Avery Olive

Technology is amazing.

For some the allure of buying paperback copies is not just to have on the shelf collecting dust, it may be because there is a signature in the book.

Signatures not only add a touch of personality to any book, it is also a symbol. Some are lucky enough to personally know authors, have met with them a book signings, or have paid a little extra just to have a book with someone John Hancock in it.

This is part of a growing debate, paper Vs e-book. A paper copy you can hold in your hands, take with you to an event in hopes of getting it signed, but what if you could get your e-book signed too?

For some, that changes everything.

You’ve spent money on a book, you’ve interacted with the author on Twitter, or Facebook and now with modern technology those who opt for the e-book version can have the same glory as flashing around a signed paper back.

Enter Kindlegraph, one of many new sites that allows an Author to add in a personal note and signature for their valued customers. It’s as simple as tracking down the book and requesting an autograph...

One downside I can see? For Kindlegraph it’s that you’re actual e-copy won’t be signed. What you get is a separate .pdf version of the cover with the Authors note, and signature. But who cares? The joy is still there, you still got a personal note and signature from your favourite author. You can keep it in a separate folder and “collect” your Kindlegraphs.

Another downside? So far Kindlegraph is only connected to Amazon. They are not a part of Amazon itself but their system only works for Kindle available books and users. In order to get your Kindlegraph you need to have a kindle and a kindle e-mail address.

The last downside? How do you know the signature you get is authentic? The problem, you don’t. If you’re not handy with your mouse, or finger, you can choose a ready-made font to send out, which means the signature isn’t real. Also, when adding A Stiff Kiss to the list, all I had to do was have the AISN number and bam, I was claimed the Author of A Stiff Kiss by Avery Olive. I am the Author, but what if someone adds the book, dolls out signatures and isn’t the author? I see no way that Kindlegraph is making sure that doesn’t happen, short of doing regular checks on your books, if you haven’t added them yourself, or don’t want to, just to make sure someone else isn’t claiming to be the Author. I know it seems silly, but I’m sure it will happen.

But Kindlegraph still makes it easy, but you can also take what you’ve learned and use it to your advantage. If you know someone who isn’t a Kindle user, but still wants your signature for their collection, you can do it the slightly more time consuming way.

Simply write out your note, add your signature onto a blank piece of paper and scan it. Most scanners these days convert your file into a .pdf and voila! You have a personal .pdf file of your signature that you can send to your reader. As far as I know, most every e-reader these days accepts .pdf files. So you are in luck, if you need to send it to a non Kindle user.

Also, though Kindlegraph is nearly instant, I don’t know about you, but I’m not handy with a mouse. In order to use your signature you either have to draw it out, with your mouse (or finger if you are a tablet user) or choose one of their readymade cursive fonts.  I tried writing my signature out a million times and was never fully happy with it, no matter what, it has a real “electronic” feel to it. At least if you write out the note yourself and scan it, it will be without a doubt your Hancock you are sending out into the world, and not just some computer generated font.

This will still prompt some further research on my part, since I love Kindle, I love all my readers more, and will be finding a way to allow readers who don’t have a Kindle to still get the same attention and just as instantly as Kindlegraph makes it.

I think this is a fun way to gain signatures, adding them to a collection and making the e-book personal, but just remember, the signature you get, might not be real, it might just be a fancy cursive font, either way, a personal note is still an awesome thing to receive.

This is also shows you how cool technology really is, and how far we’ve come since the introduction of the e-book.

If you have Kindle, and want my Kindlegraph, just go here and request it. I asure you, my Hancock is one hundred percent authentic. I fiddled around trying to come up with a nearly perfect version!

Posted in Book Signing, Technical Difficulties, Technology, Writing

I was channelling Martha Stewart today when I came up with this post. And of course, thanks to my Mommy for coming up with the idea in the first place.

So today we have “It’s a Good Thing” See the Martha reference? If you don’t, crawl back under your rock.

As I mentioned, credit goes to my Mommy for this idea. She wanted to create a guest book. Think wedding... You know those fancy, over priced books people sign to show they were at your wedding because you were probably too drunk to remember it.

Now, you might be wondering how does that do any good to an Author?

Well... I recently had a book signing (sure some of it was family, but some of it wasn’t) they came, they bought a book, they entered to win a prize and they SIGNED my guest book.

Insert evil laugh. (Mwhahahaha *cough*) Anyways...

I now have the email address of everyone who bought a copy of A Stiff Kiss.

Of course, you don’t want to abuse this power by spamming the crap out of people who purchased your book. However, they knowingly wrote down their email in hopes of getting important, upcoming information.

So if you are having another book released, planning another party or are having a sale, you can now e-mail those people who already took the time to purchase your book.

