Always have a signing pen…

joannaauthor ♦ March 12, 2016 ♦ Leave a comment

(Fun fact: I originally typed “Always carry a signin’ pen…” for the title.  Does my Southern show?)

As this author status continues I’m learning little helpful hints.

The first is, seriously, have (carry, keep in your possession) a decent pen for signing.  My patients and others continue to surprise me, producing copies of my book when I least expect it.  I fumble in my purse for a “good” pen and produce gum, lint, a piece of candy that I forgot I had put in there and a few crappy, freebie hotel pens.  No more! I have my preferred pens (not too smudgy, not too light) zippered into my purse pocket for just such occasions.  And a shout out to the patient that surprised me with TWO copies of the book she purchased off Amazon. Thank you. At least we were in my office, with pens a plenty!  Dad’s support group member that also surprised me by buying two books from Dad (I didn’t even know Dad had books of mine to sell) and presented them to me at lunch the other day for signing. And thanks for letting me fumble for a few minutes for the right pen.

Have an elevator speech prepared about your book.  What’s an elevator speech? It’s a term that a now rich person came up with for “really short, succinct, synopsis of your book/product/practice that tells the person asking a lot about it in three sentences or less.” See, the term “elevator speech” is like an elevator speech of it’s own definition.  I had a marketing guru help me come up with an elevator speech  for my practice a few years ago.  I think I need help with one for FPWP.  I was recently at an event where several other authors all hit me with “tell me about your book?” and I did the “um, well, it’s in 2 parts…”

Thanks for sticking by me followers.  I look forward to doing my second presentation on PTSD of 2016.  The first was on the 4th of March at a non profit organization in Fayetteville and was open to the public.  It went really well. My next presentation is on Thursday (I need to find something professional that’s green to wear) to a group of nursing students.  I have been practicing my brain biology so I can pronounce “amygdala” without sounding like an idiot 😉