So You Want to Host a Book Signing?

So, you own a metaphysical shop and want to host a book signing? Cool! As an author, I’d love to visit you – but there are things we can both do to make it extra successful! I’d like to share some tips, tricks, and hacks I’ve learned over the years. Now, if you’re a writer and not a shop owner, you should still read this – because many of the suggestions for shop owners only work if the author communicates effectively. By managing expectations, you can make sure you’re both doing your part to make this event a hit – I’ve highlighted, in italics, some key points especially for the authors reading this. If you’re a shop owner, great! Read on!

And even though it should go without saying, please keep in mind that these suggestions are just based on my own experience with metaphysical shops. If you’re an author who writes in some other genre, or a shop owner whose target market isn’t the spiritual/occult community, that’s okay – you might still find some nuggets of helpfulness in here. Not every single one of these ideas will apply to every author in every shop in every situation.

Just to make things easier to navigate, I’ve broken these tips down into three sections – before, during, and after your event – but really, the crucial part here is preplanning. Know ahead of time what you need to do, and then get it done.

Before Your Book Signing:

• Reach out to your author as far in advance as possible – many of us, including myself, have full time jobs and other obligations we have to work around. When you approach us about a possible event, understand it’s not gonna happen this weekend. It might not even happen next month (and if you want me in October, which is pretty much my Super Bowl Season, you’ll probably need to ask me by the end of February). Be flexible with your schedule, and plan on looking several weeks or even a few months out.
  • When you’re scheduling, be aware of what else is happening in your community. Did you pick a date that will coincide with a bunch of other events, holidays, or road closures? If the answer is yes, pick a different date. (authors: I strongly recommend you avoid doing book signings on holiday weekends, with the exception of Small Business Saturday right after Thanksgiving)
• Discuss whether you want the author to simply do a book signing, or whether you’d like to have them do a workshop or class. I love doing both, but in some shops, the floor space is limited and it’s hard to get a good-sized class going. In those cases, I’d much rather do a “meet the author” kind of thing where I sign books, chat with people, and direct them towards your inventory to buy your cool stuff.
• Work out the logistics:
  • Does the author ask for an appearance fee? I don’t, but some do. Figure out the money stuff before you do anything else. Each author is different, so ask.
  • Will the author bring copies of their books to sell and sign, or do they need you to order books in and run them through your point of sale system? If it’s the latter, be sure you give yourself ample time to get those orders in. Even if you’re not providing books for the author visit, you should still get a few copies of their titles in stock – after all, if you’re promoting this person to your customers, you should at least carry their books. I know money is tight for a lot of small businesses, but you can order books directly from publishers or via the Ingram distribution network at a wholesale price. Ask the author what the best way is to get their books in your store – I always direct shop owners here if they’d like to stock my books, because if you get it at a wholesale discount and then sell it at list price, we both win: Info for Vendors
  • What else does the author need to bring? Do you have a table and chair they can use, or should they bring their own? I have a 6′ table and two card tables that I use at outdoor events, but if you’ve got one in your store, I’d rather use yours instead of lugging my own from my car to your shop. (authors: be sure you confirm with your shop owner whether they have a table or not – you don’t want to get there and find out you were expected to bring your own!)
• Once you’ve got your time and date locked in, you’re ready to go! You can drop your customers a teaser as soon as you’ve got it scheduled, but the real marketing push should come three to four weeks before the day of the author visit. That means a couple of things:
  • First, blast your social media platforms. Do you have a TikTok, Instagram, or Facebook? Do a live video telling everyone how excited you are about the upcoming author visit. If you’ve got copies of their books in the store (which you should – see above), hold them up so viewers who might not know the author’s work can get a taste of what the fuss is about.
  • If your shop has a Facebook page, get an event page created and promote it three or four times a week (authors: I actually like to create the event page myself and add the shop as a co-host, because that way I can have some control over the content, and keep the branding consistent with other events I’m doing). Post about the author a few times the week of the event, and two to three times the day before it takes place.
  • Tell every in-store customer about the upcoming author visit. I recently put together a small marketing piece as a PDF (authors: do this on Canva and share it with the stores who are gracious enough to host you) that I email to shop owners. I encourage them to print out two or three full-page versions in color to display in the shop, and print out smaller copies (either color or black and white, two or four to a page) that they can use as bag stuffers for every sale.
  • While you’re doing all of this, your author is going to busily promoting the event themselves, talking up your shop, and so on (authors: seriously, have a social media presence and use it to help your shop owner out)
• Be sure to stock up on any inventory items that might relate to topics in the author’s books. If someone buys a copy of my Herb Magic book, or The Witch’s Complete Guide to Tarot or Candle Magic, guess what I’m gonna do? I’m going to point them towards your herb display, the Tarot decks in your store, and the candle shelf. Make sure those are well-stocked, folks, because I spent a long time in retail and am a master at upselling add-on items.

