Book Signing? - What's Up With That?
There are lots of articles about book signings on other blogs, so I'm not going to add to that glut. Here are some of the good ones:
• 40+ Ways to Make Your Next Book Signing an EVENT - Larry James
• How to Have A Successful Book Signing - MaryJanice Davidson
• Signing Protocol - Nora Roberts
• Celebrity Book Signing - Tommy Yan
• Getting a Book Signed
• 35 Ways to Make Your Next Book Signing an Event!
I wasn't really wondering about how to conduct a book-signing event. I just wondered where a book should be signed; on what page. Would you believe I couldn't find one article that could say definitively where a book should be autographed? This question came up because I wanted to give a copy from the first printing of one of my first books to someone who had helped promote it to its prospective audience. This was a somewhat influential person whom I was only casually acquainted with, so I also wondered about the inscription - what would be appropriate, under the circumstances. I only found one article that had anything to say about that, and it wasn't talking about books.
So, if you're wondering about these same things, here's a report on my research.
Where to Sign
Although there appears to be no formally adopted standard or rule, authors usually choose to autograph the title page of their books. Some books have a "half title" page. The title page is the recto side of the copyright page, not the half-title page, which is usually blank on the verso side. Since the author's name is already printed on the title page, signing there is similar to placing their signature on a typed letter. So that makes sense.
Although it often isn't adhered to, there is a generally-accepted standard for book organization. The location of an author's autograph should be as predictable as the location of other content. If a book has an index, you would expect to find it at the back of the book. If you are wondering if the book has been signed by its author, you should be able to expect to find that on the title page.
A notable exception to this convention was Ian Fleming, famous author of the James Bond series. He evidently had some aversion to defacing title pages, so usually autographed his books on the front flyleaf (the blank page immediately inside the cover). An author like Ian Fleming is like the proverbial 500-pound gorilla; he signs wherever he wants.
What to Say
If a book ever achieves any status as a collector's item, an autographed copy will have greater value, and sometimes much greater value. Prominent authors are therefore sometimes reluctant to autograph their books for people other than close friends and associates. Fleming was also an example of this, and looking over some of the signings he provided gives some insight into what is appropriate for various associates.
It turns out this isn't much of a mystery. The inscription in a book can be writted using the same protocol one would use when writing the complementary close for a letter. It's helpful to have the range of possibilities established in advance. My suggestions are these:
• Perfect strangers - flat sign (meaning to simply sign, signature only): "GWarner"
• Acquaintances less than friends - reservedly personalize it: "For Margaret - GWarner 9/23/2007"
• Friends and Associates - personalize it: "For my old chum, Margaret - GW 9/23/2007"
• More than friends (family members, etc.): "With love, for Aunt Mary - GW 9/23/2007"
• Dignitaries: "Respectfully for Judge Albert Burton - GWarner 9/23/2007"
• Special Requests: see below
These involve some subtleties. If the book ever becomes a collector's item, the mention of a name might increase its value if the person named is identifiable as someone important in their own right, or someone with a special relationship to the author. Otherwise the name would be more likely to impair the value of that particular copy. The signing date, written in the author's hand, is a touch that adds value to the autograph since such dates are always of interest when books wind up in collections. Omitting the date lessens the potential value of the autograph, and is appropriate when signing for strangers.
Honoring Inscription Requests
Books make great gifts, and the value of the gift can be greatly enhanced by a personalized inscription written in the author's hand.
Human nature being what it is, there are sure to be occasional request for personalized inscriptions which are not honest or appropriate. The value of such inscriptions depends on your integrity, so were you to condescend to such requests, your autograph wouldn't be of much value anyway. Furthermore, doing so would lessen the worth of inscriptions provided to others containing sentiments that were honest and genuine. Reputation is collateral. It is therefore entirely appropriate to refuse.
Virtual Signing
Virtual book signing ranges from something as elaborate as a live, interactive videoteleconference (VTC), to simply accepting requests by email and returning signatures or personalized inscriptions on sticky labels by regular mail.
The VTC approach involves offering books for sale, taking orders and inscription requests live, and showing the actual signing of the books on-camera. The idea is to simulate an actual book-signing event. Downloadable handwritten labels are also sometimes provided, which recipients can print out and attach to previously purchased copies of the book being promoted.
