Wednesday, May 13, 2009

Book Signing Venues

“Creativity involves breaking out of established patterns in order to look at things in a different way.” – Edward de Bono

My post on Monday on innovative marketing techniques and Tuesday’s blog on Straight from Hel, about thinking outside the box for book signing venues, elicited some interesting replies. For instance Marvin Wilson, once held a book signing at a farmer’s market; Morgan Mandel is planning one at a flea market; and, I’ve done signings at my condo’s pool and in a bank lobby.

I decided to do some online research and see if I could find other creative venues. What I found was a great site, BookConnector. The venue categories on this site are: bookstores, cafes, groceries, libraries and non-traditional. You input the city and state, check which categories interest you, and a list appears. This is a helpful aid for anyone planning their own book tour. You do have to be a member to use the site, but membership is free and signing up was quick and easy.

I’d recommend stopping by bcnews (no sign-up necessary) to read about Maryann Miller’s hilarious nightmare talk and signing at a senior center. The story had me laughing out loud. (For more nightmare stories see my January 16, 2009, blog.)

Along with Maryann Miller’s piece, there are write-ups about other non-traditional venues such as Colette Shaw’s signing at a KISS fan convention; or Ann Parker’s event at an upscale restaurant that was once the stomping ground for a high-class madam featured in her book, Silver Lies.

Feel free to share more unusual venues or nightmare signings.

Thanks for stopping by.

Tags: Edward de Bono, book signing venues, book signing nightmares, Maryann Miller, Colette Shaw, Ann Parker, KISS, BookConnector,

11 comments:

Anonymous said...

Hey - now THIS post has pound for pound exceptional value - those are great links for very useful tips and info. Thanks, Jane!

Helen Ginger said...

Thank you, Jane. What a great post. So many links to explore!

Helen
Straight From Hel

Elizabeth Spann Craig said...

Great links, Jane! Thanks. I like the idea of exploring different types of venues.

Elizabeth
http://www.mysterywritingismurder.blogspot.com/

Patricia Stoltey said...

Jane, valuable suggestions. Unique signing locations are lots of fun. Maggie Sefton, who writes a knitting mystery series, often signs books in yarn and knitting specialty shops. One of the independent bookstores in my town has a big Sunday farmers' market booth all summer and early fall, so that's a great option (at least when the weather holds). I also hope to sign in the historic hotel of the old gold mining town where part of my book is set. It's on a tour bus circuit, so if I time it right, I might actually sell a book or two.

Patricia
http://patriciastoltey.blogspot.com

Morgan Mandel said...

You always ocme up with such great ideas. Great link about the Bookconnector.

Morgan Mandel
http://morganmandel.blogspot.com

Charlotte Phillips said...

Ms. Miller handled a bad situation well! I'm pleased to report that my trip to a Sr. Center went a bit differently, as I met with a book club - and all of them had read the book! Good thing because I can't sing a note.

Charlotte Phillips
Hacksaw

Ann Parker said...

Wow... great links! And I'd all but forgotten about my event at Mattie Silks' House of Mirrors (oh so long ago). I also have a friend who writes cozy craft mysteries and does a bang-up business at craft shows.

I need to start thinking creatively about this sort of stuff again.
Thanks for the inspiration!

Anonymous said...

Thanks for the tip. I treid for all of Orange County and only Borders Books and Music (where I already have book signings) came up.

There is an option to add a venue. So I'll do the right thing and add Barnes and Noble along with some of the larger independent book stores so other visitors can benefit.

joe doaks-Author said...

Hey, Jane, this is valuable information. I signed up and tried BookConnector. Very cool. Love the idea of review sites as well, sometimes those are difficult to find. Very useful post. Good Job.

Best Regards, Galen
http://www.galenkindley.com

Bob Sanchez said...

Great ideas, Jane! Recently two fellow writers and I had a book signing in a small market near a "Parade of Homes" real estate event--we gave it advance publicity and sold some books to potential home-buyers.

Bob Sanchez
http://bobsanchez1.blogspot.com

merc3069 said...

I have been toying around with this idea for a small cottage business for a while--why not have someone act as a liasion for authors and venues? How cool would a night of Indian-American writers be at the local Hndu temple? how to do this? mmmmm

Jane's Ride - Novelist Jane Kennedy Sutton's journey through the ups and downs of the writing, publishing and marketing world