In 2014, my first novel, a domestic suspense titled WHEN LOVE WON’T DIE, was published in paperback and e-book formats. As a debut author traditionally published by a very small press. and not well known, I needed to create my own events and do my own promotion.

Being on a very limited budget, I knew I had my work cut out for me.

The first thing I did was contact a branch of my local library and ask to meet with someone to discuss having a book signing. As it turned out, the library had a space that was free to use for such an event. Since my publisher was quite a small press, I knew the local bookstore chain wouldn’t stock more than a couple of copies of my book, so it would be up to me to provide copies for folks to purchase at the event.

I picked a weeknight, rather than a weekend, so that I didn’t have a lot of competition with other events going on at the same time.

I ordered 100 copies of my book.

I went online and made a shirt with the name of my book, a logo, and my author name on the front to wear to the event.

I made my own business cards.

I sent out emails to friends, family and acquaintances.

I put up posters that I made myself.

I made phone calls.

The library posted the event in their newsletter and hung posters up at their branches.

I advertised through my business newsletter, and I blogged about the upcoming event.

In total, there were over seventy people in attendance, and I’m thrilled to say that every single one of them purchased a book.

In preparation for the event, I went through my book and chose a specific section to read that would allow the audience to experience the suspense without giving away anything that would ruin their full read.

That evening, I spoke about my publishing journey, then read the section I had chosen. The reaction from the audience was great. So many of them wanted to hear more, inspiring them to purchase the book. There was also a Q&A where many in attendance had questions about my publisher and the process from getting a contract to holding the book in my hands.

After my talk, I invited folks to come to the table and purchase a book. I had a friend handling the payments to give me more time with everyone. I made sure to personalize every book I signed and chatted briefly with each person.

To keep the line from becoming too long, I also had refreshments, including a huge slab cake with the front cover of my book as the picture on the top. It looked amazing and I received lots of compliments on the cake.

The event was booked for two hours and many attendees stayed for the entire time, meaning I had the chance to socialize with my ideal readers.

In the weeks after the event, I also received calls and messages from some who had read the book and now wanted to purchase a copy for a gift. It didn’t take long to sell out of the remaining thirty copies.

I ordered more books, about twenty-five at a time.

Now that I had somewhat of a network of fans, I kept selling books.

Fast forward to 2017, when I moved to a small town, and residents found out that I was a writer and had a book available, and I began to sell more copies. My novel was also available at a local gallery shop.

I was invited to the local book club to speak and followed the same format as my book signing, talking about my publishing journey and reading a suspense filled excerpt.

Sadly, the print version of WHEN LOVE WON’T DIE is no longer available, but copies can still be purchased online at a couple of retailers.

https://books.apple.com/au/book/when-love-wont-die/id945897329

When Love Won’t Die
If you’re an author who’s organized their own book signing, let me know how you handled it in the comments section. And congratulations on getting published!