The Art of Signing Books
Pens, signatures, and catchphrases!
At some point in your author or illustrator journey you’ll be asked to sign books. It’s exciting! But, oh, the responsibility! You’re making a permanent mark in someone’s shiny, pristine, just-purchased book.
So we thought this week we’d take a look at the art behind signing books.
Pens
Pens. If you’re a creator we’d like to bet you have a favorite pen or two. But what makes the perfect pen for signing?
Christine: I tend to stick to a black sharpie. A thicker one for glossy picture book pages and a finer one for chapter books. Although sometimes I just use whatever I have on hand. There isn’t always a method to my materials. I know Vicky is more thoughtful about her pen choice though.
Vicky: I mostly use Sharpies, but I often use the thin tip ones so I can fit into smaller spaces on my chapter books, for example. And I find that the smell of Sharpies can get to me, so I recently asked kidlit friends for other recommendations and they suggested Micron pens and the Faber-Castell artist pens. I just tried some metallic Faber-Castell ones on my matte swag, and I love them! (Example below.) I also use Sharpies on my board books without issue, though I think I heard a tip from Grace Lin about rubbing the surface first with a paper towel helps with smudging (I haven’t done this and haven’t had trouble, so I’d test your book.)
Signature
Practice your signature over and over and well in advance of when you first have to sign books. Are you going to do your full name? Initial and last name? Whatever you do, make sure it’s different to the signature you use to sign checks!
Christine: I do my first initial and my last name. Although I do sometimes wish I’d done my whole name. Can I change it now? Will it make all my previous signed first editions worthless when I become super famous?
Vicky: I sign with a heart and my full name. The first time I signed a bunch of books, I put a tiny signature on the title page where it would fit (on a chapter book) in fine tip black ink, and it felt so small and unexciting—so I’ve since made my signature a bit bigger and in color! Now, when I’m signing something new, I’ll practice a bit to get the signature just the way I want it.
Christine: Now I really want new pens and a new signature! Maybe for my new series next year!
Names
When you’re signing books for people, be sure to have them spell their name for you. Preferably have them write it on a post-it note.
Christine: I even forget how to spell my friends’ names when it comes to writing it in their books!
Vicky: I also find it quite hard to talk and sign at the same time, haha. I don’t have a tip for this, so if somebody has a suggestion, I’m all ears.
Catchphrases
A nice extra you can do is to write a phrase in each book you sign that relates to the subject of your book. Again, this is something you should plan for in advance!
Christine: I have a different phrase for each book that I add to the signature. For Evelyn the Adventurous Entomologist I even added a little bee to my signature. And I write “Go Anyway” or “Happy Bug Hunting”. For Dear Mr. G I signed my first book before I’d had chance to think about what I wanted the phrase to be but I ended up wiring “May your friendships bloom” which I think related nicely to the themes of the book. I also use “Plant seeds of friendship” for that one. And for The Wish Library I do something wish-related in each one like “Make a wish!” or “May your wishes come true!”
Vicky: I try to have a catchphrase and/or doodle for every book, but if I’m in a time crunch, I’ll just sign my name. For The Boo Crew Needs You! I wrote “You are fab-BOO-lous!”—but now that I found a picture of it, my signature still seems small. WHY SO SMALL, VICKY??? 😂 Also, I should probably sign on the title page, but I like the wide open space of the page next to it… maybe I’ll change this though because it’s been pointed out that that’s unusual.
Stamps
Some authors have beautiful stamps they use in their books. Here are two fabulous examples.
As well as having a beautiful signature, Lindsay Lackey added the stamp “Make Space for Every Body” which goes perfectly with the theme of her book Farther Than the Moon.
Stacey Lee had a custom stamp made for her latest middle grade, Winston Chu vs. The Wingmeisters. It’s especially gorgeous with the multicolor inks.
Christine: I used a pre-made stamp that said “Make a wish” for the fourth book in the Wish Library series as I had a broken arm and I didn’t want to keep writing the phrase!
In conclusion
Plan, practice, and have fun!
Love this as I'm inching closer to my 1st time signing!! This is such a fun and helpful post. Thank you both for everything!!
You guys are so thoughtful in your articles… :)