The Wind Books Website

Some suggestions by Linda M. Hasselstrom, Gaydell Collier and Nancy Curtis about how to get your book under the public eye.


Autograph Parties: Before the scheduled date

Bookstores don't pay for author appearances but are delighted to host autograph parties (also called booksignings). Or ask an organization -- reading group, teachers' group or service organization -- to sponsor your booksigning. Ask libraries and businesses about free meeting places and community rooms.

A service organization, or even a store may not know the best ways to publicize such an event, especially with a low budget. Always ask about the business's (or group's) publicity plans and supplement its promotion with your own. Keep copies of all their promotion materials for future reference.

Suggest to your host you give a brief talk or reading -- offering entertainment in addition to the chance to buy makes people more likely to attend. Offer a program with an interviewer questioning you, along with questions from the audience. Supply the interviewer with questions covering the important and/or interesting points you want to be sure to mention. A conversation draws customer interest.

Make a postcard invitation to the event -- handy advertising which can be carried or tucked in a calender or posted on a refrigerator door. Send a card to anyone you know in town, including professionals you may see only rarely. Ask organizations of which you are a member to include the invitation with their regular mailing. Send stamped postcard invitations to the host to send to their best customers. Ask the local printer if he has a bulk mail permit, allowing you to mail cards at a lower rate. If you intend to do many mass mailings, look into applying for a bulk mail permit at your post office. Be aware there are many rules and regulations to be followed to get this reduced postage rate, but the right computer software can be a big help.

Be sure the book price and the sponsor's address and phone number -- or other information on how to order the book -- appear on every piece of paper you distribute.

Make business cards giving information on how to reach you, including topics on which you might give talks, book titles, or other information. Collect business cards to build your mailing list.

Make bookplates to sign and mail to people who buy your book in advance or who live in another area and cannot get an autograph in person. Use address labels available in office supply stores, printed on your home computer or printed at a print shop.

Write and print news releases for local newspapers, radio and TV stations. Quote yourself and anyone who liked the book. Write honestly about your qualifications -- but don't be TOO modest. Why are you an expert on your book's topic? Be sure to note that personally inscribed copies may be reserved by calling ahead.

Ask a reporter to interview you for a story about your upcoming appearance. Write up a list of the most important information about your book, including biographical material about yourself, in case the reporter isn’t prepared. Note any current news event relating to your book -- the "local angle."

Print flyers or postcards using the book's cover or other eye-catching illustration and distribute them generously -- people may order later. (Check U.S. Postal Service regulations for the size of card that can be sent at postcard rates.) Use reviews of your work, quotes from your book and your photograph, along with information about your life and work experience. As your scrapbook about your books and your previous engagements grows, create new flyers with fresh quotations and reviews. Always add information on how to order from a bookstore or from you. To save money, ask the printer about paper left over from other printing jobs.

Ask stores, libraries, cafes and other gathering places to post your flyers or stack them by the cash register. Send them to everyone in your address list: friends, other writers, writing groups, schools, your mother's bridge pals. Be sure to invite appropriate groups. If you write cowboy poetry, invite the Cattlegrowers Association. If it's historical romance, ask the library or bookstore about book groups who read romances. If your work is spiritual, invite church and Bible study groups. Some interest or professional groups are listed in the yellow pages.

Consider sending a free copy of your book to anyone who is newsworthy or prominent -– the governor? A newspaper editor? A local talk-show host? -- asking for a quotable comment that you can use in your promotion.


At the Autograph Party:

Consider how to stand out from the customers. Wear a t-shirt showing the title or cover of your book -- or dress to fit the topic. Some romance writers wear ball gowns and lacy hats, and western writers appear with vests and spurs. Bring objects to catch the buyer's eye and senses. For a western, put a coiled rope and a bale of hay by the table or hand out sprigs of sagebrush.

Hang an enlargement of your book cover on an easel.

Though bowls of candy and plates of homemade cookies are good lures, don't just sit behind a table waiting for people to come to you. Carrying your book, introduce yourself to customers. If you're too nervous to greet people so boldly, give something away: a bookmark printed with your book's cover and pertinent information, or a quote from your book or about reading. One author hands out ballpoint pens imprinted with her name and the book's title. One writer makes a special mark on one of her giveaway items and awards a prize to the customer who gets it.

If you're signing several books at once, ask each buyer to write the recipient's name on a sticky note so you won’t lose track, and so that you spell the name correctly. If you have time, ask about the person who will receive the book so you can personalize your note.

Furnish a guest book or tablet so everyone who attends may sign a name and address whether they buy a book or not -- giving you a mailing list for the next book you write.


After the Party:

Before you leave a bookstore, offer to autograph any remaining books or leave bookplates for books sold later, reminding the bookstore owner to advertise these as signed copies even though you may not visit again.

If the store plans to discard its promotional materials, take them with you for reuse.

Leave book ordering information and your flyer or biographical information.

Write a news story about the autograph party for the same media (newspaper, radio) that used a story before.

Go through your guest book or the stack of business cards you collected as soon as possible, while the information is still fresh in your mind, and make notes on how each person is relevant to your future book sales. Did he buy a book? Is she a teacher? Does he edit the local newspaper?


Other suggestions for promoting books:

Offer to speak on your book's subject for appropriate groups. Poets might speak to readers groups at the library or school, for example. Historians could address the local historical society or visitors to a museum. Don't forget other civic and interest groups -- AAUW, Kiwanis and Toastmasters -- always anxious to hear new speakers. Though you will not be paid for most of these appearances, you can sell books and distribute information which may result in later sales. Ask everyone present to sign your guest book for names and addresses for your mailing list.

Offer to visit school rooms to talk about your writing and the book. (If you do this before an autograph party, students may bring their parents to the store.) Inform news media of each speaking engagement.

Write a one-page news story about your book and yourself as its author, including the names of any state personalities who are mentioned. Unless you are writing this story to tie it into a specific event (Valentine's Day, a local festival) avoid any reference to dates so the story may be used at any time. Mention in the story anything of interest to local and regional readers. Do you comment on current problems? Quote any townspeople?

Send news releases to every weekly newspaper in your state, as well as to organizational newsletters. With no date, the publication may use the story more than once. Be sure to add that the book is available through bookstores or from your address and include a charge for postage.

Besides offering to read from your book, list all the topics on which you can speak intelligently. Remember you know more about your subject than most of your audience. Possibilities include all the topics you write about or your experiences in getting your book published. Send these lists to any organization you think might be interested.

If you're traveling on business, check your local library for a telephone book from the towns you’ll visit. Get addresses and phone numbers of organizations and ask in advance if they’d like you to speak.

Never go anywhere without printed information about your book. Take flyers, business cards or bookmarks to every office: dentist, doctor, lawyer, museum, motel. Hand them to people you talk to on planes, in waiting rooms.

Wherever you go, visit bookstores. If they do have your book, offer to sign copies and leave promotional and ordering information. If they don't, show them a copy, give them information on your sales and promotion efforts, and ask them to order copies before you leave.


Be sure to see the article "How to Write a News Release," also on this website.


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