My First Book Signing--a Fiasco!
by Kimberly Rae
My first book signing almost didn't happen. I went to a quaint little tourist town where I'd scheduled with a shop lady to set up outside her little store. Unfortunately, she being new did not know the rules that basically said I couldn't do that. A very nice shopkeeper told me about the rule, and yet another not-so-friendly shopkeeper emphasized the various rules I was apparently breaking right at that moment.
So...my husband helped me pack up. So much for my very first book signing. Not to mention it was a drizzly, dismal day and looked like it was going to rain. To top it off, the heavy humidity brought some kind of allergen with it and my asthma flared up for the first time in months.
So there I was, disappointed, shaking from using my inhaler, and trying to find the library because it was my last chance at having any kind of book signing that day. Found it, and they happened to be having an outdoor book sale that day. Providence! I asked some nice lady who asked some other guy if I could set up my little table near their setup and they agreed. Things were looking better, until I drove around to the parking spot they'd saved for me and there was this tiny elderly lady sitting in a folding chair in the parking space. I waved at her to show her that I was the one she was saving it for and she scrambled out of the way, not smiling. I got out and started setting up when the same lady asked me, "Who are you?" in a tone that implies, "What in the world are you doing, young lady?!"
Oh dear. Come to find out, she was the person in charge, no one told her about me, and seems she thought I was trying to run her over--or something unhappy like that. Well, that wasn't a good way to start the day, so I brought a copy of my book over to where she was whispering about me to a friend, and I apologized for not asking her first (not like I knew I should, but oh well) and I wanted her to have a copy of my book. Well, she said it wasn't necessary, but I said I wanted to, and finally she relented to accepting it for the library.
In the end, I made some friends, sold some books, and the elderly lady turned out to be a very nice person who wished me luck. (And I learned a lesson or two about finding just the right person to ask--which I will hopefully do next time.)
Second book signing, here I come. I'm excited about the possibilities, and I will try very, very hard not to offend whoever knows the rules or is in charge, or anybody else if I can help it!
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Kimberly has lived in Bangladesh, Uganda, Kosovo and Indonesia. Her first novel, Stolen Woman, a Christian romance/suspense novel on international human trafficking hit the Amazon Bestseller list in two categories this year. Find out more at www.stolenwoman.org, or read about Kimberly's real-life adventures on her blog, www.stolenwoman.blogspot.com.
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Would you like to participate in Friday "Speak Out!"? Email your short posts (under 500 words) about women and writing to: marcia[at]wow-womenonwriting[dot]com for consideration. We look forward to hearing from you!
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by Kimberly Rae
My first book signing almost didn't happen. I went to a quaint little tourist town where I'd scheduled with a shop lady to set up outside her little store. Unfortunately, she being new did not know the rules that basically said I couldn't do that. A very nice shopkeeper told me about the rule, and yet another not-so-friendly shopkeeper emphasized the various rules I was apparently breaking right at that moment.
So...my husband helped me pack up. So much for my very first book signing. Not to mention it was a drizzly, dismal day and looked like it was going to rain. To top it off, the heavy humidity brought some kind of allergen with it and my asthma flared up for the first time in months.
So there I was, disappointed, shaking from using my inhaler, and trying to find the library because it was my last chance at having any kind of book signing that day. Found it, and they happened to be having an outdoor book sale that day. Providence! I asked some nice lady who asked some other guy if I could set up my little table near their setup and they agreed. Things were looking better, until I drove around to the parking spot they'd saved for me and there was this tiny elderly lady sitting in a folding chair in the parking space. I waved at her to show her that I was the one she was saving it for and she scrambled out of the way, not smiling. I got out and started setting up when the same lady asked me, "Who are you?" in a tone that implies, "What in the world are you doing, young lady?!"
Oh dear. Come to find out, she was the person in charge, no one told her about me, and seems she thought I was trying to run her over--or something unhappy like that. Well, that wasn't a good way to start the day, so I brought a copy of my book over to where she was whispering about me to a friend, and I apologized for not asking her first (not like I knew I should, but oh well) and I wanted her to have a copy of my book. Well, she said it wasn't necessary, but I said I wanted to, and finally she relented to accepting it for the library.
In the end, I made some friends, sold some books, and the elderly lady turned out to be a very nice person who wished me luck. (And I learned a lesson or two about finding just the right person to ask--which I will hopefully do next time.)
Second book signing, here I come. I'm excited about the possibilities, and I will try very, very hard not to offend whoever knows the rules or is in charge, or anybody else if I can help it!
* * *
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Would you like to participate in Friday "Speak Out!"? Email your short posts (under 500 words) about women and writing to: marcia[at]wow-womenonwriting[dot]com for consideration. We look forward to hearing from you!
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
3 comments:
Ouch! No wonder online promotion has taken off. It's a rough one out there! I'm glad to see you still have a positive attitude and are looking forward to the next one. Thanks for sharing, Kimberly. :)
Wow, Kimberly, an auspicious beginning :) You have a great attitude so obviously no worries!
Angela, I totally agree that online marketing is a great new option! That's what I'm centering on most for the 3rd book in the series, coming out July 30th! Thanks to you, and Lisa, for the encouragement!
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