So Ya Wanna Have a Book Signing…

I know, I know… it has already been two weeks since my Book Launch Party, and I still haven't properly blogged about it!

In this case, "properly" means starting with how it came about.  As a first-time novelist, I had no idea how these things work, so I'll share in case you're curious, or you find yourself in a similar situation.

First, a note about book signings in general.  I learned something when I did my marathon travel guide: publishers don't set up book signings.

I shouldn't say that.  Sometimes they do.  My guess is that someone like Laurie Halse Anderson doesn't arrange her own appearances.  I could be wrong, but that would be my guess.  I even recall my fellow Deb Ball blogger Eleanor Brown talking about getting sent to places on her book tour, so it's something that can happen even for first-time novelists.

However, that's not the norm.  There are a lot of books out there, and publishers don't have the coffers to send out every author.  I get it — when I did the marathon book, I was so excited and motivated that I sent myself on tour.  It was a massive cash outlay (most of which was a tax write-off, though I did get audited for that year and owed the government $300 because I lost a bunch of receipts… but that's another story), and I sold only a handful of books at each appearance.

Still, how often does your first novel come out?  By definition, once, right?  I wanted to mark the occasion in a big way, and a launch party seemed ideal.  Not just a signing, but a party, with snacks, music, drinks… hell, if I could put in a dance floor and disco ball, I'd do it.  And yes, I'd read a little from the book and scrawl my name a few times along the way.

The Fabulous Fonda, my manager, suggested some book stores here in L.A., but in my mind there was only one location: Vroman's in Pasadena.

Vroman's is the Willy Wonka's of bookstores.  It's titanic.  Remember when the big box stores first opened in the 1980′s and they seemed unreal, more like amusement parks than bookstores?  They were so spacious and clean, and filled not only with more books than you'd ever seen in one place, but also all kinds of cunning knickknacks and comfy places to lounge?  Vroman's is like that, only better, and this reader's paradise is an indie, which makes me want to stand up and cheer.

It also has a spectacular area set aside for appearances, with which I was very familiar since I'd recently seen both Eleanor Brown and Kim Stagliano there.

I wanted Vroman's… but how to make Vroman's want me?

Thanks to Kim, I got the inside scoop.  When I went to see her reading, she marched me over to one of the Vroman's employees (Morgan) and said, "This is my friend Elise Allen, she has a fabulous YA novel coming out in August, and the two of you should talk."  Thus launched, I went into my spiel about Populazzi.  Morgan told me about Jennifer, who handles these things, and gave me a sheet about How To Successfully Book Vroman's For Your Event.  What they want boiled down to two basic things every book store wants:

Book in Advance  Vroman's gets many requests for events at their store, so give them plenty of lead time — at least six weeks.

Assure Them It's Worth Their While  No, I'm not talking about bribery (though hey, if it would help…).  Bookstores just want to know that if they're going to go to the trouble of ordering a big stack of books for your reading, there's a good shot a large percentage of those books will sell.  If you have friends and family in the area, belong to organizations that might come out and support you, and/or have a local fan base, the store will be far more eager to book your event.

I received that sheet in spring, and while I won't say I'm a procrastinator… okay, I'm a bit of a procrastinator.

I didn't email Jennifer until June.

Here's the note I sent:

Jennifer –

My name is Elise Allen, and I'm very interested in holding a launch event for my Young Adult novel, Populazzi, at Vroman's.  The book releases August 1, 2011, so I would ideally like the event to occur August 6th or August 13th.  Though there are other independent bookstores in L.A., I would very much love to hold this event at Vroman's, because I'm such a huge fan of the store.  I recently attended the signings of two of my friends, Eleanor Brown and Kim Stagliano, and enjoyed them tremendously.  It was at Kim's event that I met Morgan in the YA department, who recommended I write to you.

While Populazzi is my debut solo novel, it's not my first book.  I am Hilary Duff's co-writer, and am credited on the title page of both Elixir and its follow-up, Devoted.  I've also been a working writer here in L.A. for many years, and was recently nominated for an Emmy for my writing on the show Dinosaur Train.  Since I've lived and worked in L.A. for the past 17 years, I have a large network of friends and associates who would turn out for my book launch event.  My husband is an L.A. native, and knows even more people in the area, many of whom would also be delighted to attend.  In addition, I'm affiliated with the LAYAs, Los Angeles Young Adult Authors.  We do our best to turn out for one another's events.  All in all, I feel confident that I could bring a crowd to your store, and would in fact be thrilled to do so.

Populazzi was recently selected by GirlsLife.com as one of the Top 40 Hits of the Summer, a list that included not only books, but also music, movies, and TV shows.  You can learn more about me and about Populazzi at my website, www.eliseallen.com.  Several blurbs and reviews are posted there as well.  In the meantime, the summary below will tell you a little bit about the book:

{You all know the summary by now, so I won't include it here}

Thanks so much for your time and consideration, Jennifer!  I look forward to speaking with you soon, and ideally doing a wonderful event together!

All the best,

Elise

I pushed "send," then held my breath for 24 hours until she responded yes, she'd be thrilled to have the launch party at Vroman's.  We went back and forth over specific dates and times (I should have emailed even earlier — they were already quite booked for August), and finally agreed on Saturday, August 6th, 2pm.

So now I had the place… I just needed to pull together a party.

More on that next time — this post is already awfully long, and it's also awfully late (I mentioned the procrastination thing, right?).

In the meantime, if you could hold your book launch event anywhere, where would it be?