The Frog Spotted in Cincinnati...
by Sariah S. Wilson
More specifically, he hopped over to visit me this afternoon at the Barnes and Noble in West Chester for the Reader Appreciation Day.
Here we have two customers who bought copies of Secrets in Zarahemla. They are also known as two of my sisters. Sisters who I made stay to keep me company. (You can also see me in the bottom left corner.)
This was my first booksigning, and it was a bit nerve wracking. This was not helped by where I was placed. I was seated next to Jennifer Crusie, which may not mean much to non-romance readers, but Crusie is like a romance rock star. Not only does she have fervent fans, she has fans who have named themselves The Cherries, and often have accompanying cherry paraphernalia.
So there I sat, facing a sea of Cherries who all waited anxiously for Crusie to appear. I thought it might be semi-humiliating to sit there while Crusie signed book after book and I, you know, didn't, but I instead decided to find a silver lining in my situation and take the opportunity to watch a master at work and to listen to how she interacted with her fans.
But until Crusie showed up, I made my sisters stay and talk to me just so that I didn't have to sit and stare. Because the only people here in Ohio that my book would appeal to are 1) my family and 2) members of my ward (and it should be noted that my family comprises half of said ward). The Frog kept me company too.
But unfortunately for The Cherries (and for me as I was looking forward to gaining some signing wisdom), Crusie didn't make it. She pulled out of her driveway and into a ditch, and had to wait for a tow truck to pull it out, and said tow truck had to wait for a snow plow to clear a path for the tow truck to get to her car. She didn't make it to the signing, and many fans waited almost an hour before it was announced that she wouldn't be able to come (which made me wish I had fans who would wait an hour to see me). But Crusie graciously offered to come the next Saturday and sign books for all those Cherries who missed her.
And speaking of signings...while it's easy enough to write out things to those you love/know well, what in the world are you supposed to say in an inscription to acquaintances or people you've never met? I found myself struggling several times today on what I should say, so for those veteran book signers out there, what do you say when you sign books? Or for those who have acquired signatures from authors, what sorts of things have authors written to you that you liked?
More specifically, he hopped over to visit me this afternoon at the Barnes and Noble in West Chester for the Reader Appreciation Day.
Here we have two customers who bought copies of Secrets in Zarahemla. They are also known as two of my sisters. Sisters who I made stay to keep me company. (You can also see me in the bottom left corner.)
This was my first booksigning, and it was a bit nerve wracking. This was not helped by where I was placed. I was seated next to Jennifer Crusie, which may not mean much to non-romance readers, but Crusie is like a romance rock star. Not only does she have fervent fans, she has fans who have named themselves The Cherries, and often have accompanying cherry paraphernalia.
So there I sat, facing a sea of Cherries who all waited anxiously for Crusie to appear. I thought it might be semi-humiliating to sit there while Crusie signed book after book and I, you know, didn't, but I instead decided to find a silver lining in my situation and take the opportunity to watch a master at work and to listen to how she interacted with her fans.
But until Crusie showed up, I made my sisters stay and talk to me just so that I didn't have to sit and stare. Because the only people here in Ohio that my book would appeal to are 1) my family and 2) members of my ward (and it should be noted that my family comprises half of said ward). The Frog kept me company too.
But unfortunately for The Cherries (and for me as I was looking forward to gaining some signing wisdom), Crusie didn't make it. She pulled out of her driveway and into a ditch, and had to wait for a tow truck to pull it out, and said tow truck had to wait for a snow plow to clear a path for the tow truck to get to her car. She didn't make it to the signing, and many fans waited almost an hour before it was announced that she wouldn't be able to come (which made me wish I had fans who would wait an hour to see me). But Crusie graciously offered to come the next Saturday and sign books for all those Cherries who missed her.
And speaking of signings...while it's easy enough to write out things to those you love/know well, what in the world are you supposed to say in an inscription to acquaintances or people you've never met? I found myself struggling several times today on what I should say, so for those veteran book signers out there, what do you say when you sign books? Or for those who have acquired signatures from authors, what sorts of things have authors written to you that you liked?
Sariah Wilson — 2/10/2007 07:23:00 PM
5 comments
5 Comments:
Tried and true:
As them, "What kinds of books do you like to read?" or "Who's your favorite author?" Talk books in general and find things in common.
This conversation will eventually lead to them asking you, "What's your book about?"
OR you can say, "Have you heard about my new book?"
Tell them it's inspirational romance (this is the national buzz word for clean fiction with some reference to diety).
Take 3!! I am getting really frustrated with this stupid google switch, half the time is takes me to the home page instead of posting my message.
Just know my first two responses had more info and were far more personable
Come up with a unique phrase that fits your book--My YA, Star Struck, was "Hope you laugh" my adult Surrounded by Strangers is "Follow your heart" My other adult romance is "Love isn't supposed to be easy" then you can add an personalized message if apprpirate, like "Thanks for coming to my launch party" or "Good luck with your writing"
And it's good to know even Crusie-rock-star drives into a ditch now and then.
(I swear if this one doesn't go through..."
Agreed, Josi. I hate the stupid google switch. Major pain in the rear. I always copy before logging in now, just in case.
I do one of two things. I always ask for information about them, and if they give me something I can use I will be that in, "A fellow mystery fan", "A couple of long distance drivers" to "A fellow Spanish Fork-ian."
If that fails, I always have a line like Josi for each book. "Life is a mystery, enjoy solving it." "The path you follow may not always lead where you expect, but it always takes you home."
Then something like best wishes of good reading. But ALWAYS ask for a name spelling. Even on the simple ones. Good luck!
What is your schedule?
Josi and Jeff,
I think the trick is to log in first. This works better 94.6 percent of the time. Okay, I made that percentage up. Otherwise, I agree, I copy a lot of my comment posts in case I have to paste them in if I need to re-post.
Sariah,
I like to have two phrases ready per book so that two people standing in line at a booksigning won't get the same inscription. Unfortunately, because I haven't had a booksigning for a while, I can't remember the alternates right now. My standards are "Stand tall!" for The Man from Shenandoah, and "Endure to the End!" for Ride to Raton.
I don't use the same signature when signing books as I do when signing checks. It's a security thing, not that I sign a lot of checks anymore, but hey! Anything that keeps a crook from stealing my identity.
Marsha Ward
MarshaWard.com
Never thought about having two phrases so the people in line don't get duplicates.
But that's probably because I don't have lines at my book signings. Nice problem to dream about, though.
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