book signing

Babysitting is arranged, dinner reservations are made, a five-star hotel room is reserved, scented candles and fancy lotions are in place, and your lover's eyes have that faraway look—everything is set for the ideal romantic evening. But the night begins and dinner is overpriced, the babysitter calls with a minor emergency, and a bachelor party is taking place in the hotel room right next to yours. You planned the perfect romantic event, but it gradually became an unsatisfying disappointment.

Book signing events can turn out the same way. You can handpick the best bookstore in the market, schedule the perfect event date, get lots of copies of the book on hand, and coordinate publicity and promotional collateral for the event, but none of that guarantees the desired result. You can show up at your signing pumped up and in the mood to sell a lot of books only to realize after a grueling two hours that a mere three people have stopped by your table. Fortunately, both the anticlimactic romantic encounter and the poorly attended book signing have a remedy: the "quickie."

For unknown authors, the quickie book signing is a way to sidestep the labors of a traditional signing, which is often only effective for writers with more established names. So unless you're Danielle Steel, you may be better off putting the notion of sitting at an oak table shaking fans' hands to the back of your mind, and instead focus on multiple quickie signings in the same market. If successful, a traditional book signing can indeed sell a lot of books. However, with a lot less time, effort, and carpal cramps, a quickie signing (aka “stock,” “drive-by,” or “drop-in” signing) will give you most of the same benefits, which include:

• Securing premium store placement: Usually bookstores mark signed books with “autographed by the author” stickers and place them in prominent locations in the store. Competition for co-op space is fierce and typically involves large sums of money; signing your book is a good way to make a grab at that lusted-after space––for the cost of a few drops of Sharpie ink.

• Increasing buys on a store level: Let them know you're coming; pitching quickie stock signings to bookstores a few weeks in advance can result in increased orders.

• Minimizing returns: can return signed books, they rarely exercise this option. One caveat: Only sign unsold books on the store premises. Shipping signed books may result in booksellers returning them as damaged.

• Making a lasting impression on individual retailers: Meeting the bookstore staff in person goes a long way for an unknown author, and often results in the staff hand-selling the book.

Quickies (of the book-signing type) can be completed in as little as five to fifteen minutes. You drop by the store, sign its inventory of your book, meet the managers and staff, and leave. It’s that easy! Prior to dropping by, you’ll just want to call each store to confirm that they have books on hand. You should consider bringing marketing collateral and promotional items to hand out to the staff––and don’t forget to ask them to feature you on their “staff recommendations” wall. Finally, it’s a good idea to send each store a follow-up "Thank You" note, which could include your book cover or author photo.

Hit as many bookstores as you can. Whether you’re on an author tour, business trip, or personal vacation, there’s always time to squeeze in a quickie or two. Don’t get me wrong, there may be a time and place when your stars align and that perfect, packed, meet-and-greet book-signing event unfolds. But to get the most bang for your time and buck, “quickies” may be your best bet.