Book Signing Etiquette: It's okay to say hey!

This past Saturday, I had another of those "Wow, I'm a real writer" days. I had my first book signing at a large chain bookstore. I signed Deliver Me at B. Dalton Book Sellers in the huge Mall of Louisiana in Baton Rouge.

It was an...umm...experience.

Here's the thing, I've always been one of the mall patrons who's tried to avoid eye contact with those writers sitting at the front of the stores with smiles pasted on their faces. Because, of course, once you make eye contact, you feel obligated to go up to them, talk, and buy the book. However, after my first time on the other side of the table, I have an entirely new perspective.

This may shock a lot of you out there, but I feel it is my duty to reveal this hidden truth. You do not have to avoid the author like he/she has the plague. It is perfectly okay to come up to the table, say hello, read the back cover blurb, take a bookmark, and decide not to buy the book. Authors will not kick you in the shin for not buying their book. At least not this author. Although I was tempted to kick the woman who took three chocolates out of my bowl, then came back for more, all without saying hello. Really, honey, if you're going to take a girl's chocolates, the least you can do is acknowledge her presence.

Other than the awkwardness of the "dodging-eye syndrome" as I've named it, the book signing was fun. I signed 21 copies of Deliver Me, and only two of those were to people my family members had sent heads-up emails to earlier in the week. The rest are new Farrah Rochon fans!

Here's a picture of me at B. Dalton. Most of those books were gone by the end of my two hours!

posted by Farrah Rochon @ 1:50 PM Comments: 6