Return on investment

Most authors I know have a like-dislike relationship with marketing events like book signings. Authors like to meet readers, and sign and sell a lot of books. It’s always fun when a stranger approaches the table and says, “Hey, I’ve read one of your books.” It’s even better when someone says, “Hey, I heard you were in town so I made sure to stop by and meet you.”

 

There are times, though, when the foot traffic dries up and the only people who stop are ones who can’t find the restroom. Fortunately for authors, most will know where the bookstore’s restroom is and point the way.

 

In chatting with other authors, I’ve learned we all face the same dilemma. Do we spend four or six (or more) hours at an author event, and only sell one book or meet one person? How valuable is our time to us? What time we spend sitting at a table, forcing our extroverted sides to appear, is time that could be spent writing. Because writers are supposed to write. It’s what we do (cue the Geico gecko appearance).