter weekend. Again, she said she'd take care of the publicity and set-up. I rounded up my invitation list, which had expanded a little, and sent out about 25 invitations. I delivered bookmarks and the posters the week before the event. The first signing had been such a success, I felt I didn't need to duplicate the bookstore's efforts, so on the day, I just showed up. Imagine my dismay to find that the manager had taken an unplanned vacation, the clerks didn't know what to do, other than put out a table and ring up the books. No balloons, no mall PA announcements, no news release in the media. And someone had to dig through the back room to find the posters to hang after I arrived. They sold ten books. Moral: your book is more important to you than anyone else, so be part of the solution.
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