Few would deny that the sale of books is greatly enhanced by the author’s signature on the title page. Unless the author is present at a book signing, however, or signs copies of the book in quantity at a book store, a signed copy of the author’s book is difficult to come by. It has been impossible for those who buy books from online booksellers.
There is a way, however, for authors to get signed copies of books into the hands of readers and purchasers—the adhesive-backed, signed bookplate (shown here). A bookplate with the author’s signature and a short inscription can easily be mailed to an online book purchaser, to be affixed to the book at home. This makes it possible for personalized, online book signings, and opens up opportunities for signed book as gifts.
The book, of course, does not have to be purchased online. It can be acquired at a retail store and the author’s bookplate sent by mail and affixed by the owner.
For the online book-signing to work, the author must be willing to foot the cost of producing the bookplate and mailing it to the book’s owner. I know from experience that requiring a book-buyer to send a self-addressed, stamped envelope for the bookplate does not produce sales. I attempted this with my long-in-print, Jefferson And Monticello, the Biography of a Builder. It failed on Amazon.com, because book buyers are obviously unwilling to go to the effort and expense of sending an SASE to the author. (This may not be the case with a celebrity author.)
For my latest book, Williamsburg, Virginia on the Eve of Revolution, a historical novel, I have created the above bookplate from the book jacket, and am offering it free to those who visit my website http://www.williamsburgthenovel.com This is a new project and I’m not sure how successful it will be, but it offers a different kind of sales approach for authors attempting to market their works.
I created this site as a forum for those authors who are interested in producing bookplates for their works and in getting them out to their readers. I invite authors to e-mail their own bookplates, and their experiences in producing and publicizing them. I’ll add them to the site as I receive them. Send e-mail comments and bookplates to: booksigningsbybookplate@gmail.com In subsequent posts, I’ll comment on my own experiences in producing a book plate, and on the various challenges faced in selling books by online signings.
Jack McLaughlin
For the online book-signing to work, the author must be willing to foot the cost of producing the bookplate and mailing it to the book’s owner. I know from experience that requiring a book-buyer to send a self-addressed, stamped envelope for the bookplate does not produce sales. I attempted this with my long-in-print, Jefferson And Monticello, the Biography of a Builder. It failed on Amazon.com, because book buyers are obviously unwilling to go to the effort and expense of sending an SASE to the author. (This may not be the case with a celebrity author.)
For my latest book, Williamsburg, Virginia on the Eve of Revolution, a historical novel, I have created the above bookplate from the book jacket, and am offering it free to those who visit my website http://www.williamsburgthenovel.com This is a new project and I’m not sure how successful it will be, but it offers a different kind of sales approach for authors attempting to market their works.
I created this site as a forum for those authors who are interested in producing bookplates for their works and in getting them out to their readers. I invite authors to e-mail their own bookplates, and their experiences in producing and publicizing them. I’ll add them to the site as I receive them. Send e-mail comments and bookplates to: booksigningsbybookplate@gmail.com In subsequent posts, I’ll comment on my own experiences in producing a book plate, and on the various challenges faced in selling books by online signings.
Jack McLaughlin
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