Indie Author Tip: Get Yourself a Signing Bag
The author and her custom tote bag.
The author’s custom tote bag and essentials with her stack of books to sign at her local indie, Bear Pond Books!
I recently published a poetry chapbook with independent publisher Kelsay Books, and, as any author knows, book launching includes author signings! Even during a pandemic, author signings are possible (wear your mask), and necessary to entice book sales. A fun way to spruce this up, and to market your book, is to get yourself a promotional author signing tote bag!
But let’s back up, so you know why you need a signing bag.
Before your book comes out, get in touch with your local bookstore—hopefully you’re like me and are already a regular; if not, become one asap—and ask them to be your official bookseller for signed copies of your book. Then, be sure to email all your friends and family, and share all over social media, the link and news about this bookstore being the official place to buy your book if they want a personalized, signed copy. You can see how I worded this on my author website.
As a bonus, you can offer some author SWAG, like a bookmark—ask your indie publisher if they design them, or design one yourself; it is fairly easy in places like Canva, and not too expensive to print at a professional copy store.
You might want to set a timeframe for how long this signing campaign runs, or you might be happy popping over to the bookstore every time they sell one of your books. Either way, when it is time to go sign your books, I highly suggest having an author tote bag ready!
My custom bag from Sew Totes
Why use any old bag when you can have one made specially for you with the title of your book?! This is not only great marketing, because every time you carry your bag around people will see your book title, but it is also a great way to pamper yourself to celebrate the release of your book. I celebrated by ordering a custom-designed tote bag from Sew Totes, with the name of my book, Birth of a Daughter, embroidered on the front. You can also choose to have your book cover printed on it, like this design.
What goes in an author signing bag? A good signing pen (I like the Pilot Precise V5 Rolling Ball Extra Fine); your bookmarks or other author SWAG; your business cards or marketing materials; sticky notes for keeping track of which book is whose; and, in the time of Covid, hand sanitizer and anti-bacterial wipes.
Keep this bag packed and ready at all times, and then you can simply grab it and go when it is time to sign your books. This will also work well when it is time to travel for events after the pandemic. You will never need to search for your good pens again!
I also use this author bag to bring my books to the post office to mail them out to reviewers and awards—but that is a separate blog post.
Happy signing!
Samantha Kolber is the poetry series editor and sales & marketing associate at Rootstock Publishing. Her poems have won awards and are published in various journals and anthologies. Her debut chapbook, Birth of a Daughter, is available wherever books are sold. Learn more at samanthakolber.com.