A few weeks back, I was wondering if I could wrap up the year with one more book signing. The little voice inside that puts dampers on things, said, “No way. It’s too close to Christmas. Other authors have already booked all the slots.” Fortunately, I pushed past my doubts. At the time, I happened to be at a Borders Books. I had met one of the staff at another author’s event, so I decided to approach him. He remembered me, and immediately got the event manager, who booked me on the spot for a Saturday during prime-time holiday shopping. It did help that my wife had talked to her several months back about Wyndano’s Cloak, and she recognized the book cover.
The story doesn’t end there. I wanted to maximize my exposure, and try to get as many people out as I could. So I delivered press packets to four local papers, and included a copy of the book. The Pacific Grove Bulletin actually asked me if they could run a review of the book that I provided in my press packet (from Reader’s Choice Book Reviews, Full Review.) The Monterey Herald, the major paper for the whole county, interviewed me, and ran it in their Sunday edition. Here’s a link to the interview: http://tinyurl.com/2b539ev. Not evident on the web is that they placed the interview on the front page of their Leisure section, just opposite an article by Dave Barry! And Dave’s article had a headline at the top of the front page.
The lesson? Don’t be afraid to ask; push the envelope of your comfort zone: good things, bigger things can come out of it. Opportunity favors the bold!
So if you live near Borders Books in Sand City, Monterey, CA, I’ll be signing books on December 11, from noon to 3 PM. I hope to see you there!
One final note. In setting up a book signing, you will need to leave enough time for the book store to order books, unless you’ll be bringing them yourself. Also, it helps to develop relationships with the booksellers. It certainly opened up doors for me.
Here’s a link to my press release about the book signing:
