Given that I have only had one signing for my book, feel free to question my expertise as I give hints about how to have an enjoyable one. Nonetheless, I go right ahead with my suggestions.
1. Start with a location in a book-loving town. In Hattiesburg, Mississippi, no matter where you go, a frequent conversation starter is, “Have you read . . .?
2. Having it in your hometown will bring in friends who have shared your life – committees, choirs, cookouts, church, musical performances, sports events. The list goes on.
3. Don’t set expectations so high that you are disappointed. Shortly before my first signing, I read that Stephen King had a signing where nobody showed up but one little boy looking for a roll of scotch tape. It made me think of my father’s old adage, “Blessed is he that expecteth nothing for he shall not be disappointed.”
4. Get word out to friends even at the risk of being obnoxious. A surprise attendee was our delightful pastor’s wife from forty years ago. She saw the notice on Facebook and decided to drive up from New Orleans and combine book shopping with a visit to her son’s family who live in Hattiesburg.
5. Have a book about a popular person or topic. One young man bought my Ezra Jack Keats biography for his two-year-old niece who lives in South Carolina. He said she loved Keats’ books. He wanted her to have the biography when she was old enough to read it for herself as she remembered how much she had loved his stories.
6. Schedule it at a local book store with character. Several of the attendees commented on the aura of The Author Shoppe with a wondering comment, “I didn’t know this was here.”
7. Enjoy each attendee, whether old friend or brand new – whether they are buying a stack of books for friends and relatives or just observing and eating the cookies – or maybe needing a roll of scotch tape.