Would you sign my copy, please?

[DWSTXS]

Something I've been wondering about lately, and I'm sure that as wannabe novelists/novelists-in-training, most of us have considered this too, at some time or another...

What exactly does one write, when signing copies of your book when readers ask for an autograph?

Would you simply sign your name?
Is it frowned upon to pre-sign them, etc etc?
Should you write something personal?

It sounds stupid to ask for guidelines for this, but I've always wondered, just what is the protocol for this? Or is there any protocol for this?


Just wondering. I know this is probably something that all of us has fantasized about, being at the book store, with a long line of fans stretched out in front of your signing table, waiting to meet you and get their very own signed copy of your best-seller.

[icerose]

From what little experience I've had, when it's a friend I sign it with a personal note, since I know them personally. With others unless they request, I just sign my name.

[Anonymisty]

It sounds stupid to ask for guidelines for this, but I've always wondered, just what is the protocol for this? Or is there any protocol for this?


If there is, I don't know if I'm following it. :D What I've been doing depends on who the purchaser is. If it's a very close friend, they get a personal note and my name. If it's a casual friend, they get "To Name, Fair winds, me darlin'" and my name. If it's someone I do not know at all, they get "To Name, Fair winds!" and my name.

Occasionally someone asks for just my name and nothing else. I think there's some rule that says books with only the signature are eventually more valuable than those with a personal inscription, but since I'll probably be long dead before I'm a collectible, I don't know for sure.

[Inky]

When giving the book as a gift, I make it personal.
When asked to sign & don't really know the person, I write: Enjoy & then sign my name...

[JamieFord]

I saw an autographed Hemingway book at a used bookstore one time. The inscription read To: (Name)--praise this or be silent!

Kinds says it all.

[RJLeahy]

Ask them, "how should I make this out?"

[Susan Breen]

This is something I've been doing a lot of lately, and it is just as much fun as you always dreamed it would be. Someone asked me the other day, during a signing, if my hand was getting tired and I said, Are you kidding? I've been practicing for twenty years. But anyway, I do ask to whom I should make out the inscription, because sometimes it's a gift. And I've noticed at bookstore readings that the manager will often ask for me to pre-sign a bunch, which is a good thing because it means they won't be sending those books back.

[Gillhoughly]

I smile and make sure everyone gets their "minute" with me.

I never EVER forget that they don't have to buy my book!

They went to some trouble to get there and certainly deserve a bit of my time and appreciation. There is usually plenty of time to chat or tell a story or joke a bit. After signing I THANK them, and I mean it.

Forget ivory tower pretension--be friendly and cheerful! Then they go home with a warm memory. ("Oh, Gillhoughly wasn't stuffy at all, had so many funny stories--we had a great chat!")

I ask how to spell their name, even if it's a common one, and that gives them a chance to say, "oh, I just want a signature only." Otherwise, spell the name right. It gives the moment some personalization.

If you talk with them for a minute you can ask if the book is a gift for someone, then offer to write in "Happy Birthday to ___ from (me)." Usually they protest, but I can tell they're thrilled and then later they can present a unique prezzy.

If they're trying your writing out for the very first time it only takes a minute to put in "To __ , hope you enjoy! ___." That personal note is a cool thing readers love: you took a bit of time to TALK to them.

A bad impression can put people off forever. I got the autograph of a writer I liked a lot until I met him. He acted like he was god's own special gift to literature, never once looked me in the eye or cracked a smile, dashed off his name, and all but tossed the book back like I was an idiot for liking such trash. I went away seething and ultimately gave the book (unread) and its negative memory to a friend. I didn't mention the writer's sheer boorishness, and I've not read him since. What a jerk!

On the other side, I drove 70 miles to get a favorite British mystery writer's autograph. The store was packed, and he was only able to just put in his signature, but he handed the book back with a warm smile and a "Thank you, luv," that left me all melty.

Don't expect the store to be teaming with anxious buyers. At my first signing I had two shoppers and sold one book in a four hour period. (See "Get the word out" below.)

The ONLY time I had real crowds was when I shared with a much bigger name. Ray Bradbury (some years back) comes to mind!

And dang straight I got HIS autograph! I also put my hands together and bowed repeatedly and intoned, "I'm-not-worthy-I'm-not-worthy..." which made him laugh.

He was very, VERY nice about signing. He was tired and he wanted his milk shake, but he still made the effort to be friendly and gracious. What a pro! His book has a place of honor on my shelves.

Ditto for James Doohan. The store was PACKED, but he gave a minute to each and every fan, joked with them, posed for pictures, and stayed beyond his signing time to make sure everyone went away happy. I'm sure that cut into his dinner hour and resting time, but he had a beaming smile for all.

Details--if there are books left over--trust that there will be--the bookstore will ask you to sign them and those will get "autographed" stickers on them. They're sent to other stores in the chain.

Don't pre-sign a book. Let the reader know you waited especially for them before you picked up your pen.

