Frans de Waal signing books at the University of Auckland

Book signing is the affixing of a

signature A signature (; from la, signare, "to sign") is a Handwriting, handwritten (and often Stylization, stylized) depiction of someone's name, nickname, or even a simple "X" or other mark that a person writes on documents as a proof of identity and ...

to the

title page The title page of a book, thesis or other written work is the page at or near the front which displays its title, subtitle, author, publisher, and edition, often artistically decorated. (A half title, by contrast, displays only the title of a wo ...

or flyleaf of a

book A book is a medium for recording information in the form of writing or images, typically composed of many pages (made of papyrus, parchment, vellum, or paper) bound together and protected by a cover. The technical term for this phys ...

by its

author An author is the writer of a book, article, play, mostly written work. A broader definition of the word "author" states: "''An author is "the person who originated or gave existence to anything" and whose authorship determines responsibility f ...

. Book signings are events, usually at a bookstore or

library A library is a collection of materials, books or media that are accessible for use and not just for display purposes. A library provides physical (hard copies) or digital access (soft copies) materials, and may be a physical location or a vi ...

, where an author sits and signs books for a period.

Book signing

Book signing is popular because an author's signature increases the value of books for collectors. The author may add a short message to the reader, called a dedication, to each book, which may be personalized with the recipient's name upon request. A simple author's signature without a dedication is typically more valuable to collectors (exceptions include inscriptions to persons of note, e.g., from Hemingway to

Fitzgerald The FitzGerald/FitzMaurice Dynasty is a noble and aristocratic dynasty of Cambro-Norman, Anglo-Norman and later Hiberno-Norman origin. They have been peers of Ireland since at least the 13th century, and are described in the Annals of the ...

, or to persons of significance in the author's life). Sometimes an author will sign additional copies for future sale. An additional advantage to authors for doing this is that once a book has been signed, it cannot be returned to the publisher for a refund. Many authors today spend a great deal of time signing their books, and sign many thousands of copies. For example, John Green signed all 150,000 copies of the first printing of his 2012 novel '' The Fault in Our Stars''. The growing popularity of ebooks and ereading devices has inspired the development of software — such as Authorgraph (formerly known as Kindlegraph and renamed to reflect its expansion to include all ereading platforms), and Autography (for iOS devices) - that allows authors to digitally personalize ebooks, by including autographs, dedications, and photographs, and to provide such personalization remotely as well as at in-person book signings. Such software benefits authors, "who are not obliged to go on long distance promotional tours in order to autograph e-books for their fans", as well as those readers who are unwilling or unable to brave crowds and longs lines at onsite book signings. Before such applications were introduced, efforts to bridge the

digital divide The digital divide is the unequal access to digital technology, including smartphones, tablets, laptops, and the internet. The digital divide creates a division and inequality around access to information and resources. In the Information Age i ...

for those who read ebooks included having authors sign the backs of their fan's ereading devices or sign ebooks via direct stylus input (e.g., on a Sony Reader Touch or Palm eReader).

Book signings

Book signings provide more than just a chance to obtain signatures. Authors and bookstores are benefited by the fact that many copies of the book being promoted are sold at these events. Signings also increase public goodwill and allow authors to connect with their fans. For fans, signings provide a chance to see and meet a favorite author and ask them questions. The development of social media platforms allows modern day authors to conduct virtual book signings. For example, The GoodReader and Autography jointly hosted an ebook signing with author HP Mallory, during which Mallory greeted fans via Spreecast, a social connectivity platform that allows users to have up to four guests on video chat at one time, to conduct Q&A sessions with even more participants, and to maintain a channel on the site, thereby recording and storing the Spreecast and assigning the recordings a

URL A Uniform Resource Locator (URL), colloquially termed as a web address, is a reference to a web resource that specifies its location on a computer network and a mechanism for retrieving it. A URL is a specific type of Uniform Resource Identifie ...

for sharing at other outlets. Many authors use the book signing platform LiveSigning to host large-scale, streaming video book signings with their fans. Donald Trump hosted a book signing on this platform during his presidential campaign in December 2015. Book signings on LiveSigning typically consist of the author signing books, answering questions from fans, and making phone calls to some fans. After the event, the signed books are mailed to everyone who purchased a signed copy.

References

External links

Dedee
First PC/Mac standalone software for ebook signing.
AuthorgraphAuthorstrack.com Author Book Signings, Author Events, Author Lectures and More
Author Book Signings, Author Events
Autography.comCelebrity book signing and events
A comprehensive listing of all American book signings involving notable personalities.
FindBookSignings.com
A large list of upcoming book signing events.
BookSigningEvent.com
A listing of upcoming Book Signings at Independent Booksellers.
MyWriteapp.com
Application for signing e-books. {{Books Bookselling Marketing techniques

Book signing

Book signings

See also

References

External links