Ebooks and Author Book Signings

Apr 14 2010

My local bookstore held a book signing for 3 authors last weekend. It drew a sizeable crowd and there’s no doubt a lot of books were sold to customers anxiously seeking an autograph from their favorite author/s.

I’ll confess, I’m a literary autograph hound myself. I have a small collection of autographed books (a collection I hope to expand). There is something about having an author sign his/her own work that makes owning that book like a trophy – as hokey as that sounds.

But with ebooks rapidly growing in popularity, what’s going to happen to author signings? After all, I wouldn’t want an author to sign my Sony Pocket Edition. As popular as ebooks have become, and as their popularity will continue to rise, I still think there will be a spot for print books in the literary marketplace.

What’s the solution? Bundling ebooks and print editions together, of course.

When I get a book signed, I’m reluctant to read it. I want the book to stay in mint condition for future posterity. Bundling an ebook with the print version solves that problem. You can get your print edition signed and shelved away with the rest of your collection and still have your ebook edition to read and enjoy.

At least one bookstore in the US is considering doing just that (although not specifically for author signings). I wrote about this in my previous post Barnes & Noble considers bundling print books and ebooks. Although B&N doesn’t plan on a true “bundle” where you buy one you get the other for free, rather, you buy the print version, you get the ebook for a reduced price.

For author signing events, publishers should use true bundling. You purchase the hardcover edition for the signing and then you get access to the free ebook version. Perhaps the ebook version will come enhanced with extra material like interviews, alternate beginnings/endings and the like. After all, if an author is going to “personalize” your hardcover with his/her signature, why not add something extra to the ebook as well?

Bundling ebooks and print editions is nothing new and/or revolutionary. It’s an idea that I love to promote because it gives people more bang for their buck. Bundling can give authors who do book signings a new promotional tool and the ability to reach out to ebook lovers and traditional print book lovers at the same time.

2 Responses

Personally, I think the solution is ereaders that allow digital pen input. Rather than signing a paper copy, the author would scribble on the screen of the device, marking that particular digital copy.

This can already be done with, for example, the iRex devices, which allow for digital pen input on pdf files.

Richard 4/14/2010 4:07 pm
I like that digital pen signature idea. I’m sure technology will get there someday.

Some readers really don’t want the print book. That’s why they do ebooks…but then I suppose they would not be likely to go to a book signing anyway.

As an ebook author, I had someone email me once and ask for my signature. I sent him a nice card. Worked fine. Also, I’ve envisioned postcard style images of the book cover that an author could sign at a public appearance. They could be collected similar to baseball cards. They’d be pretty cheap to produce and allow people to get a trophy even if they were not interested in toting home a slab of paper. Book signings might someday become instant download scenes were people pay for the ebook, get it loaded on their devices, and walk away with a signed card.

Tracy Falbe 4/14/2010 9:22 pm