Planning a Book Signing

SUGGESTIONS FOR SETTING UP AN OFFICIAL BOOK SIGNING
We're delighted that so many of you are incredibly active in setting up bookstore signings. We'd like to do all we can to make sure that your signings are successful events, so we've talked to our accounts and come up with some tips that you might find helpful.

Once you set up a signing with a local store manager or events coordinator, please know that while it is the store's responsibility to order the books, it is the publisher's responsibility to make sure the store knows how to order and then actually does it on time.

Here's the timeline we suggest for the "safest" event scenario:

6 WEEKS in advance:	Arrange the time and date with the manager. Tell them they can order books from Biblio (a division of NBN) at 800-462-6420 OR they can get books from a wholesaler like Ingram or Baker & Taylor. BUT they may have to backorder the books from the wholesaler to get the quantity they need.
4 WEEKS in advance:	Call the manager and ask if there has been any trouble getting the books. In all likelihood they probably haven't ordered them yet-but this is a friendly way to remind them that they need to do it.
2 WEEKS in advance:	Call again and make sure they have the books. If they have them, great! If they still haven't ordered them, be kind but firm when telling them "now is the time." If they ordered them and tell you there was a problem, find out what the problem is and get specifics. Then please let us know: the store, the event date, the contact name & phone number and the specifics of the problem. Don't forget to include your name, publisher name, book name and ISBN!

Miscellaneous Tips:

• Make sure the event is publicized in some way. You may have to share ad costs with the store or you may have to figure out a way to promote the signing yourself. Be creative!
• If the event is a local one, make sure your friends and family attend—a busy event will attract shoppers who might have been shy otherwise.
• A book signing is not a place to give away free books! Don't let friends and family off the hook. The best way they can support your publishing endeavor is to shell out $20 or so and keep the demand up in the stores.
• If no one shows up for your event, don't be forlorn or angry. I guarantee you that the manager and staff will be feeling very bad for you and the best thing you can do is be cheerful and talk to as many people as possible. Ric Edelman (author of The Truth About Money) signed at my store and the staff loved talking to him about their finances. He was a great sport!

Here are the rules outlined for us by Marcella Smith at B&N for doing an official, recognized signing at Barnes & Noble:

1. The process starts 6 weeks or more before the planned event.
2. The event must be set up through the store's CRM (Community Relations Manager). You must present the CRM with a finished book and your complete marketing plan to be considered.
3. The signing is not an automatic 'gimme'-the CRM may turn you down.
4. To be a recognized B&N event, the signing must officially be on the store's calendar.
5. The book must be in stock either at Ingram or in the B&N warehouse. In stock at Biblio does not figure in the equation.
6. The store will order a sign to promote your signing.
7. You need to supply the store with a mailing list for their mailing. The CRM will give you details.
8. They strongly recommend that you have some sort of active promotion (newspaper article, radio show) going on in the area and within a week or two of the event. If you are on the radio or in the newspaper, please remember to mention the store, the date and the time of your signing.

Best Event Stores

Refer to the Best Event Stores Excel spreadsheet here. Please copy it to a local drive on your computer. These stores were selected by our sales staff as the most receptive in these regions to author events and signings.

Also see our section about advertising.