Jacksonville book signing. Most people who come to the Jacksonville, Oregon city-wide sale (it’s amazing how much stuff there is to buy that day!) are looking for bargains. They’re not there to shop for brand new (albeit discounted) books. But Janis Hunt Johnson, author of Five Smooth Stones, and I enjoyed spending the day in Jacksonville on Saturday.
My friend, Shu-Huei Henrickson, was visiting from Chicago. She stayed at our local authors table for most of the time.
I met Shu-Huei when she submitted a brilliant story to my anthology, Toddler: Real-Life Stories of Those Fickle, Irrational, Urgent, Tiny People We Love. She and I have been in touch ever since. She’s a fantastic writer, teacher, and friend. I felt badly about dragging her along to Jacksonville. But she enjoyed the peek at a quaint former gold rush town.
I forgot to bring my camera.
Note to writers and others: When you do an author event of any kind, bring a camera or your smartphone and ask someone to take some photos of you.
These photos are great for future publicity, your website, your friends, and family.
The Web is very photo-driven (something we emphasized at our media training). People love to click on photo galleries. So much so that often photos are more important than content. Note this blog has a stock photo instead of a unique visual. I mistakenly did not follow my own advice. My bad.
It was especially nice to talk to people in the community who stopped by at the table. Janis and I both gave out lots of business cards, and I hired a young woman who advertises as a mother’s helping hand. She does everything but windows and is coming over on Wednesday.
Given all the good conversation, networking, and exposure, our Jacksonville book signing event worthwhile. The dark cloud, though, is that Jacksonville Books is going out of business. It will be replaced by a florist. ETA: The bright light is that there is now a new bookstore, Rebel Heart Books, in Jacksonville! It opened on July 10, 2017.
Published: September 14, 2009
Last update: January 30, 2020
Alexandra Grabbe says
Glad the book signing went so well. It’s so depressing the way all the independent bookstores are closing! I love flowers, but does your town really need another florist?
admin says
I honestly don’t really like flowers — cut flowers that die after you give them to someone. I’d much rather receive vegetables or a potted plant as a gift. I guess that’s my practical side. I agree with you Alexandra that a bookstore seems so much more vital to a community than a flower shop.