I was signing my historical series and did it with a real quill pen and a bottle of ink. That went over VERY well! For fun, I had a friend dressed up like the hero in a dashing period costume. He walked around the store with his pet greyhound. I think the dog went over better than the book! (I cleared ALL this with the store, first!)

It's also a HUGE help to have the books at one table, while you sign at the next. Shy types may not want to check out the book with you watching. They feel like they're expected to buy, then. Books at another table takes the pressure off. Then they can find out if it's something they'd want to read, and can walk away if it's not their thing.

If you're at a death-signing--no one shows--chat with the store staff. Just because your big signing was scheduled on the same day as the town's founder's day fair and the manager put the wrong date and time in the paper is no reason to complain. I signed books for the (embarrassed) manager, and later sent her a nice address book as a prezzy. She wants me back when my next one comes out.

A warm thank you note to the management afterwards is a must. They might want you back again!

Freebies! -- Have a full color bookmark or something like it to give away. It should have the book cover and your website address on it. I have 4x6 full color postcards to hand out.

They have small pics of of my covers on each side and the web addy. You can get 5K of them for FREE (just the shipping cost, which is under 40.00) at this site www.clubflyers.com if you don't mind using just one side and clubflyers has their ad on the other. There will be other sites that offer low prices for postcards & bookmarks.

Even if a browser doesn't buy your book you can hand out something for them to check later or give to a friend.

A bowl of Hershey Kisses is a good thing to have on the table, too! (Or sugar free candies.)

Advance notice: As soon as you're absolutely certain of your book's release date, call the bookstore about a signing. They appreciate being able to schedule well in advance. If there's a hitch on the release date, let them know ASAP.

Share the spotlight! Ask the bookstore if there are other writers scheduled for signings and see if you can come, too. (If it's a REAL big name on a special tour, they may say no.)

If you're the star, ask if they would like other pro writers you know to come in as well. It's more fun to have your buddies along!

Many, many times I've signed with 3-5 other local writers. The bookstores like this as it makes things more of an "event" and there's a party vibe in the air. At the last one the manager had a big sheet cake with the main author's book cover on it. She had as much fun as the writers! At another one I brought the book cover sheet cake myself to share with the store employees and any customers who were there.


Buy books while you're there! Save up and buy while you're at the store. The manager won't mind!

It's okay to buy books from the other writers at the signings. It is not obligatory, but if you're really interested in the book, the other writers get a kick out of validation from another pro.

Get the word out! Ask friends and family to show up. Even if they don't buy YOUR book they can shop for others in the store. The management loves "collateral sales."

Contact the other writers (if they have a contact e-mail on their websites), introduce yourself, and see if their friends and family can also show up. If you're in a local club or writer's group ask members to come by as moral support. (It prevents a "death-signing.") You want lots of people milling about!

Be open to an after-signing coffee or lunch with the other writers. Keep the whole day open on your schedule in case there's an informal gathering of the other writers afterwards. I've tagged along to some of these and made life-long friends. When there wasn't anything on, I'd make one of my own. "Hey, I was gonna grab a snack at the coffee bar and unwind, it'd be great if you could come!"

You are NOT in competition with the other writers. Readers can read the books way faster than we can write them, so there's no contest here. Make friends with those other writers--you might learn something! If they have signings in the future they might want you along, too.

Blog about it! Post notices on your website.

Be aware of your audience. I've had my books mistaken for Young Adult because of crappy covers. If a mom says "this is perfect for my child" mention if there is adult material in the book! I've had this a lot. One time the mom assured me her kid was over 21, then I went, "no way you've got a kid that age!" She went away VERY happy!

Be diplomatic--if the event is focused on another writer don't horn in on their spotlight. Yes, I did a signing with the legendary Bradbury, and I was well aware I was a supporting player; he was the star. If I'd been pushy it would have only made me look like an idiot. You're there to promote, not be a spectacle. You're a guest in someone else's home, so running amok ain't the done thing.

I was at such a signing when an utterly oblivious Publish America "writer" decided she was the star, and you could hear her clack-clack-clacking voice all over the store. Those of us who had actually sold something did a lot of tongue-biting. It would have been very unprofessional to take her down a peg in public. The PA twit was never invited back by the store BTW. Afterwards the manager started inquiring about writers' publishers, and rejected all PA victims writers as a matter of course.

Basics--polite, professional, dress nice, and look like you're not in a hurry even if you are. They didn't have to stroll over, after all.

http://www.absolutewrite.com/forums/images/icons/icon10.gif

[Stew21]

One of my colleagues/friends gave me a book as a gift. It was a book his friend had written about Ernest Hemingway. SO my friend told the author this, he went to the trouble to ask some questions apparently, because he found out that I write proposals at work.
The note inside the book says,

"Trish, I understand you are the Hemingway of proposal writing. Best of luck and Enjoy!" and he signed his name.
I absolutely love it.
I guess it would depend on the author, and for whom the book is being signed, but personal notes really do give the recipient a very warm fuzzy feeling.

