Bad News for Book Signings

I have been noticing a bad trend lately and I want to make you aware of it. There have always been Barnes and Noble bookstore locations that did not host author events. It's sad but the stores can't host them for one reason or another. Now I've been hearing a different trend for those locations who DO host author events.

Today I spoke to a CRM (Community Relations Manager) who told me their location only holds events for authors approved through the National Office. Then 2 calls later, another location said the same thing. If you have submitted your book to the small press department of Barnes and Noble asking to be stocked and you were turned down, expect to hear a lot of nos for any book events.

Before you go to your local Barnes and Noble bearing torches, in their defense, the whole goal of booksignings is to sell books. Most first time authors don't sell many books to people outside of family and friends. Barnes and Noble locations spend money on posters and advertising for events. If the authors don't do their part to get people there, the store loses money.

What does that mean for authors? You will be more hard pressed to prove to stores that you will sell books. You can hire a publicist to make some noise in the area but don't expect more than a couple people you don't know to show up unless you are a celebrity. Make sure every event is advertised widely among your friends and family. If the attendance for signings improves, stores might reconsider their position.

Finding a Literary Agent

This industry is filled with scam artists hiding behind reputable sounding names. You will read many success stories and reasons you should choose this person over that person. There is a rule of thumb I have learned and I find very logical for deciding on an agent.

Don't pay any upfront fees.

Agents with connections will be willing to stand behind your work without upfront costs because they believe they can sell the idea to a major publishing house. Agents that don't think they can sell an idea or don't have connections still need to eat so they charge fees. You don't need to pay a "reading fee", any sort of representation fee and they shouldn't have any expenses that you need to reimburse them. The only money they should receive is their percentage from the publisher's advance.


The best place I can suggest starting your search for literary agents is again the world wide web. Do a google search for "literary agent" and start looking at links. Try to find out the agents for successful authors in your genre and start there.

Good luck!