NO FLIRTING ALLOWED!
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What the re-release means, is that I've already held a book launch and have attended a number of books signings. I thought some of you might like to hear a few of my experiences – sort of a do's and don'ts when selling your books, and since Alex likes humorous posts, I hope you see the humor in what happened to me.
First, the do's – talk to the people, even those that don't walk directly over to your table. Make eye contact, and smile. Many readers are shy, just as shy if not more so than the writer is, so catch their eye and start a conversation. It helps if you have a flyer to hand out, if you have something to greet them with, something to get their attention. Many of them will take it and walk away, but if it peaks their interest, they will come back – and if there is ordering information – you may hear from them later!
Many of my sales happened at flea markets and craft fairs and always with another author. Together we brought the folks to the table and 8 times out of 10, both of us sold a book. We always had a decorative table, giveaways, and free candy—free candy always helps!
The don'ts – Don't express political opinions. I made the mistake of agreeing with one customer's expressed opinion on a candidate and another customer walked away, but not before letting me know my opinion was vastly different from hers. So be careful, and be neutral – you never want to lose a customer because of politics.
But watch the flirting – I had a man stop by and yes, he flirted, and I was amused. My partner (the other author) had stepped away from the table and this guy sat down in the chair beside me to look at my book. During the conversation, it was clear he was more interested in me, than the book, despite the fact that he talked about buying it for his wife. However, he was all talk and didn't buy the book. His wife soon found him, and she was not happy. She did a cursory flip of the pages, gave me the evil eye, and quickly walked away with him in tow. I lost another customer. My partner got a real kick out of it, which isn't fair because he flirted constantly, and never lost a sale. He was amazing.
Never, ever, just sit behind a table and ignore the folks around you – they want to know that you want to talk to them, so have fun, just remember no politics and no flirting, well, unless it really works for you!
So writers what do you think – is flirting fair? Or is it all fair when it comes to selling books?
After a gritty detective becomes involved with a beautiful widow suspected of murder, rumor and obsession obstruct his quest for justice.
Visite Yolanda Renée at her BLOG and find her book at Curiosity Quills Press.
Michelle Wallace just experienced her first e-Zine publication! Her flash fiction piece, Blast From The Past, is in Pure Slush. Read it HERE.
Congratulations, Michelle! You are the flash fiction master.
Summer Ross signed a contract with Breathless Press for her series The Trouble with Elves, Book 1, Ribbon of Darkness. Because it’s erotica, she’s chosen to go with a pen name, and you can find her on Facebook under Decadent Kane. Congratulaions, Summer!
Donna Weaver and her publisher are offering a chance to win A Change of Plans in audiobook. See her site for details.
Cheers to the ladies with new book releases:
For laughs:
John Wiswell posted 7 Ways Writing a Book is Not Like Raising a Child.
Fran at The Angry Lurker posted another classic – If Facebook Existed During the American Revoluion.
And my POST last week that kicked off with the Star Trek movies made top story over at Suvudu!
Spaceship Trivia Answers!
Several of you named the movie, but what we were after was the spaceship – here are the answers:
Movies:
1 - Alex Durant, Harry Booth, V.I.N.C.E.N.T. - Palomino
2 - Captain Dallas, Warrant Officer Ripley, Science Officer Ash - Nostromo
3 - Pres. Skroob, Dark Helmet, Col. Sandurz - Spaceball One
Television:
4 - Fry, Bender, Leela, Amy - Planet Express Ship
5 - Mal Reynolds, Zoe Washburne, Simon Tam - Serenity
6 - Don West, John Robinson, Dr. Zachary Smith - Jupiter 2
Literature:
7 - Arthur Dent, Ford Prefect, Zaphod Beeblebrox - Heart of Gold
8 - Charlie Bucket, Grandma Josephine, Willy Wonka - Great Glass Elevator
Real:
9 - Jim Lovell, Fred Haise, Jack Swigert - Apollo 13
Riffed Movie Review
Any of you familiar with Mystery Science Theater 3000 know that not long after the show was cancelled (damn you SyFy!) Mike, Kevin, and Bill formed Rifftrax. You can purchase and download a riff track for just about any movie. And on occasion, they do a live riff track in front of a movie theater audience and it’s broadcast across the nation to other theaters. Thus last week, I got to enjoy a Rifftrax screening of Starship Troopers.
Funded by a Kickstarter project and with the blessings of the cast, it was one of the first times they’d riffed a recent R rated film. Starship Troopers is cheesy, dated, and poorly acted, so it was an easy target. (Denise Richards in particular.) Yes, 80% of the film was epic ship scenes, mass bug shootings, and the word ‘Move!’ (In its defense, the bug effects hold up well. Everything else – not so much.) All in all, it was hilarious.
Before the film begins, they warm up the audience with a humorous slide show. I thought I’d share some my wife caught on her cell phone:
Is flirting fair when selling books? (Do you remember how to flirt? Because it’s been so long, I don’t!) See some new books you want? Find something amusing? Get any of the spaceships right? And has anyone else ever downloaded Rifftraxs or gone to a live event?
My next post will be on Thursday instead of Wednesday, and I’ll have another awesome guest, plus some cool CassaStorm news.
