Help from friends...

Great post from Julie Carobini from CAN...


Julie Carobini here from California.

My dad's a ham. Seriously, give him a microphone and he's in his glory. Me--not so much. Yet getting up in front of groups is necessary in this business.

So I've become a fan of group signing events. In the past year or so, I've signed books with both friends and strangers, Christian and general market authors (including one who writes erotica. No kidding.)

Here are five benefits of the group signing event:

1. Cross-marketing! Suspense readers get introduced to Romance, and Historical fans learn about Contemporaries, and on and on. (Yeah, send those erotica readers right this way...)

2. Higher attendance. Big names don't always mean big draws. (I once attended an event with a super big name--and there were only 7 in the audience, including me.) However, schedule several published authors together, and now we're talkin'.

3. Moral support. I was honored to do a Borders signing with Jim Bell and Kathryn Cushman. We sat together in the 'green room' before the event (i.e., a cluttered back office), planning and chatting and making each other laugh before heading out to the 100+ -- I did mention that Bell and Cushman were there, right? -- waiting for us.

4. Built in cheerleaders. Before a recent book tour with three other authors, we discussed one another's novels. When the time came to chat with interested buyers, we actively marketed each other's books. A win-win.
5. Hone those skills. Lauraine Snelling is friendly and bold. Cathy Hake has no problem leaving the signing table to chat with shoppers throughout the store. The more signings I did with these women--nine in all--the bolder I became (in my own beachy way, that is :)

Katie, aka Kathryn Cushman, says, "The thing I like best about group signings, is they don’t feel so 'all about me' like a single signing sometimes does. It’s great to have someone else to talk about, promote, and encourage."