[anne_holly]

I paid $5 in 1999 to see Timothy Findley give a reading; he later signed my book - a copy I already owned and smuggled in (that particular copy had sentimental value to me). He has since passed away, so I am very glad I spent what was a fairly sizable sum to a starving undergrad at the time.

However, a reading is something different - it is like a performance, which one expects to pay for. Just a book signing is merely a promotion to me, and I would never pay K-Mart to see their blue light specials.

Obviously, yes, it's more exciting to possibly meet an author for a moment than to go to a department store sale, and I respect that book stores are struggling and have the right to make money. But I do think just limiting autographs to only books bought in that store should suffice (not just hard covered, though, as that is extortion), especially since new paper books are hellishly expensive.

Or, they need to make these authors do more than sign - a talk, major Q&A and/or reading should be a natural part of it, if they are going to charge. (And they better be big names, because no one's ever going to pay to get me to sign their book.)

 

[SheaMacLeod]

Well, if they won't even allow you to go into that section of the store without purchasing something, that is their prerogative, just as it's your prerogative to not shop there in the future. We vote with our wallets.

As for signings, maybe my worldview is skewed since in the romance world, all our signings at conferences are to raise money for charity, so your purse/totebag/etc is checked at the door ahead of time and you're not allowed to enter with any books, but it just would never occur to me to bring a book to a bookstore. If I already own a particular book by that author and I want to meet her and get her autograph, then I purchase a different book.

True, it IS their perogative. And what I'm saying is that the stores that are doing this are DUMB. They are looking at short term fixes rather than long term solutions.

And hey, if they do something for charity, I'm all over that! No problem at all paying to go to an author event if the money goes to charity. The money at these bookstore signings was NOT going to charity, nor was it going to the author.

 

[vrabinec]

Well, if they won't even allow you to go into that section of the store without purchasing something, that is their prerogative, just as it's your prerogative to not shop there in the future. We vote with our wallets.

As for signings, maybe my worldview is skewed since in the romance world, all our signings at conferences are to raise money for charity, so your purse/totebag/etc is checked at the door ahead of time and you're not allowed to enter with any books, but it just would never occur to me to bring a book to a bookstore. If I already own a particular book by that author and I want to meet her and get her autograph, then I purchase a different book.

You know, if I was a casual reader, I'd probably think the author was being outrageous, and it might actually turn me off from buying that author's book. Most casual readers probably aren't as in tune to the plight of brick stores as we are, and many would treat it with the same outrage baseball fans did when players started charging for their autographs. I'd think twice about agreeing to do this if I was an author. Big risk of alienating a portion of your fan base.

 

[StormWorldSeriesGuy]

If I already own a particular book by that author and I want to meet her and get her autograph, then I purchase a different book.

Not to be argumentative, but I just don't see the logic in this. Say I buy a book by an author--his or her masterpiece--somewhere other than the event or the store. I should have to get another book signed and not bring that one in? I'm with you if you think it would be great to buy from the author at the event. I just don't agree that it should be a must.

I can't claim success in sales, so the following is just my opinion, but events aren't just about the events themselves. As managers told me when I was disheartened after only selling a few copies at a signing, some people came in the week before to buy the book, and some came in after the signing (for signed copies that were left). I still think sales should be thought of in the long term. Mandatory purchases don't achieve that.

 

[anne_holly]

You know, if I was a casual reader, I'd probably think the author was being outrageous, and it might actually turn me off from buying that author's book. Most casual readers probably aren't as in tune to the plight of brick stores as we are, and many would treat it with the same outrage baseball fans did when players started charging for their autographs. I'd think twice about agreeing to do this if I was an author. Big risk of alienating a portion of your fan base.

I agree with this 100% - I would be humiliated if I were the author.

Even demanding that the store make it clear that that is their policy and not the author's wouldn't work, since (1) people always miss those details, (2) people are always ready to believe any celebrity is a prima donna and (3) the famous person in the room is always the name people remember, good or bad.

 

[Terrence OBrien]

I encourage the bookstores to try whatever they can to remain open. Pay for signings and events? So what? The market will decide. If customers pay and they make money, it will continue. If not, it will be forgotten.

More and more of them will shut the doors unless they figure out new revenue sources. I'm glad to see them taking the initiative.

 

[Amanda Brice]

And hey, if they do something for charity, I'm all over that! No problem at all paying to go to an author event if the money goes to charity. The money at these bookstore signings was NOT going to charity, nor was it going to the author.

Of course not. That's only at conferences that's the case (because the publishers donate the books so all proceeds can go to literacy).

But you have to consider the venue. If the signing is a bookstore, that's a business. It's their business to sell books. So why should they allow you to bring in books from the outside? It's no different than a restaurant disallowing food from the outside. It's their business to sell meals.

That being said, I don't think they should force you to buy something or charge a cover just to be there, but that's their prerogative. Short-sighted, yes. And I probably wouldn't attend such an event. But I only attend signings when I intend to buy that author's book, anyway. If that means I wait until the author comes to my area before I buy the new book, then so be it.

 

[ashel]

Wow. This is just...wow. Destructive behavior born of desperation, I guess? "Customers see less and less value in what we provide, what should we do? Charge more for it? Brilliant!"

Rowling, Rice, King are celebrity authors, emphasis on celebrity. They will always be a draw. Good luck getting them to visit your bookstore.

Shea makes a good point - why on earth would authors do this to themselves, except locally or on rare occasions, when they can reach more people by doing a podcast or a video or whatever?

The more I think about this, the more I want to do a head desk, bc I actually like bookstores. I like hanging out there, I like getting advice. I want them to find a way to survive by actually adding value, not do everything they can to hasten their extinction. Aaargh.

