AtlasBooks Distribution Blog

Each week we highlight and expound on a question or section from our Publisher Resources page on our website. The more you know, the better you can publish, so we invite you to check out the information we offer.

This week we will continue with step two of doing a successful book signing.

Step Two: Four weeks in advance of the signing, call the bookstore manager to check on the status of the book order. Don’t be surprised if the books haven’t been ordered yet; this is a courtesy call reminder.

Last week we looked at when an author should start to pursue a signing (at least 6 weeks in advance). Step two is the follow-up.

Bookstores can be very busy places, and as I think we all experience, time can pass more quickly than we realize. So a brief call to make sure books are ordered or are on schedule to be ordered is a nice way to give a reminder. It is also a good chance to catch up with the bookstore again. It shows that you are invested and organized. And it gives you an opportunity to make sure you have done everything on your end as well.

And as we say, don’t be surprised if the books aren’t ordered yet. Many bookstores just don’t have the space to store boxes of books in anticipation of an event, so they may just put off their order until a little later.

And remember that there is a fine line between a good follow-up and being a pest, so please do be sure to stay on the side of doing a good follow-up. By scanning the blogs and comments of various booksellers, a major complaint is about authors that are too pushy about their books or their events. If the bookseller says they don’t have the books in yet, tell them this was a friendly reminder and you look forward to seeing them soon at the event. They will appreciate the reminder and the brevity of the call.