The great Bookninja collects a trio of articles about signing books.
Getting books signed is a strange phenomenon. As an aspiring author, I think writers should be willing to sign damn near anything. Selling books is a tough gig and if someone wants me to sign a copy of Cat Fancy from 1982, then I’ll do it.
On the other hand, some customers take it too far. When I worked in a bookstore, some customers acted as if getting a book signed was a right, a requirement, as opposed to simply a nice gesture on the part of the author.
when I sign, I refuse to sit behind a table. I stand up in front of the table, shake everyone’s hand, talk to every person about their life and the book I’m signing, and make sure every person has my e-mail. Of course, I’ve probably never had more than 250 people at a sitting. But I really enjoy myself and I think the readers do, too. The first time I signed for Viking and informed the intern they had sent to help out that I wasn’t going to sit behind a table, she became very nervous and practically begged me to conform. No kidding, the worried look on her face was priceless.–PV