10 author tips for a happy bookstore event

My third YA book has just been published, The Gargoyle at the Gates, and I am starting a new promotional phase. Every children's author will tell you that they do classroom and library visits all year long, but when a new book comes out, they have to also add another element: the bookstore event.
Hard core, full on, cold sales on the floor of a busy bookstore can make some authors want to quit writing right then and there. And yes, it can be grueling, to spend two hours standing in a bookstore, beside your table, hoping people will make eye contact and talk to you.
Lots of people won't. You'll be disheartened by having crowds of children and their parents walk, no run, past you to the latest Diary of a Wimpy Kid display, or mistake you for an employee and ask you where the bathroom is (this one happens a lot). You'll also find people who want to talk to you for fifteen minutes, and you still don't make a sale. Still, there ARE ways to make the bookstore sales event more pleasant and successful. And face-to-face selling is really, really valuable for any writer, especially if you are starting out. You get to talk to your audience and tell them what's so great about your book. You'll see how potential readers react to your title. Some kids will even sit down and start reading (I love that). And no matter what, there will always be someone in the store -- it's a bookstore, after all, people are there to buy books -- who is really excited to meet an author, even if they've never heard of you before. Full disclosure here: I've been a marketing writer and events planner for over twenty years. I've shilled for magazines, books, publishers and now my own books at various events, big and small, for decades. It IS hard, but here are a few tips I've found that really help:

1. Have an inviting table. Don't expect the bookstore to do it for you. Buy some book holders, take a table cloth, and make sure people can pick up your book easily. Put the display in the middle and the books at the edges for easy browsing.
2. Take flyers. It seems like an extra expense since you'll be standing right there, but some people are reserved, they'd like to read about you then decide if they want to talk to you. I take colour posters of my books with brief descriptions and stick them to the table, and leave a few for people to read or take away. This is also great if the table gets busy, and you can't answer everyone right away.
3. Get a prop. I have two: a gargoyle puppet and a 4-foot gargoyle poster. The puppet is a strangely outgoing salesman, and the giant 4-foot poster draws people to the table. (It is also at least as big as any other poster in the store, as big as say The Diary of a Wimpy Kid poster, for instance).
4. Hand out bookmarks, have a fun freebie. Bookmarks are a great way to introduce yourself, and inexpensive walk-away marketing whether someone buys your book or not. I also have a gargoyle stamp for inside books and kids' hands, another great freebie.
5. Don't just sit there. Ask the store to place you somewhere with lots of foot traffic, and don't sit down (unless you need a break and no one is around). Stand near your table, and talk to people. I wear my gargoyle puppet and get him to hand out bookmarks. If your section is quiet, walk into other parts of the store and hand out bookmarks and introduce yourself. Engage people, politely.
6. Know what  you're going to say. "Hi, I'm a local author selling my latest adventure book here today, perfect for 9-12 year olds," or something else fast and inviting. Tell them who you are, what you're selling and why, fast. If you're sincere, and you will be since it's your book, it's possible not to come across as a car salesman.

7. Don't assume about people. You never know who is going to buy your book. Humans never cease to amaze me. The harried mum with five kids, the quiet grandmother, the businessman, the young jock, engage them all. The person who seems completely unlikely, the 19-year-old skater dude in dreads for instance, might love what you are selling and buy five books for his little cousins. It's happened!
8. Third party endorsements really help. If you've won an award or been shortlisted or commended anywhere, invest in some stickers and slap them on your titles. People care what other people think.
9. Take "no" for an answer. You aren't a telemarketer. No means no, especially face-to-face. Don't take it personally, either. Just politely move along.
10. Thank the bookstore owner, and keep in touch. You are developing a professional relationship with someone, and you'll presumably be writing and promoting another book, one day. They want to promote you, it's good for them to have authors in their store. Plus, once they know your titles, they will likely be sure to keep them in stock and promote them. Win Win!

So, bookstore events do get easier the more you do them. And often, it's even fun.
PD

The Gargoyle at Far Enough Farm

It's been a great weekend. I was at two events in Toronto: a fundraiser on Center island to Save Far Enough Farm, followed by Word on the Street today. Here are some photos from Far Enough Farm yesterday:

The author, set up in front of the  ... pig pen. It's a real farm!
Here's a link of charlotte the pig, dancing a jig, behind me all day

Island musicians in the farm parade

fox, heron, pig...

chicken ... did a little dance for me!

8 reasons why I love being a writer ...

Plenty of writers work all summer. I’m not one of them. 

Married to a teacher, with two teens and a young dog, my house is never quiet in the summer. 