[Feathers]

huh, I thought you hired people to sign the books.

Hah.

I have a problem with handwriting...my hand cramps up super fast b/c I never learned how to hold a pencil right. *cough*neversaidthat*cough* Anywho, I always thought if I did a book signing, I would do this little things with my initials where the first letter looks like a star and swings into the second letter. It looks cool and personal, and I think it would cut down on the cramps.

I really like what you said, Gillhoughly, about asking people what they want you to sign. I can see how that really would make it more personal.

-Feathers

[Potluck]

I have a copy of The Gilded Age signed

This is the authorized Uniformed Edition of my books. Mark Twain.

I would have prefered something more personal but hey. It's really an engraving but still pretty cool to have Twains hand writing.

When I eventually get a chance to sign my books I will just ask the person what they would like. If they can't think of anything I'll just be my charming asshole self and write, I couldn't think of anything to write.

[ORION]

When I sign stock for bookstores I sign "Much Aloha, Patricia Wood"
When I personalize it for someone I try to make it unique UNLESS there is a long line- When that happens I just put their name and either "enjoy" or if it's at a book club- "It was a pleasure to meet you"
When AW'ers send books to me to sign I write something about AW...
I stopped agonizing about unique personalizations when I found one of mine for sale on ebay...

[Uncarved]

I typically will sign it "Happy Gardening" then my name. If it someone I know I will personalize it a bit more. The "Happy Gardening" one tends to work well to quickly pop them out at booksigning events and the one or two award shows I went to for the book. (I didn't win, haha)

[Mumut]

As others have said, I always ask how they spell their name. It's amazing how parents inflict contorten names on their offspring.

I've been told to date the signature, also. I suppose this is hoping one day they can say, 'Oh, yes. That was before he became famous.'

If I'm not asked for specific wording, I usually write something like, 'I really hope you enjoy the story'. That's because I've mostly had a chat with them before they buy the book. I don't have long lines of eager buyers waiting - there's plenty of time to talk.

Also I gave a signed copy with a personal message to each of the people I mentioned in the acknowledgements.

[Will Lavender]

The tricky part is when someone walks up to you and says, "This is for So-and-So. Make up something funny."

That's happened to me a few times. That's TOUGH. I had to sign one for a gynecologist the other night. I about had a stroke trying to think of something in that 4.3 seconds before the line pushed forward.

One thing signing books teaches you: Stephen King and Nora Roberts and those kinds of writers are beasts. Not sure how they do it. I heard from a local bookseller that Tom Brokaw signed 500 or so books in the morning at a local store and then went off to an event where he signed about 5000 more. Unreal. I must have wimpy wrists.

[Shweta]

I've gotten signatures!

Peter S Beagle just signs his name unless he actually knows people, IME. He'll do a "to X", but that's it. He's lovely and friendly when you talk to him, though, so I certainly didn't feel like he was being impersonal.

Some authors have clever little phrases for each book. This has two advantages for them: (1) it seems somewhat personalized but doesn't take them time to think it up during the signings, and (2) they can figure out how to fit the phrase into the white space on the signing page. I know Ellen Kushner does this (my Thomas the Rhymer has "Music and Magic always" written on it, which her non-musicy books aren't gonna say, and besides, I learned about reason (2) from her). And Terry Pratchett and Neil Gaiman have a complementary-signatures thing going for Good Omens; if you get them both to sign it, their comments respond to one another. Stuff like that. I think this is way cool.

But I have to admit a deep soft spot for the personalized comments. Especially Emma Bull's. My old (signed!) loaner copy of War for the Oaks got never-returned by somebody, so this is what she wrote on my current one:

To those of you who wish to remain friends of Shweta:
Return this book after reading. failing to do so will cause your feet to turn into eggplants. You have been warned.
Sincerely, Emma bull

I *heart* her so very much :)

(I do have other personalized things that I love deeply, but those are from authors I actually, like, know. Who said actually personal things. Which aren't relevant here.)

[Gillhoughly]

The tricky part is when someone walks up to you and says, "This is for So-and-So. Make up something funny."

That's when I shoot right back "Whatcha got in mind?" Sometimes they'll have something. Ask if there's an in-joke that would only mean something to the other person.

The funniest signature I ever got for a friend was based on an old in-joke. I printed it out so the signer could copy it--making sure he had the time to do so:

"To Joe, where the hell is Mike's five bucks? Rot in hell, _____"

Now the signer was dubious, but I assured him it was perfect. When Joe got the book I thought he'd split a gut laughing. The joke is that Joe doesn't owe five bucks and never did. For years now they've been trading that one back and forth.

Yeah. Lame. I know. Must be a Guy Thing. :Shrug:

[CatMuse33]

This thread reminds me of a sci-fi author who signed a book for me once in college.

He had an ex with the same name as me and after telling me the story of how she broke his heart, he signed his book, "To the eternal love of my alternate time-line life..."

Dawn