How to Have More than Three People at Your Book Signings

By Crystal Bowman
Now that we are emerging from pandemic isolation, it won’t be long before author book signings return to encourage face-to-face marketing. Book signings sound like fun, right? People actually get to meet a real-live author and purchase an autographed copy of their book—maybe even with a personal message written on the inside cover. So exciting! But here’s the reality—book signings can be the most humbling experience of an author’s life.
At my first book signing, I was excited to have stacks of books just waiting to be autographed and sold. However, I sold and signed three books. One to my mother, one to my sister, and one to a customer. Over the years I have had better success with book signings and have found a few ways to improve the experience. 
Go where the people are. The truth is that unless you are world famous, very few people go to author book signings. So since the people don’t come to me, I go to them. I try to schedule my signings when there are other events happening in the store. One of my best signings was when the bookstore was having a carnival for kids in the parking lot. The kids needed to come into the store to redeem their tickets for prizes and walked by my table with their parents who stopped to look at my books. None of these families came to the store because I was there. I sold lots of books because the kids and parents were already there. 
Don’t limit your signings to bookstores.  Another successful signing I had was at a mega supermarket. They set me up in the kids’ section of the store where there was plenty of foot traffic. I also had my daughter with me (who was six at the time). Her blonde pigtails and sweet smile caught the attention of many shoppers who couldn’t resist buying a book from us. Some of them even ask her to sign it!
I have also had good signings at toy stores during the peak of holiday season. Having books at a store other than a bookstore makes your book stand out rather than blend in with thousands of other books. 
Get a table or booth at specific festivals. Years ago I wrote a children’s picture book about the Holland Michigan Tupil Time Festival. For a small vendor’s fee, I had a table at their marketplace where other souvenirs and novelty items were sold. My picture book was the perfect gift for Grandma and Grandpa to bring back home to the grandkids. 
Invite another author to join you. Glenys Nellist is one of my author friends who also lives in Michigan and writes books for children. If one of us gets invited to do a book signing, we often invite the other to join. It always brings more people to the store, and most of them buy books from both of us so it’s a win-win for all. 
These ideas only scratch the surface when it comes to possibilities. With some creative ideas and thinking outside the box, your book signings can be a pleasant experience. You may end up having more than three people in addition to you mom and sister. 
Please share more ideas for books signings. What has worked for you?
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Crystal Bowman is an award-winning, bestselling author of more than 100 books for children and four nonfiction books for women. She also writes lyrics for children’s piano music and is a monthly contributor to Clubhouse Jr. Magazine. She loves going to schools to teach kids about poetry. She also speaks at MOPS (Mothers of Preschoolers) groups and teaches workshops at writers’ conferences. When she is not writing or speaking, she enjoys going for walks, working out at the gym, and eating ice cream. She and her husband live in Michigan and have seven huggable grandkids. 
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