Sold Out! My First Book Signing at Denver's Bookbar
Never in a million years did I think that my first book signing would be a smashing success. Never did I expect to sell out of the first volume of my A Study in Terror: Sir Arthur Conan Doyle's Revolutionary Stories of Fear and the Supernatural, almost sell out of volume 2, and then sell all 20 copies of my children's Sherlock Holmes chapter book The Amazing Airship Adventure (Macdougall Twins with Sherlock Holmes Book 1). In fact, moments before leaving for the event, I was thinking I might be in trouble.
Right before I left, the texts, Facebook posts, and e-mails started rolling in. Sorry, I forgot about your event...or, came down with a bad cold...or something's come up. I'm not saying that to make anyone feel guilty nor to criticize. I've had things come up in my life, and I've missed events I had every intent of going to. It just got me in the mode of, "What if no one shows up?" I'm sure every author has those jitters at their first signing, and for some, I'm sure those fears never go away even if they are rich and famous.
When I arrived at the Bookbar in Denver, I am pleased to say I was greeted warmly, and joined two other authors at a table right in front of the business entryway. I sat in the center with author Dean K. Miller to my left, and author and professor Leslie Rapparlie to my right. We got our books out, were served a complimentary glass of wine, set up shop, and got ready for the rush.
And what a rush it was! I was pleased to see so many friends and coworkers arrive to buy my books and cheer me on. I was shocked at how many people I didn't know bought my book, talked with me, and gave me a thumbs up. One customer asked if I would consider co-authoring a children's book they were working on; another told me how, because of the anthology, my name would forever be linked with that of Sir Arthur Conan Doyle; finally, another told me that the MacDougall Twins mysteries were filling a void in the Sherlockian pastiches, that of stories aimed for young chapter book readers.
Copies of all three of my books were flying out the door! In the middle of the book signing, I had to quickly run to my car as I was selling out of books fast. I had left some extra copies of the books in my car as a backup in case I ran out. Honestly, I didn't think I would actually need to restock, but had them there to be safe. It was good that I had that foresight. I restocked on the MacDougall Twins only to have my stock quickly sell out again.
When I went to the clerk, Tommy, at the end of the night, I asked him if this was common. He smiled and told me that the last time he saw an author sell that much in that amount of time was Peter Heller, and he's a New York Times bestselling author!
When I finally left the Bookbar, I was dizzy, a little drunk, and a lot in shock. It is a wonderful feeling for an author to have their book published, to know someone in the world found their work valuable enough to sink money into it, and put it out for the world to see. It is an even better feeling to have family and friends read one's work and give you positive feedback. But the feeling one gets when people you don't know buy your book and tell you how much they enjoy it is indescribably wonderful. That was the feeling, maybe even a touch beyond, I left the Bookbar with that evening.
I cannot thank the Bookbar enough for putting on this event. Unfortunately, many local bookstores have taken it upon themselves to charge local authors to stock their books and even more money to have signings. This strikes me as a lose/ lose proposition. It keeps local talent out of local bookstores and drives more business to that of the online retailers. The Bookbar, I am proud to say, truly supports local authors. They worked well with all three of the authors that night, provided us with spirits, and encouraged us to leave copies of our books for sale in their store. I look forward to future events at this amazing establishment, including reading at a storytime. More information on that at a later date...
I also want to take a moment and give kudos to my fellow authors at the Bookbar event. Dean K. Miller is an air traffic controller who publishes short stories, poems, and essays on life's quiet, profound moments. His latest book, And Then I Smiled is available at the Bookbar, other area bookstores, and on Amazon. Leslie Rapparlie is a Professor of Composition at the University of Colorado at Colorado Springs. Her book Writing and Experiential Education is an excellent resource for all teachers interested in creative and experiential writing. It is also available at the Bookbar and on Amazon.
I wish both these authors well on their long and profitable writing careers. I look forward to building my relationship with the Bookbar and encourage all shoppers in the Denver metro area to make the Bookbar their one stop shop for all their literary needs.