To offer the simple approach, buy some labels and create a template showing the name of the book and your imprint.
Penmanship
Did that word strike you as odd? Whoever hears anything about "penmanship" any more? Exactly! Elementary students spend very little time learning how to write these days. Perhaps you have never been able to write nicely, so when you impose your signature even on a credit card slip, you feel a little tinge of ambivalence.
It has been said that you can trace a person's career by their signature. When they start out in life, it's clear and legible. The higher they climb, the worse it gets. At the bottom of the ladder, they're considerate, conscientious, hard-working, anxious to make a good impression - qualities reflected in the care they take when signing their name. Later on, for whatever reasons, they are less willing to take care with such basic details. Fixing the problem can elevate one's self-esteem. If you make a conscientious effort to be considerate of others by writing more neatly and legibly, you will find yourself acting more courteously and thoughtfully in other matters also - at home, on the job, and even on the highway.
As a rule of thumb, I have always thought you can quickly take the measure of a business by the look of the place. If it is messy and disorganized, you can safely assume that is the way it does business too. It's probably not a very successful operation, but even if it's managing to succeed in spite of its messy and disorganized style, it's not measuring up to its real potential. Your signature suggests the same sort of imagery to others, and maybe even worse. Doctors are famous for scribbling; its not only accepted by actually expected of them. For others, people are not always likely to be so understanding. Your scribbled signature might very well leave the impression that you think you're "all that."
We're writers, for goodness sakes! Shouldn't handwriting be an essential skill for someone who assumes that title? With a little practice and care, all of us can write more clearly, showing that we respect the written word and, above all, the reader. Some of the fundamentals are only common sense: (1) assume a comfortable position, (2) take your time and write carefully, and (3) practice writing neatly and legibly. Make up your mind to spend as little as just five or ten minutes a day practicing your signature.
If you need a little more help, you can find a wealth of interesting and useful resources at Lessons in Calligraphy and Penmanship. Or go back to school at DonnaYoung.org and learn to write as your teacher's should have taught you to write when you were in the third grade.
[-=glw=-]
• 40+ Ways to Make Your Next Book Signing an EVENT - Larry James
• How to Have A Successful Book Signing - MaryJanice Davidson
• Signing Protocol - Nora Roberts
• Celebrity Book Signing - Tommy Yan
• Getting a Book Signed
• 35 Ways to Make Your Next Book Signing an Event!
I wasn't really wondering about how to conduct a book-signing event. I just wondered where a book should be signed; on what page. Would you believe I couldn't find one article that could say definitively where a book should be autographed? This question came up because I wanted to give a copy from the first printing of one of my first books to someone who had helped promote it to its prospective audience. This was a somewhat influential person whom I was only casually acquainted with, so I also wondered about the inscription - what would be appropriate, under the circumstances. I only found one article that had anything to say about that, and it wasn't talking about books.
So, if you're wondering about these same things, here's a report on my research.
Where to Sign
Although there appears to be no formally adopted standard or rule, authors usually choose to autograph the title page of their books. Some books have a "half title" page. The title page is the recto side of the copyright page, not the half-title page, which is usually blank on the verso side. Since the author's name is already printed on the title page, signing there is similar to placing their signature on a typed letter. So that makes sense.
Although it often isn't adhered to, there is a generally-accepted standard for book organization. The location of an author's autograph should be as predictable as the location of other content. If a book has an index, you would expect to find it at the back of the book. If you are wondering if the book has been signed by its author, you should be able to expect to find that on the title page.
A notable exception to this convention was Ian Fleming, famous author of the James Bond series. He evidently had some aversion to defacing title pages, so usually autographed his books on the front flyleaf (the blank page immediately inside the cover). An author like Ian Fleming is like the proverbial 500-pound gorilla; he signs wherever he wants.
What to Say
If a book ever achieves any status as a collector's item, an autographed copy will have greater value, and sometimes much greater value. Prominent authors are therefore sometimes reluctant to autograph their books for people other than close friends and associates. Fleming was also an example of this, and looking over some of the signings he provided gives some insight into what is appropriate for various associates.
