Ten Quick Tips to Making Your Book Signing a Success
By Gwyneth Atlee

• Send announcements to the local newspapers. Though the bookstore managers often promise to do so, they frequently get busy and forget. 

• Announce the signing in your writing groups� newsletters. 

• Post the information on your author website. 

• Create an attractive display that serves to identify you and your book from a distance, since customers are reluctant to approach unless they know you�re selling something of interest to them. 

• Be friendly and cordial to all bookstore employees, and thank them for their help before you leave. 

• Encourage the bookstore staff to place your table in a high-visibility, high-traffic area of the store. 

• Do not measure your success by the number of sales you make. The newspaper announcements and store signs often generate sales before and after the actual signing. 

• Don�t waste your energy on grudges against people who don�t come or don�t buy. People have a right their own reading preferences. 

• Remember, if you�re relaxed and smiling, people will be more likely to approach you than if you radiate desperation. 

• Sign all remaining stock before you leave and add an attractive �Autographed Copy� sticker to the cover. 
  
  Gwyneth Atlee is the author of four Zebra Historical Romances. Her latest book, Against the Odds, has been described as �the Civil War�s Titanic.� 

This article was originally published in the May 2001 LONE STAR GALLEY. Please do not reprint without permission.