Thursday, April 28, 2011

A Bookseller's Insightful Tips for Author Events

Hey Booksellers,

I’m sure many of you plan events throughout the year. Today, I came across a fabulous blog post on Publishers Weekly’s ShelfTalker called “Author Event Tips.” It’s written by Josie Leavitt, co-owner of The Flying Pig Bookstore in Shelburne, Vermont. She says, “Events are fun. Yes, they are a lot of work, but when I look at my bestsellers for the year, the lion’s share of them are event books.”

Leavitt offers a great checklist of what to do once your event is confirmed. There’s advice for working with the author's publicist, getting the word out to local media, and notifying your customers through social media and e-mail blasts. If you’ve built up a nice following on Facebook and Twitter, and have a hefty collection of customer e-mail addresses, perhaps you can consider forgoing those pricey print ads. She also suggests stockpiling extra books signed by the author that can be displayed in a special section in your store devoted to autographed titles.

Have any other tips on hosting and publicizing events? Care to share some your own successful, heartwarming, funny, or bizarre event experiences? We’d love to hear them.

By the way, if there’s a Llewellyn author in your area and you’d like to inquire about the possibility of an event, please write to authorevents@llewellyn.com.

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