3 Steps to Securing a Bookstore Event - article

First, if you’re reading this article, there’s a good chance you’ve already completed your book—congratulations! You’ve already accomplished something very impressive that few people ever do.

Of course, the next step is finding ways to sell your book, and one of those ways is a book store event. Based on my twenty years of experience in the industry, I believe there are three basic steps to securing a book store event: building relationships, making it easy, and promotion.

Let’s start with the first step. As Confucius said, a journey of one thousand miles begins with a simple step. And while your bookstore events may eventually take you thousands of miles, you’ll want to start closer to home by building relationships with your local bookstores. One of the simplest ways to do that is to attend bookstore events that are already happening in your area. As you attend these events, you’ll become a part of the local community, and you should participate in discussions, see what’s happening in the store, notice what works, and get to know bookstore personnel. Keep in mind that from the bookstore’s perspective, the most successful events are the ones with the best attendance; they want to get people into the store who will buy books. Learn what you can about your local stores. Is there one that has a more robust events program? Is there a bookstore that is trying to build an events program? Is there a contact person for events? Get to know the staff and find out the answers to these questions. Find people who are already interested in your book’s subject. If you’ve written a book about history, for example, find out if there’s a book seller in the store who specializes in history, and begin to build a relationship with that person. The bookstore will probably appreciate that they have a local author, but keep in mind that it may take time to build a strong relationship. There may be times when your local bookstore is very busy and therefore unable to give you quality time. But keep trying. Like any relationship, it’s going to take effort. As you’re building this relationship, begin to get an estimate of the bookstore’s demographics. Are the people who shop at that store part of your primary audience? What would your desired outcome be for an event? If you’ve written a young-adult book, do a lot of teens shop in that store? Is it near a mall where the teens hang out? If the store’s customer base doesn’t match your target audience, you may need to look at other options. You should also think about the physical limitations of the store. For example, if you hope to read a passage from your book at an event and there isn’t space for that, you’re going to have to find a different store. Getting to know a bookstore’s staff, customer base, and layout is all part of building a relationship.

Once you’ve explored the local options, you may want to look farther afield. Building relationships with bookstores outside your own community obviously is more difficult, but it’s still important. The important thing is to be strategic and find connections that you already have. Is there a place you vacation every year where you’ve become part of a seasonal community? Think about pursuing an event there. Especially if there’s a bookstore that counts on seasonal attendance, that can be a great option. Is there a location that’s featured in your book—maybe a particular town or even a bookstore? If you’ve written a memoir, maybe an ethnic store would be appropriate. That often opens your book up to a new audience, and you could have a pretty fantastic event in that type of environment.

As you start to think strategically about event locations, make sure you avoid doing too many events too close together. I worked with an author last year who was very ambitious and scheduled ten events within a five-mile radius of one another, and not surprisingly, fewer and fewer people showed up at each event, because everyone who was interested in that area had already attended.

In addition to being geographically strategic, you need to consider the best type of event for your book. When you’re talking to your bookstore’s events person, it will be good if you’ve already reflected on this. The most common type of event is a reading and discussion followed by a signing (which is also the sales portion of the event). This kind of event would require you as the author to prepare an introduction, read from your book, and maybe discuss your writing process. Generally, a reading and discussion take about twenty minutes. Have a question and answer session if you’re comfortable with that, and then go on to the signing. At this point, hopefully you’ve won many people over with the reading and discussion, and they’re lining up to buy your book and have you sign it. You can also consider a moderated discussion, in which a local professor or reporter or someone else with stake in the book’s content discusses the book with you. Another common type of event that new authors engage in is a signing without the accompanying reading or discussion. This kind of signing can occur anywhere in a store—at a desk at the front of the store, by the cash registers, or in a designated event area. Keep in mind that if you’re doing a straight signing, you’ll need to be outgoing and energetic to get people interested in your book, so be prepared for that. Also keep in mind that if you want to have a reading or moderated discussion, the store needs to have the right kind of space for that. I worked with an author last year who planned a reading that required ten people to read from her book, and she picked a store that had a very small event space, and the experience was unpleasant for everyone involved. The store was frustrated because they couldn’t accommodate the author, and the author was unhappy because she thought the store would be excited about the event. Have realistic expectations about what the bookstore space can do for you. Very often, there will be stores where you can move some fixtures around, so don’t assume that the store might not have space, but do talk to the events person to see what size of crowd they can accommodate. If he or she says they really don’t have room for a discussion, then listen to them and move on; work on building a relationship with another store.

Step two is making it easy. Do everything you can to ensure a no-fuss event for the bookstore staff. A lot of bookstores (like other businesses these days) are short staffed, so you need to make it clear to the bookstore that you will do everything in your power to make the process easy for them. Start by providing detailed information for the store team. Because you now have a well-established relationship with your bookstore, they will have a level of trust in you. Do they use signs? Would it make it easier if you provided the signs for them? If yes, you can explore options with your publisher or local printers, and the creative or the tech savvy among you may choose to create signs in your home or office. Ideally, you should make signs that can be affixed to windows or doors. And if the store creates its own signs, that’s great, but make sure that they are created and up at least two weeks before your event; a month is even better. Of course, if your posters need to be up for that long, you should start planning the event long before that. You might be able to pull something together in six weeks or less, but ample planning will allow for a smooth process and a successful event. You’ll also want to make sure it’s easy to order your book for the event. Again, the goal is to make this easy for the store, and having your title in stock for the event is crucial. Lastly, finalize your needs for the event. Make sure you have your notes and supplies. You’ll want to have a pen on hand at all times for signing books. Let the bookstore event staff know that you are happy to prepare any written materials they may need regarding your event. And if you have decided on a discussion, consider what technical support you’ll need and realize this might require a little fuss and some planning in advance.

Step three is promotion. Promotion isn’t going to happen accidentally; you need to have a plan. Having a promotional plan up front can also help you to secure events, because it lets bookstores know that you’re serious about promoting your book and, by extension, the store. Start with getting media attention. Use local news outlets and popular community websites and blogs. Connect virally with other authors. Use your Facebook and Twitter accounts to be a fan and follow other authors on these social media sites. And in return, they’ll also be fans or follow you, and you can share your event information. It is also critical to reach out to your local newspapers. Ideally, they’ll write an article about you, but even if they don’t, they’ll probably be willing to include you on a calendar of local events. You should also work with any local groups or organizations that may promote your event. Use flyers around town. Drop them off in schools, in apartment buildings, at community centers, and in libraries. Invite school groups to attend. Think about which educational groups may be interested in your book. Would middle school students appreciate your message? College students? Don’t forget about community colleges. Offer to meet with book clubs and invite them to your events. And of course you should make sure your family and friends know about your events. You should also consider sending out invitations; the bookstore may be willing to help with this. You don’t even have to send out handwritten or formally printed invitations; there are some really fantastic websites that have electronic invitations. Even those are enough to make people feel special because you thought to invite them individually.

So remember to build relationships, make things easy, and be intentional about promoting your events. If you keep these three steps in mind, you’ll be well on your way to successful bookstore events that can help to put your book in the hands of new readers.