The goal was simple: sell 10 books to win a place on the store’s bookshelf. It was the day before Halloween and our time slot ran from noon until 4:00 pm. Although SPARX Incarnation is available nearly anywhere in the world online (plus it can be ordered from in-store kiosks), getting copies into bookstores can be a bit of a challenge for a new author.

GaleWind Books had a fresh print run of the Full Edition (Parts I & II combined) standing by from Montreal’s Rapido Books, and the quality was fantastic: color map, premium paper, and well-bound. Gena (from GaleWind) agreed to accompany me. She had done some web research on new author book signings and said that selling and signing 4 to 8 books seemed to be about average in Ottawa, and those who sold/signed 20 books had something to gloat about. Unfortunately, some even get skunked. I went in expecting an absolute minimum of 2, an absolute maximum of 20, and a middle-of-the-road expectation of selling/signing 4 to 8. We would have to do better than middle-of-the-road though. We needed 10. On top of that, the price was on the high side (close to $30 CAD after tax) which I was worried might deter some readers. The pressure was on.

A surprisingly large number of preparations preceded the book signing. Little things, mostly, but never a shortage of them and always a hitch or two just to keep life challenging. Here is what we did.

Prep work

A good friend had printed off our three book covers as 24” x 36” posters. We framed the Full Edition poster in a fancy wooden frame and put the other two in plain black frames, movie-theatre style. Next, we picked up an easel to display the main SPARX Incarnation poster so it would stand on its own.

Why did we bring all three book cover posters? Although we were only selling the Full Edition, we thought the other two covers might draw in fantasy readers. Plus, there was the Halloween factor – the Part I & II covers are kind of creepy.





Next we printed flyers and info sheets. We weren’t really sure what we would do with them all, but we printed them anyway. We also laminated story maps as a free giveaway with the book, and bought some lollipops and put them in a bowl. Despite my maximum expectation of having a 20-book day, we packed 96 books ... just in case. In retrospect, that was a bit of overkill. Gena also crafted announcements for the PA system (which, unfortunately, was not available).





The setup

I imagined we would have some elbow room, like a corner or something. We didn’t. We had a small table with adjustable height – either perfect for sitting or perfect for standing behind. I chose the standing. The placement was ideal, right beside the main entrance. Customers entering could choose to look my way or keep their blinders on and fixate straight ahead as they passed. A lot of people took a good long look at the posters as they strolled by.

Not so many came over upon entering the store. They wandered around for a while and then circled back.

I put the Full Edition poster in the most visible spot beside the table, and the others in front of a cook book table that wasn’t getting much attention anyway. Right behind me was Mike Myer’s new book (Don’t worry Mike, I didn’t block the view much. Plus, I recommended a copy to someone too, so we’re even, right?)

Dynamics

We started off great. As we were setting up, our first reader swung by and agreed to buy a book. He was only in the store by chance – to wash up after car trouble, and we had a very interesting conversation*. Gena passed out flyers and also left some on the tables at the in-store café. Her efforts brought people to the event.

It was a Sunday though, and traffic seemed a little thin. Indeed, the store manager confirmed that it was a little slow. At the time, I wondered if Halloween might have something to do with it. Perhaps people were out costume hunting instead, or had stayed up late at Halloween parties the night before, or were just doing a candy and treat run to get ready for trick-or-treaters. Whatever the reason, the first two hours were slow. By about 2:15 I had signed four books – not quite halfway after more than half the time.

But then something happened.

Things started to pick up. More people showed interest. Fantasy readers from all walks of life stood around sharing their opinions and personal stories with us. At times, a small crowd gathered. There were even a few line-ups. People were asking for books, and several young teens on their own showed interest and then went off to find their parents. On top of that, Gena kept walking through the store, handing out pamphlets and bringing people in. So we had a managed to draw in a late surge on top of maintaining that steady pulse. As 4:00 pm approached, we sold our eleventh book.

Then, as we began to pack up, came the “window is closing effect.” We sold and signed another five copies, for a grand total of 16 books! SPARX Incarnation is on the shelf as I write this!

*The next day, our very first book signing reader emailed a great review to GaleWind after rifling through the first 400 pages before dinner! He finished it the next day. That’s the kind of reaction that puts wind in my sails!

Stats

I kept track of a few things. Not a lot, but just enough to answer a few questions I knew I would be wanting the answers to later. Here they are:

Male enquiries: 19
Female enquiries: 19
Couples (MF included in above numbers): (6)
Total number of enquiries: 38 over 4 hours (averages to one every 6-7 minutes)

Male buyers: 8
Female buyers: 8
Couple buyers: (1) (included with the male count, as he was the one interested)
Total sold: 16

I was surprised at the exact equal split between male and female buyers. Couples generally didn’t end up purchasing a book, although two or three women out on their own bought one for their significant other who was not present. With 38 enquiries, having 16 buyers equates to about a 42% success rate.

Things that seemed to work well

• Having another person at the signing to help out.

• Posters and cover art that drew people in.

• Pamphlets on nearby tables + handing out to Sci-Fi & Fantasy section browsers.

• Book summaries and quality binding (people want a solid product). Knowing how to describe the book. I kept it very simple. Gena focused on the vision.

• Laminated story maps were a big hit.

• Striking up a good conversation.

• Personalized signatures.

Missteps and lessons learned

• I don’t have any pictures of the book signing event. We were so busy with people we forgot to take any. We should have taken a few pics at the beginning when only a handful of people came by.

• I never thought to prepare a big sign that says “Author Book Signing Event.” Some people were wondering what the heck we were doing there. Some thought it was a kind of book fair, while others imagined it was the food-for-thought equivalent of a baked goods sale. I sort of had the impression in my head that it would be obvious to everyone that I was doing a book signing event, or that the store would have a banner maybe – I just didn’t think this aspect through or verify the setup one way or the other.

• I believe that one of the readers bought a copy of the book but did not take a map. I had mentioned it at one point, but we had a good long chat and her two adorable children kept her mind busy as well – they have really great names, by the way. Sam (short for Samantha?): If you are out there I would love to send you the map! Please pass your mailing address along to galewindbooks@gmail.com. To verify that it is really you, please include your special way of spelling the name of a certain scary movie that you mentioned (the way it sounds). Do you remember the conversation?

A BIG thank you to …

Allana for graciously inviting us to Chapters; the staff for making us feel welcome; Gena for convincing me to go and for rounding up fantasy fans when we got there; Paul for supplying the fantastic posters; My Aunt Marvel & cousin Kayleigh for visiting; interesting people in general for stopping to chat; and of course, all the great fantasy readers we met!