It’s also just fun to see the names of all the people who came to your event, where they are from and if they took the time to write a quick little comment. It’s a keepsake more than anything, one that you can use, if done wisely to your advantage.

My Mommy created this on her own, using her favorite program, grabbing free backgrounds and inserting fun quotes. It took about an hour or two of time, and cost about 5 bucks.

But as I'm sure you've gathered, the time, the cost and the memory of creating an Author Guest Book is in fact, A Good Thing!

Posted in A Stiff Kiss, Book Signing, It's a Good Thing

As some of you know, I had my First Book Signing this past weekend. It was a little scary, but all and all a great experience I can’t wait to have again.

Since I wanted to “test the waters” I had pretty much a family and friend only signing, I saved money and rented out my sons playschool for a couple of hours, costing a mere donation of $30 bucks—less than half of what other venues would have charged. I bought some doughnuts, brought Mr. K—for those of you who don’t know, that’s my Keurig machine and that was about it.

Minimal props, planning and organizing, but a huge success came out of the event. I sold more than my goal of books, got over my fear of signing (biggest worry—making a spelling mistake) and got to hang out in the lime light.

So, though I am not a pro in the least, I thought I’d share a few things that I’ve learned—and will carry forward when I have my next event.

Don’t break the bank when it comes to a venue. I know, my first idea was to have a super snazzy, evening cocktail party where I’d supply drinks, appetizers and fun.  But realistically that’s just not worth it. Though half the fun of having a book published is to celebrate, you really don’t want to go in the hole. What’s the point of celebrating success if all your royalties go into paying for your lavish affair? Exactly. There are lots of places available for rent all you have to do is a little research. I chose my sons playschool because I wanted it to be comfortable for both kids and adults—I have a busy 5 year old, and lots of nieces. But do what works; just remember your ultimate goal—having fun, while making a little money. Also, a bookstore is your obvious choice but since I wasn’t ready for the public, I’ll save that venue option for later.

Assemble your guest list. This has been made easy with things like Facebook invites and word of mouth. Just remember, it’s easy for people to say they will come—but don’t be disappointed or offended if they don’t. I had a confirmed guest list of well over fifty people, which sadly, due to the fact that it was the first snow free, nice day this year, a lot of people didn’t come. Don’t worry. Start off slow. I was happy that it was a small (30 people or so) event where I knew everyone. Remember time of day, and pick what works best, don’t bend over backwards trying to please others. If you are having a signing, and expect the public to come, you have to advertise. Make use of your local bulletin boards, your newspaper, even Kijiji or Craigslist. Anything you can do to get the word out, you should be doing it. Unless you are in a bookstore, you can’t expect much “walk-in” traffic, you have to entice readers to come.

People love winning and eating. I had made up a gift basket I was giving away, and for every book sold, the buyer got a ballot to fill out. Believe it or not, this added to sales. A few people that didn’t have any intention of buying the book, decided to because they saw something they liked in the gift basket. It also encourages people to come. It’s the small things like prizes, free snacks and coffee. At first I thought I’d wasted my time with these small things, but the doughnuts were a hit, refreshments allowed people reason to stick around and chat, and the prize gave people the idea that even though they were spending money, they might have a chance to get something in return.

Find a pen you love! I can’t stress how important this is. I tested out numerous pens, finding one that had a nice flow, was comfortable to hold, and that didn’t scratch, tear, bubble with ink, or run dry. There is nothing worse than going to sign a book and having your pen fail you. I found the perfect pen, and bough lots. If you like sharpies or markers, those are fine, but test them out before putting them to a book, they may bleed, or seep through the paper.

Make sure you have change, business cards, and book information. If your book is an odd denomination, maybe round up or down. My book was 14.99 so I just called it 15.00, though I didn’t have to worry about the penny I did have to worry about people giving me twenties and expecting change. I started with a float, mostly five dollar bills and went from there.

There will be people who won’t buy your book, so make sure you can hand them a business card, book mark or some other small token that has your info and your novel’s info. Business cards work great, these days with online places like Vista Print, you can get great cards for a great price. One side can be about your book, and where to buy, showcasing your cover, and the other side can be about you, the author, and your email, and website info. It’s a personal choice, but I left my phone number off. Since the card would be going to potential readers, I didn’t want them to have the ability to call me but I made sure there was room to write the number in case I wanted to make it known.

Having fun is the most important thing. Trust me, your first signing whether it’s with friends and family or at a bookstore, might fizzle. You might not sell a single book. But as long as you are having a good time, handing out your information and chatting up potential readers it will all be worth it in the end. Money is tight right now with just about everyone, so they may not have the extra funds that second to buy a book, but if you leave a lasting impression you might have made a sale for down the road.

Posted in A Stiff Kiss, Book Signing, Getting Out There