Cheers,
Derrick Belanger
http://www.amazon.com/Derrick-Belange...
http://www.belangerbooks.com/
Right before I left, the texts, Facebook posts, and e-mails started rolling in. Sorry, I forgot about your event...or, came down with a bad cold...or something's come up. I'm not saying that to make anyone feel guilty nor to criticize. I've had things come up in my life, and I've missed events I had every intent of going to. It just got me in the mode of, "What if no one shows up?" I'm sure every author has those jitters at their first signing, and for some, I'm sure those fears never go away even if they are rich and famous.
When I arrived at the Bookbar in Denver, I am pleased to say I was greeted warmly, and joined two other authors at a table right in front of the business entryway. I sat in the center with author Dean K. Miller to my left, and author and professor Leslie Rapparlie to my right. We got our books out, were served a complimentary glass of wine, set up shop, and got ready for the rush.
And what a rush it was! I was pleased to see so many friends and coworkers arrive to buy my books and cheer me on. I was shocked at how many people I didn't know bought my book, talked with me, and gave me a thumbs up. One customer asked if I would consider co-authoring a children's book they were working on; another told me how, because of the anthology, my name would forever be linked with that of Sir Arthur Conan Doyle; finally, another told me that the MacDougall Twins mysteries were filling a void in the Sherlockian pastiches, that of stories aimed for young chapter book readers.
Copies of all three of my books were flying out the door! In the middle of the book signing, I had to quickly run to my car as I was selling out of books fast. I had left some extra copies of the books in my car as a backup in case I ran out. Honestly, I didn't think I would actually need to restock, but had them there to be safe. It was good that I had that foresight. I restocked on the MacDougall Twins only to have my stock quickly sell out again.
When I went to the clerk, Tommy, at the end of the night, I asked him if this was common. He smiled and told me that the last time he saw an author sell that much in that amount of time was Peter Heller, and he's a New York Times bestselling author!
When I finally left the Bookbar, I was dizzy, a little drunk, and a lot in shock. It is a wonderful feeling for an author to have their book published, to know someone in the world found their work valuable enough to sink money into it, and put it out for the world to see. It is an even better feeling to have family and friends read one's work and give you positive feedback. But the feeling one gets when people you don't know buy your book and tell you how much they enjoy it is indescribably wonderful. That was the feeling, maybe even a touch beyond, I left the Bookbar with that evening.
I cannot thank the Bookbar enough for putting on this event. Unfortunately, many local bookstores have taken it upon themselves to charge local authors to stock their books and even more money to have signings. This strikes me as a lose/ lose proposition. It keeps local talent out of local bookstores and drives more business to that of the online retailers. The Bookbar, I am proud to say, truly supports local authors. They worked well with all three of the authors that night, provided us with spirits, and encouraged us to leave copies of our books for sale in their store. I look forward to future events at this amazing establishment, including reading at a storytime. More information on that at a later date...
I also want to take a moment and give kudos to my fellow authors at the Bookbar event. Dean K. Miller is an air traffic controller who publishes short stories, poems, and essays on life's quiet, profound moments. His latest book, And Then I Smiled is available at the Bookbar, other area bookstores, and on Amazon. Leslie Rapparlie is a Professor of Composition at the University of Colorado at Colorado Springs. Her book Writing and Experiential Education is an excellent resource for all teachers interested in creative and experiential writing. It is also available at the Bookbar and on Amazon.
I wish both these authors well on their long and profitable writing careers. I look forward to building my relationship with the Bookbar and encourage all shoppers in the Denver metro area to make the Bookbar their one stop shop for all their literary needs.
Cheers,
Derrick Belanger
http://www.amazon.com/Derrick-Belange...
http://www.belangerbooks.com/
No comments have been added yet.
Book Reviews, Author Interviews, and Ramblings of a Sherlockian
Book Reviews, Author Interviews, and other writings by Author (and future Publisher) Derrick Belanger
- Derrick Belanger's profile
- 50 followers
