MY FIRST BOOK SIGNING
On the day of the book signing, I was a nervous wreck. Thank God for Lamont and Marlene. They were my rock and anchor. At the location, they took care of everything.
I'm not sure why my nerves were on edge. I sent out 50 invitations and Marlene had received 45 people calling to say they were coming.
As I paced the floor, worrying if anyone would show up, Marlene urged me to sit down. I did as she suggested. I fiddled with the pens, took a drink of water, and kept glancing at the clock. The book signing was to start at 3:00 pm and it was five minutes after three.
Restless, I stood up and spotted a woman walking through the door. I didn't know her and as she approached me, I hoped my mouth wasn't hanging open. I was shocked and surprised that a person came to the book signing and had bought my book.
My shoulders relaxed but as I autographed the book, my hands shook. Before the book signing, I did some research on what was considered a successful book signing for an unknown, self-published author. Shocked, I couldn't believe that I only had to sell "one" book. I smiled because my book signing was a success.
Within the hour, the room was filled with at least 50 people--friends, neighbors, and strangers. They had come out to support me as a published author. With the urging of Marlene, I took a break. I thanked everyone for coming and for buying my book. Again, per Marlene, I gave away door prizes, read a chapter from my book before I returned to autographing books.
At 5:00 pm, the last person left and I was happily exhausted. I sold more books then I had anticipated. I sold 101. I should have been excited but I couldn't because of my husband's reminder.
"Honey, you had a wonderful day and this was a good start, but you still have nine boxes of books in the garage. I don't want to put a damper on your success, but how are you going to sell the rest of them?"
I wasn't sure but at least I had a marketing plan and had implemented one of the ideas. Instead of approaching bookstores, I decided to develop a letter and mail it to out-of-town relatives and friends, telling them about the release of my book.
