Sunday 17 February 2013

Book Signings have Changed!

How quiet can quiet be?
You may know there are new rules for book signings in Waterstones.  Basically, your slot is limited to two hours and authors must not ‘approach’ customers in the shop but wait politely, mute, like Victorian children, until they are spoken to first! In place for a few months now, book signings are, unsurprisingly, fewer than they have been in recent years.  It can be daunting for an author who is not famous, and it gives the impression that CEO James Daunt is really wanting only celebrity names that will attract queues of ‘fans’.

After more than 35 signings over the years, this was my first signing event under these regulations and it was so quiet I was preparing for an early bath.  I sat for a while in peaceful, reflective mood; after all, what else could I do? Contemplating the Mothers’ Day display, with its Baking Moulds and Janet and John fridge magnets, and the table with an assortment of Kindles, I was inwardly sighing at how things were not what they used to be. What lovely conversations I used to have!

Then I left my post in order to purchase a book upstairs (you’re curious perhaps; it was ‘Wedding Etiquette’ to assist me and my family in getting it right on my daughter’s special day). As I returned, there was a lady looking through my books. It was @CamObserved who had spotted me on Twitter! It turned out our children went to the same school and we had a mutual friend … This delightful person bought Shades of Appley Green and I decided to stay a little longer, still behaving immaculately – apart from my sign, which was a tad wicked I suppose.

'THIS AUTHOR DOES NOT BITE! - PLEASE APPROACH!!'
I ended up signing almost as many books as I might have done by chatting in the old way to likely and unlikely suspects alike. (If charity mugging is chugging, what is book mugging?) A lady came up to me very excited to see Gypsies Stop tHere and No Gypsies Served   her adult daughter always said she would like to try the Gypsy lifestyle for a while, so both books were bought for her daughter’s upcoming birthday. I had a lovely chat with a man who used to work with Travellers in Southwark and then a man from Aldershot considered my books thoughtfully and, after I had filled him in with a little background on each one, he bought all three.  It would have been unseemly to hug him and splash wet kisses upon his cheeks and, fortunately, I managed to stop myself in time.

All in all, I did not go home hoarse from talking for maybe four hours to customers who had come into the shop either with a precise purpose or to browse. I was surprised, but maybe this is the way to go after all!

I am not so daunted by Daunt as I was.
PS Big thank you to all in Camberley Waterstones!

15 comments:

  1. I love it, Miriam, you have style. If I ever get to secure a spot in Waterstone's I shall certainly copy your technique, if I may. So happy that it worked out well in the end, well done you and congrats on all the sales. Rock on! X

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    1. Thanks Nicky ! I had no idea I had 'style' or 'technique' but sounds good!!

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  2. Glad it was a good experience Miriam. And ooh, Wedding Etiquette - sounds like something well worth a read!

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    1. Not really a book to curl up with - but a handy reminder of how you can put your put in it!

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    2. sorry that should be 'put your foot in it' - you guessed it ...!!!

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  3. How fabulous - two hours well spent and a successful signing. Loved the cheeky sign - lol!

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  4. Haw, haw! I love that sign, Miriam. Well done, you! You have restored my faith! :) xx

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  5. Fabulous sign, very funny! No it is tricky isn't it? To be honest, when I did my first lot of Waterstones book signings (7 so far) last Autumn, under these new regulations, I found it fine too. I think it depends hugely on the person, but my personal style was to sit at my table anyway, wasn't really confident going around the store chatting to people in the aisles. But by simply sitting, people came up to me to chat. This made it much easier to chat away as I knew these people were already interested in my book. Once you can get over the strangeness of sitting there like a proverbial lemon, it was great. But I DO wish James Daunt had a more welcoming approach to non-celebrity authors in general, especially new authors who are trying so hard to break into an increasingly tough market. :D xx

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    1. So good to hear from you, Sophie, and to know that other people understand what I am talking about! I see you are in Gloucestershire - I come from Tetbury and my family were all teachers - long ago!

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  6. Different stores seem to have a different approach. Two of my book signings before Christmas lasted for six hours and they love the fact that i talk to the customers. Sales were down last year, simply because the number of Waterstones' customers was much lower than the previous year. Glad it went well Miriam, you are a star. :)

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  7. So glad you enjoyed the signing in the end, Miriam.

    When I've done signings at Waterstones, under the old system I never seemed to have sufficient confidence to approach customers and just start chatting. So for authors like myself, their new regulations probably won't play out much differently as signing events go, lol x

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  8. Good for you, Miriam. I'm glad you were still able to let your personality shine through. :-)

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  9. Hello Miriam, I am so glad it all works for you. You deserve your success. Best wishes,
    Aleksandra

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    1. How nice of you - thanks for visiting my blog! All the best to you, too, Aleksandra.

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  10. Fabulous sign! Glad you had a good experience at your signing, I always enjoy mine - even though the first thing most people say when they see me is 'well, I've never heard of you'. Keep up the good work!

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