Page 13 - 2021.1221.The Passionate Plotter Guidebook Four.Marketing Matters_Neat

Diana Kathryn Plopa
THE PASSIONATE PLOTTER: MARKETING MATTERS

You’ll all be happier for the outcome in the end.

Always ask a reader how to spell their
name, before you inscribe a book, even if you
think you know how to spell it. My son’s middle
name is Bennjamin, a common name, but an
uncommon spelling. There’s a long and involved
reason behind why I cursed him this way, but I
won’t bore you with that here. The point is, our
society is becoming more creative spellers as we
work toward passing on our uniqueness to our
children. So, ask before you sign.

Have one or two “standard” inscriptions
that you’ll use for strangers. Perhaps it’s a quote
from your book, or simply “Thank you”, but have
a few in your back pocket. The reason you want
these figured out early is so that if things get really
busy and you have a VERY long line of interested
readers clamoring to have you sign their book,
you may not have a lot of time to write a super-
personal note in each book. Having a few
prepared inscription ideas will help you fumble
less when the clock is ticking.

Be grateful and thank everyone, even
those who don’t buy your book. Often, readers
on a budget will come to a reading event to
discover new-to-them titles or authors, and then
go to the library to request a copy of the book.
You may feel slighted because you lost out on a
sale, but this is actually a good thing. The more
patrons who request your book from libraries, the
more legitimacy will be ascribed to your career.

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