The low-turn out (or no-turn out) book signing is a rite of passage for an author, and I’ve had mine. I sat near the entrance of the bookstore for two hours. I smiled and greeted everyone that came in. A couple of people asked me about my books and I gave them my spiel. Most people weren’t interested in a collection of horror short stories or the other option, a collection of essays about the Pacific Northwest.
There was a young girl of high school age, who told her male friend, not her boyfriend, as they made perfectly clear, that she thought they should get a copy of Courting Morpheus and seemed really excited about a couch that eats people. That was my one sale of the horror collection.
Three generations of women from one family showed up and the girl, upper teens, went off while the mother and grandmother perused the display I was sitting near. Then they got to my books and I gave them my pitch. The grandmother thought her granddaughter would be interested in Courting Morpheus and didn’t see where she was, but assured me they would stop by on their way out.
They were true to their word, but the granddaughter isn’t a fan of horror stories. Grandma, lovely, lovely Grandma, pushed her granddaughter over to the other side of my table and thrust a copy of The Pacific Northwest Reader in her hands.
“These are essays about the Pacific Northwest,” Grandma said, “Aren’t you interested in that, and in supporting our local economy and authors.” It wasn’t a question.
After a moment, the granddaughter said that that sounded cool, and they went to purchase it. Then they came back and I signed it. “Do you want it personalized?” I asked.
“Yes,” Mom said.
“Yes,” Grandma repeated.
“How about a big smiley face?” Granddaughter asked. I obliged.
Thanks Grandma, for giving me a second sale. I averaged two sales per hour at my first book signing. I consider it a success. Several of my coworkers at the bookstore expressed an interest in getting one or another of the books throughout the time I sat at my table. My answer to them was, “Thanks. I’ll be here all week.”
Courting Morpheus is officially a Shroud Press title! Woohoo! There’s a poster available for purchase on the 