Signing Books
How long does 100 books take and how many pens do you need?
In a weird and unexpected path of learning, I have learned how to optimize my book signing. Who knew this was something I would ever need to do? What an amazing problem to have! But here I am, with obscure knowledge about how long it takes me to sign books, how to make my signature faster, what pens I like, and how long those pens last. And now, I share this obscure but (potentially) interesting information with you. Plus, how did I even get asked to sign so many books?
How long to sign a book?
Recently, at TLA, I did three separate signings for my Ava Lin books. I learned that I can sign almost 100 books in an hour, including saying hello to people in line and doodling, but that it gets really tight. My book signing included a doodle, a catch phrase, and my signature. To make sure I made it through the books in time, I finally ended up eliminated the catch phrase from my signature. This didn’t bother me as I wasn’t that attached to my catch phrase anyway.
And then, a few weeks later, I was asked to sign 200+ books for a school visit, thanks to Linden Tree Books. Amazing! Surely with no catch phrase and no people in line, I could get this done in 2 hours. But I ended up chatting with random people in the bookstore, from booksellers to customers, and it ended up taking 2.5-3 hours. It was a lovely morning, but I did feel a bit bad for the bookseller that was waiting for me to finish signing. (Sorry, Chris!)
A few weeks later, I was asked to sign 300+ books for a school visit with Hicklebee’s. Amazing again! But how long would this take me? Should I skip the doodle and just sign them? I didn’t want to. But I needed to somehow simplify. So I pared down the drawing, eliminating unnecessary lines.
Here’s my signature from a year ago and my new, simplified signature.
As you can see, I eliminated Ava’s neck, the texture on her hair, and simplified her mouth. All small details, but every stroke of the pen takes time. And I still like the way it looks! This simplification meant I was able to sign ~300 books in 2 hours. I see that Christine scooped me on this video in last week’s post 😂—but in case you missed it and want to see what signing 338 books looks like (and yes, I have a typo in my video, but oh well, social media):
How many pens did I go through?
To be honest, I am still struggling to find the perfect pen. I generally find Sharpies too thick or too thin, but they do work best for glossier surfaces. With Ava Lin, I wanted a pen that was a little bit less intense for fear of soaking through the pages. My current pen of choice on pulp pages is a Faber-Castell metallic bullet point marker. But, it lasts for about 80 books and then starts to crap out—and when it stops, it stops FAST. So I’ve started carrying packs of a dozen pens around! I just sign until a pen starts to feel a little faint, and then I swap it out. I went through about four pens with 300 books. If you have pen suggestions for me, I welcome any tips.
Wait, but how did I get these signings??
This was by far the most books I’ve ever been asked to sign. I didn’t seek them out in particular, they just happened along the natural path of promotion. As I get further down the path of publishing, I am realizing it’s all just a slow build as more people get to know me—including my local bookstores. (See Christine’s post about Building Relationships with Bookstores.) As my books grow, it makes it easier for my publisher and bookstores to pitch me for events. At TLA, my publisher pitched me for signings and two companies brought me on. One was a book re-binder for libraries and one was a distribution company. My last signing at TLA was for my publisher. The school visits were promotional visits, for which the school librarians opted to buy a copy of the book for their student bodies, which is not the norm, but a wonderful bonus for all involved—including the students! (One note here, I do know that one school had budget to spend before the year end, so maybe the timing here was key. Also, my early readers and chapter books are a good price point for this, at ~$6-7/book.) So my advice is to continue growing your relationships, be easy and helpful to work with, and, as always, write the best books you can. And there are plenty of times I feel like nobody cares about me or my books, so I definitely don’t have all the answers!
Was this useful?
Who knows if I will ever need to use this knowledge again? (I hope so!!) But I’ve had a blast signing books, making connections, and learning to optimize. Let’s hope we all have many, many books to sign in our futures!
If you’d like to get your own copy of Ava Lin with a doodle and signature, you can request signed copies through Linden Tree Books!
Thank you for this! It’s also helpful to see how you sign. I’m only just starting, with one book that I sell in person (I sell mostly my art). I’m also writing middle grade and have been experimenting with doodles and what to say. It’s nice to see what others are doing. A post about the pre-order goodies you have done would be interesting :)
Totally agree about Sharpies being either too thick or too thin. I like the Pentel Sign Pen. I started using it because I realized that the Sharpie was bleeding through the pages of some of my books that are printed on non-glossy paper. The Pentel doesn't bleed through at all, and is the perfect line weight. It doesn't do so well on glossy paper though (takes more time to dry), so now I have to have 2 pens. :-( Also the tip of the Pentel can get frayed pretty easily so it doesn't last all that long. But give it a try and see what you think!