The Day of Your Book Signing:

• First thing in the morning, get back on your socials! Promote the event page, do a Live, and talk it up!
• Make sure your shop is clean and welcoming – and if there are any issues that have arisen unexpectedly, let your author know! For example, if there’s a giant sinkhole in front of your store and the road is blocked off, you’ve discovered a bedbug infestation, or the building burned down… I NEED TO KNOW THIS. And I really need to know it before I load all my shit into my car and drive three or four hours to visit you – there are times when it makes sense to reschedule things. No one likes it, but what I like even less is pulling up and discovering you’ve had a power outage since the night before and no one knows when service will be restored (authors: check in with your shop owner before you leave your home, just to make sure it’s still a go).
• If you’re providing the table and chair, try to have them set up before your author arrives. I might suggest we move it around based on your shop’s layout, but for the most part, I’ll defer to you on that. While I obviously don’t want to be tucked into your stockroom to pimp my wares, I also don’t want to block off your display of crystals so customers can’t shop them (authors: don’t be a diva about table placement. While the front of the shop is great, logistically it might not always work out for you).
• It’s polite to have a beverage or two on hand for your author, but if you can’t swing it, it’s not a big deal for me. Ask your author if they’d like you to provide water, coffee, tea, etc. I always bring my own water when I travel, but if you offer me a cold bottle to top it off – or run next door to buy me an iced coffee – I’ll love you forever (authors: don’t demand the shop owner feeds you dinner or lunch. It’s nice if they offer, but again, don’t be a diva).
• Once your author is set up (and I typically arrive about 30 minutes before we’re supposed to start so I can organize my display), you’re ready to begin! As each customer enters the store, greet them and point out your author – who are they and why are they here? It’s as simple as “Oh, I’m so glad you stopped in today! We’ve got an author here in the store, over there [point at me]. Her name is Patti, and she’s written a bunch of cool books like Badass Ancestors and Witchcraft for Healing. Go say hi!”
• Take photos of the event – but be sure to ask customers for permission before you take their picture. In the witchy world, there are plenty of folks who aren’t publicly out, so consent needs to happen. Personally, I’m always totally fine with it if you want to snap a shot of me signing a book or chatting with people.
• After our time runs out, I’ll gather up my stuff and get out of your hair – if you’d like your author to leave a few signed books for you to sell, let them know! I like doing that because, honestly, it’s less stuff for me to take home. If you’ve got books in stock already with my name on them, I’ll sign those too if you want.

After Your Book Signing:

• It’s done! You survived! Make another social post just to follow up – share your photos of the event and if you’ve got some signed books on hand, let customers know they can still buy those even though the author has left the building.
• Have a follow up chat with your author – what went well? What could you both have done better? Did you get any customer feedback? Make sure you tell me about it!
• Authors: drop your shop owner a thank you note once you get home – they gave up time and real estate in their store for you, so be courteous and show your appreciation!

We’re all trying really hard to stay afloat these days, and if shop owners and authors can help support each other, I’m all for it. If you’ve hosted a book signing or other author event in your store – or if you’re an author – I’d love to hear your suggestions. What have you learned that other readers can benefit from? Drop ’em like they’re hot, in the Comments below!