It turns out this isn't much of a mystery. The inscription in a book can be writted using the same protocol one would use when writing the complementary close for a letter. It's helpful to have the range of possibilities established in advance. My suggestions are these:
• Perfect strangers - flat sign (meaning to simply sign, signature only): "GWarner"
• Acquaintances less than friends - reservedly personalize it: "For Margaret - GWarner 9/23/2007"
• Friends and Associates - personalize it: "For my old chum, Margaret - GW 9/23/2007"
• More than friends (family members, etc.): "With love, for Aunt Mary - GW 9/23/2007"
• Dignitaries: "Respectfully for Judge Albert Burton - GWarner 9/23/2007"
• Special Requests: see below
These involve some subtleties. If the book ever becomes a collector's item, the mention of a name might increase its value if the person named is identifiable as someone important in their own right, or someone with a special relationship to the author. Otherwise the name would be more likely to impair the value of that particular copy. The signing date, written in the author's hand, is a touch that adds value to the autograph since such dates are always of interest when books wind up in collections. Omitting the date lessens the potential value of the autograph, and is appropriate when signing for strangers.
Honoring Inscription Requests
Books make great gifts, and the value of the gift can be greatly enhanced by a personalized inscription written in the author's hand.
Human nature being what it is, there are sure to be occasional request for personalized inscriptions which are not honest or appropriate. The value of such inscriptions depends on your integrity, so were you to condescend to such requests, your autograph wouldn't be of much value anyway. Furthermore, doing so would lessen the worth of inscriptions provided to others containing sentiments that were honest and genuine. Reputation is collateral. It is therefore entirely appropriate to refuse.
Virtual Signing
Virtual book signing ranges from something as elaborate as a live, interactive videoteleconference (VTC), to simply accepting requests by email and returning signatures or personalized inscriptions on sticky labels by regular mail.
The VTC approach involves offering books for sale, taking orders and inscription requests live, and showing the actual signing of the books on-camera. The idea is to simulate an actual book-signing event. Downloadable handwritten labels are also sometimes provided, which recipients can print out and attach to previously purchased copies of the book being promoted.
To offer the simple approach, buy some labels and create a template showing the name of the book and your imprint.
Penmanship
Did that word strike you as odd? Whoever hears anything about "penmanship" any more? Exactly! Elementary students spend very little time learning how to write these days. Perhaps you have never been able to write nicely, so when you impose your signature even on a credit card slip, you feel a little tinge of ambivalence.
It has been said that you can trace a person's career by their signature. When they start out in life, it's clear and legible. The higher they climb, the worse it gets. At the bottom of the ladder, they're considerate, conscientious, hard-working, anxious to make a good impression - qualities reflected in the care they take when signing their name. Later on, for whatever reasons, they are less willing to take care with such basic details. Fixing the problem can elevate one's self-esteem. If you make a conscientious effort to be considerate of others by writing more neatly and legibly, you will find yourself acting more courteously and thoughtfully in other matters also - at home, on the job, and even on the highway.
As a rule of thumb, I have always thought you can quickly take the measure of a business by the look of the place. If it is messy and disorganized, you can safely assume that is the way it does business too. It's probably not a very successful operation, but even if it's managing to succeed in spite of its messy and disorganized style, it's not measuring up to its real potential. Your signature suggests the same sort of imagery to others, and maybe even worse. Doctors are famous for scribbling; its not only accepted by actually expected of them. For others, people are not always likely to be so understanding. Your scribbled signature might very well leave the impression that you think you're "all that."
We're writers, for goodness sakes! Shouldn't handwriting be an essential skill for someone who assumes that title? With a little practice and care, all of us can write more clearly, showing that we respect the written word and, above all, the reader. Some of the fundamentals are only common sense: (1) assume a comfortable position, (2) take your time and write carefully, and (3) practice writing neatly and legibly. Make up your mind to spend as little as just five or ten minutes a day practicing your signature.
If you need a little more help, you can find a wealth of interesting and useful resources at Lessons in Calligraphy and Penmanship. Or go back to school at DonnaYoung.org and learn to write as your teacher's should have taught you to write when you were in the third grade.
[-=glw=-]
Labels: Book Marketing
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