See #5

We are riotous, busy, loud, which is great, but it's no place for lengthy, distraction-free writing time. Oh, I do write, but output is nothing like during the winter months.
So every year at about this time, I start to miss all the projects I've put aside for a few weeks. I start itching to roll up my sleeves and get at it. Perhaps this hiatus is just what refuels me, every fall.
I’ve also had enough time away to stand back and really look at what it is I do.  I’ve had a great career as a copywriter, a poet, and now a children’s author.
So here, in no particular order, are 8 reasons why I love being a writer:

1. Words are clean and tidy. Until they get messy, but it’s never a mess that requires a garbage bag and a pair of work boots to fix. Unless something has gone terribly wrong, of course!
2.  The story is always waiting. No matter how you leave it, your story is always waiting for you, patiently, to get back to it. You're rewarded in a way that you aren't by say, doing the laundry or feeding the dog.
3. People value books.  Years ago on the way to work one morning, I saw a guy reading Macleans magazine on the subway. A piece of paper fluttered out of the magazine: a subscription flyer I’d worked on for weeks! I was a little chuffed … until the guy got up and stepped on it (tough lesson, best learned early if you’re a copywriter). Copy is valuable and has a job to do, sure, but a book? I’ve never seen anyone step on a book.
4. Getting lost. Writers will get this: you really can lose yourself in the story. I’ve looked up from my screen to find that it’s 4:00 in the afternoon, and I’ve been writing for 6 hours straight. Perhaps everyone can be so engrossed when they like their job, but I’ve never found anything that takes me so far from my couch without having to move anything but my fingers, with the possible exception of reading a great book.
5. A book, what a marvel. Lots of people toil at things they love, of course. People are no doubt proud of a wonderful spreadsheet or a well-painted house, but for me, seeing all my work finally compose itself into a printed, bound book is something that still delights me. It always will.
6. Acclaim? For me? I have to admit, being nominated for awards is a rush. Let me state that there are lots of great books out there by very talented writers who have never been nominated for anything, and it doesn’t stop them from continuing to write great books which people enjoy. And really, if I’m never nominated for anything ever again, that’s fine. But getting nominated, receiving just a tiny bit of acclaim … always a lovely surprise.
7. The people are interesting, too. Editors, promotion people, sales people, booksellers, librarians, other writers, everyone stays in this industry because they love books and storytelling. Is there another industry in which so many smart people do so much, for let's face it, so little?
8. Nothing like pyjamas. Oh, if you’re a writer you know. If you’re not a writer or someone who works from home, you’ve likely heard this and winced. But it’s true: there’s nothing like working in your pyjamas. And going to mid-day yoga class. And walking the dog whenever you feel like it. Or making tea when you need it. Yes, writing is risky, so that’s the price we pay. Not knowing if the work will be good, enjoyed, published or read by anyone at all. Not knowing if we’ll make money at something we’ve worked at, hard, for months, years. But, putting all that aside, I’ll say it again: working in your pyjamas rocks.

Those are 8 top reasons. What are yours??

PD

Of gargoyles and trolls ...

... they can be friends, who knew?

The Gargoyle Overhead
meets a garden troll in New Zealand (and apparently is NOT mistaken for lunch).

Thanks Kids Lit Quiz Canada for the great photo!

The Gargoyle Overhead Silver Birch radio ad!

That was so fun! My thanks to the OLA Forest of Reading and DAWG FM (101.9) in Ottawa, for asking me to record this 40-second radio ad promoting my book, The Gargoyle Overhead, and the Forest of Reading. It was loads of fun, and I was honoured to do it.

Here is the ad:
Philippa Dowding, Forest of Reading radio ad

Give a listen.
Then go find out more at the Forest of Reading

Is it wrong to love stickers on books?

Canadian Children's Book Choice & Silver Birch Nominee Stickers

BEHOLD:
the magic of the humble sticker!

Why do I love the way these stickers look on my books?

They're adorable, and make people want to pick my books up, so those are two good reasons to love them, I guess.

But there is something very magical about these stickers, they bestow some kind of weird authority, some instant validity, that my presence alone does not.

I've seen it again and again: people see the stickers on the books while I'm at a reading or signing or book fair, make a little exclamation something along the lines of "OH! Canadian Children's Book Centre!" or "WOW! A Silver Birch? That's BIG," which is of course great, then they want to know more about the books and make a purchase.

It's amazing. Who knew that the humble sticker was the way to go when selling your books to the public? Best $8.99 I've ever spent! They're just stickers. But I love them.

PD/November 18/2011