Ten Quick Tips to Making Your Book Signing a Success
By Gwyneth Atlee

• Send announcements to the local newspapers. Though the bookstore managers often promise to do so, they frequently get busy and forget. 

• Announce the signing in your writing groups’ newsletters. 

• Post the information on your author website. 

• Create an attractive display that serves to identify you and your book from a distance, since customers are reluctant to approach unless they know you’re selling something of interest to them. 

• Be friendly and cordial to all bookstore employees, and thank them for their help before you leave. 

• Encourage the bookstore staff to place your table in a high-visibility, high-traffic area of the store. 

• Do not measure your success by the number of sales you make. The newspaper announcements and store signs often generate sales before and after the actual signing. 

• Don’t waste your energy on grudges against people who don’t come or don’t buy. People have a right their own reading preferences. 

• Remember, if you’re relaxed and smiling, people will be more likely to approach you than if you radiate desperation. 

• Sign all remaining stock before you leave and add an attractive “Autographed Copy” sticker to the cover. 
  
  Gwyneth Atlee is the author of four Zebra Historical Romances. Her latest book, Against the Odds, has been described as “the Civil War’s Titanic.” 

This article was originally published in the May 2001 LONE STAR GALLEY. Please do not reprint without permission.