 

[Sarah Fawkes]

It boggles my mind that some authors are endorsing this. I'd like a hard slap if I ever become this desperate for sales disconnected from my reader/fan base. I sincerely hope this practice doesn't become the norm...

 

[ashel]

You know, if I was a casual reader, I'd probably think the author was being outrageous, and it might actually turn me off from buying that author's book. Most casual readers probably aren't as in tune to the plight of brick stores as we are, and many would treat it with the same outrage baseball fans did when players started charging for their autographs. I'd think twice about agreeing to do this if I was an author. Big risk of alienating a portion of your fan base.

Omg yes, this. My first thought would be, eeeeeffff you, author. It would also be my only thought for like 5 minutes.

 

[Usedtopostheretoo!]

“I think it makes it more fun,” said Mr. Gessen, adding that he believed all events should charge admission. “I don’t think you should be able to walk into a Barnes & Noble and get to look at Joan Didion.”

Did I read this correctly? Holy $#!%...is that guy arrogant. Makes me feel proud that I have never heard of his magazine. Joan Didion? Call me a literary moron, but I wouldn't recognize her if she knocked on my door. Do I still have to pay, in Gessen's humble opinion, even if I don't recognize her?

I'm still reeling from Gessen's comment.

 

[anne_holly]

"I think it makes it more fun," said Mr. Gessen, adding that he believed all events should charge admission. "I don't think you should be able to walk into a Barnes & Noble and get to look at Joan Didion."

Did I read this correctly? Holy $#!%...is that guy arrogant. Makes me feel proud that I have never heard of his magazine. Joan Didion? Call me a literary moron, but I wouldn't recognize her if she knocked on my door. Do I still have to pay, in Gessen's humble opinion, even if I don't recognize her?

I'm still reeling from Gessen's comment.

Everyone knows the more you pay for something the more it is worth, right?

I will tell that straight to my 3yo's face next time he picks me some wildflowers, and then laugh coldly at his downcast look to teach him a lesson about the decided value of things.

 

[ashel]

"Listen, this is important: you do not, under any circumstances, look Joan Didion in the eye. You do not speak to Joan Didion. If Joan Didion trips and falls flat on her face right in front of you, you walk by as if nothing happened. You do not stop and offer to help, you do not even glance in her direction. Is this understood? This is Joan effing Didion. Ok, everyone. Get to work. We're going to have a great signing!"

"I think it makes it more fun," said Mr. Gessen, adding that he believed all events should charge admission. "I don't think you should be able to walk into a Barnes & Noble and get to look at Joan Didion."

Did I read this correctly? Holy $#!%...is that guy arrogant. Makes me feel proud that I have never heard of his magazine. Joan Didion? Call me a literary moron, but I wouldn't recognize her if she knocked on my door. Do I still have to pay, in Gessen's humble opinion, even if I don't recognize her?

I'm still reeling from Gessen's comment.

 

[anne_holly]

"Listen, this is important: you do not, under any circumstances, look Joan Didion in the eye. You do not speak to Joan Didion. If Joan Didion trips and falls flat on her face right in front of you, you walk by as if nothing happened. You do not stop and offer to help, you do not even glance in her direction. Is this understood? This is Joan effing Didion. Ok, everyone. Get to work. We're going to have a great signing!"

I bet this Joan Didion is sitting there looking at this article, shaking her head and going, "Why drag me into this?"

Joan Didion: Two bits a gander!

 

[spitzlvr]

Steven - that was one of the comments I was going to make...the gall of that man! oy!

As for this new practice, I think it is a double-edged sword.

Let's say I have no idea an event is going on in the store. I enter. I see a few possibilities..

1. They have guards around where the author is - show your ticket or you can't shop in that area.  
2. The won't let you in unless you buy a book you have never heard of  
3. They hold the event in a dedicated event room so the non-paying rabble can't see. To me that loses business. I have gone to a bookstore when there was a book signing (I wondered why the parking lot was so busy!), ended up listening, and buying the author's book.

I understand bookstores are trying to stay in business. I want them to stay in business. And I hope they can.

Oh - and in the article it said B&N won't ever change for an event. Also makes sense - with the Nook they have a share of the ebook market. Joe's Books down the street does not.

 

[ReflexiveFire]

I wonder if this isn't really about fleecing Sarah Palin fans/hordes when they swarm in during one of her book signings.  This tactic might work with establishment rock stars like Stephen King or Anne Rice, can't see it helping in the long run.

From the article:

“They type titles into their iPhones and go home,” said Nancy Salmon, the floor manager at Kepler’s. “We know what they’re doing, and it has tested my patience.”

Consumer research!  Holy baby alligator tears, the horror!

 

[Tamara Rose Blodgett]

Wow~! Can anyone say *bad marketing...* OR, my personal fave, *turn-off*...geez. Like another person posted: a reflection of the desperation of bookstores? Maybe, but it seems a counter-productive move for the state of our current economy.

 

[ashel]

Joan Didion: Two bits a gander!

That's nothing. You should see Annie Dillard's rider. Don't bother booking her unless you can come up 5,000 green M&Ms and an effervescent feeling of the spirituality inherent in all things.

 

[anne_holly]

That's nothing. You should see Annie Dillard's rider. Don't bother booking her unless you can come up 5,000 green M&Ms and an effervescent feeling of the spirituality inherent in all things.

I better start working on my weird demands list now, in case I ever make it big some day - I wouldn't want to seem pedestrian by just asking for a pitcher of water and an extra pen.

 

[ashel]

I better start working on my weird demands list now, in case I ever make it big some day - I wouldn't want to seem pedestrian by just asking for a pitcher of water and an extra pen.

Right? I haven't even published yet and already I have quirk envy.