A Book in Hand: Strategies for Optimizing Print Book Sales via Signings and Other In Person Events

by Mark Leslie Lefebvre

MOST MARKETING ADVICE LIVE ONLINE IN KEYWORDS, AD SPENDS, ALGORITHMS, AND AN ENDLESS RACE TO BE NOTICED. IN THAT RACE, AUTHORS WITH THE DEEPEST POCKETS OFTEN WIN.



But there's one arena where money can't buy the advantage. Where your creativity, your passion for storytelling, and your professionalism matter more than your ad budget.

Face to face with readers.



Bookseller, author, and publishing industry veteran Mark Leslie Lefebvre draws upon more than three decades in the book business to show you how to sell more print books at signings, launches, conventions, craft fairs, markets, libraries, and even places you'd never think of as bookish.

In this book you'll



Sourcing author copies, and partnering with bookstores, libraries, and other retailersPlanning launches, readings and signings people actually want to show up forWhat to pack, how to set up your table, and other logisticsHow to perfect your pitch, ask for the sale, and when to stop talkingWhy you should price like your books are worth itCase studies from working authorsAnd more...

Print remains the largest global market for book sales.



Are you taking full advantage of the opportunities that can help you sell more print books?



If you're interested in increasing your chances of not only selling more books at in person events but also driving deeper and more meaningful connections with the people who are buying and reading your books, if you want ways to stand out and become visible well beyond the digital masses, and if you want to understand how you can employ the same skills that helped you in writing your book to assist with marketing your book, then you've come to the right place.



Whether you're traditionally published or indie published, you will find numerous examples and specific strategies that authors have employed in raising the bar when it comes to selling more print books.



Because, as you'll learn, a book in hand is worth two on the shelf.

370 pages, Hardcover

Expected publication November 24, 2026

About the author

Mark Leslie Lefebvre has been writing since he was thirteen years old and discovered his mother’s Underwood typewriter collecting dust in a closet. He started submitting his work for publication at the age of fifteen and had his first story published in 1992, the same year he graduated from university.

Under the name Mark Leslie, he has published more than a dozen full length books. He pens a series of non-fiction paranormal explorations for Dundurn, Canada’s largest independent publisher. He also writes fiction (typically thrillers and horror) and has edits fiction anthologies, most recently as a regular editor for the WMG Publishing Fiction River anthology series.

The very same year, Mark saw his first short story in print he started working in to book industry as a part-time bookseller, and was bitten by the book-selling bug. He has worked in virtually every type of bookstore (independent, chain, large-format, online, academic and digital). He has thrived on innovation, particularly related to digital publishing, and enjoys interacting with the various people who make the book industry so dynamic.

Between 2011 and 2017, Mark worked at the Director of Self-Publishing and Author Relations for Kobo where he was the driving force behind the creation of Kobo Writing Life, a free and easy to use author/small-publisher friendly platform designed to publish directly to Kobo’s global catalog in 190 countries. By the end of 2016, Kobo Writing Life established itself as the #1 single source of weekly global unit sales for Kobo and, in primarily English language territories, responsible for 1 in every 4 eBooks sold.

Mark has spoken professionally in the United States and Canada, in the UK and across Europe, specializing in advances in digital publishing and the vast and incredible opportunities that exist for writers and publishers.