Barnes & Noble Debut Book Signing Recap

My debut book signing event held on Tuesday, August 18th at the Barnes & Noble in Crystal Lake, Illinois was a huge
success! Many attended, and Barnes & Noble sold out of books immediately following my presentation. People were placing orders for more! I was amazed by the crowd and long line of people waiting to meet me and get their books signed.

To make my event a success, I drew upon my public speaking and event planning skills. I was in charge of handling all the
marketing in drawing attendees.

Creating press coverage for The Kiss of Death was invaluable in drawing a crowd to my event. For reference of the kinds of media relations authors could pursue, here are some of mine:

– Northwest Herald Newspaper profile

– High School District 155 press release

– Drake University marketing video and Q&A

The above newspaper article that appeared in the Sunday paper prior to my event was a success in conjunction with my book signing. People arrived clutching the article in the crook of their arm saying that they heard about me exclusively from the Northwest Herald! They were thrilled to meet the young author behind the words of the article. The two-page spread was beautiful, especially the outbox sections which included a brief bio and plans for my next project. I was excited to see the article mentioned on the front page and on the Style section front page of the newspaper.

My presentation consisted of reading an excerpt from my book, sharing my inspiration for the story, discussing the publication process, leading a Q&A, and signing copies of The Kiss of Death.

The Barnes & Noble department manager informed me that of all the book signings the store has held by more seasoned authors, none of them had as large a turn-out as mine. In a conversation I had with the store manager, he commented that my independent marketing strategy was very advanced for such a young, new author. I was pleased that my efforts were successful.

Attendees of the event commented that I was professional, thorough, well-prepared and that they never would have guessed this was my first presentation. Customers have been asking the manager to have me back at Barnes & Noble.

I’m thrilled to announce that I will be returning to Barnes & Noble for an encore author event during my winter break from Drake University on January 18th at 6 p.m. I will also be hosting several additional events in the suburban Chicago area this winter. View the full list of events here.