By Claire Fullerton
Being raised in Memphis and instilled with
Southern manners as if from a rulebook, when it came to my author book signing
at my local bookstore, I did what any Southerner would do: I conducted the
affair as if it were a party. None of this sending out a general circular
e-mail-- oh no, I went through my contact list and e-mailed each person
individually saying how thrilled I’d be to see them at the event.
I had glossy 5x7” postcards made with my book
cover on front and a blub on the back with the time, date, and place of my
event. For three weeks prior, I carried the cards with
me wherever I went. Now then, there’s a fine line between
being enthusiastic and being pushy, and since I’m the chatty sort who
talks to both acquaintances and strangers easily, I wanted to be ready but not
obnoxious. The thing about being Southern is we just assume the world is a
friendly place, and it’s miraculous what transpires because of this attitude:
the world tends to step up. Be it in the grocery store, the post office, or in
line at the bank, I had a surprising number of opportunities to reach into my
purse and produce my post card as if it were a gift.
Timing is everything in life, so when I heard my
town’s local newspaper was under new ownership, I wrote the new editor saying
I’m a local author who’d love to meet her in person. The result was a full-page
interview the week of my book signing.
What I learned growing up in the South is no
gathering is complete without sugar, so it is my good fortune to have a friend
that loves to bake. When she asked if there was anything she could do to help
for my book signing, rather than humbly demurring, I said “Yes!” An
assortment of cookies was set out buffet style, and I brought one of each for
the bookstore employees, who would still be standing there long after the
event.
On the day of the event, a full-sized
poster of my book cover was placed in the window, and forty chairs were
arranged before the desk I sat behind, along with a friend I’d commissioned to
compile a list of attendees for my next book signing. I’d been asked to read
from a chapter of my book, yet I’d written a suspenseful page-turner whose
chapters fit together like pieces of a puzzle and I didn’t want to give any
part of it away. Being Southern, I felt the inherent need to give the attendees
a large dose of gratitude, and decided to do so by telling the peculiar story
behind my book’s inspiration, which made the atmosphere feel like a fireside
chat.
All of this led to a sold-out event that
exceeded my expectation, and because of the success, my local bookstore
continues to keep my book on its shelf.
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Claire Fullerton is the author of A Portal in Time (Vinspire Publishing.) Her second novel, "Dancing to an
Irish Reel" will be published in early 2015. She is a three-time, award
winning essayist, a contributor to numerous magazines, and a
multiple contributor to the "Chicken Soup for the Soul" book
series. She had her own weekly column in the ”Malibu Surfside News,"
and is currently writing a Southern family saga based on her award winning
narrative in the San Francisco Writers Conferences' 2013 contest. www.clairefullerton.com
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