A new writer tweeted about a low book signing turnout, and famous authors commiserated

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https://www.npr.org/2022/12/06/1140833403/a-new-writer-tweeted-about-a-low-book-signing-turnout-and-famous-authors-commise

A new writer tweeted about a low book signing turnout, and famous authors commiserated

December 6, 2022 5:00 AM ET
Juliana Kim



Chelsea Banning watched in disbelief as authors like Neil Gaiman and Margaret Atwood told her of their experiences with low turnout at book signing events.
Chelsea Banning

Nearly 40 people had RSVP'd to Chelsea Banning's first official book signing at an Ohio bookstore on Saturday. She told the store owner to brace himself for a full crowd. But when the doors opened for her event, only two showed up.

"For a while I felt like I was throwing my book into the void and getting nothing," she told NPR. "This felt like last straw."

Banning is the debut author of a fantasy novel, Of Crowns and Legends, the first book of a working trilogy that follows King Arthur's children during a time of war. Banning, a librarian by trade, had been working on the story for over 15 years. In August, it finally published.

But getting her novel onto bookshelves proved to be half the battle. For the past few months, Banning has been working tirelessly on social media to market her book with little luck.

[...]

[Walleye]

1. Sounds like a good book. One of my favorite books, growing up was

“The Once and Future King” by T. H. White, stories about a young King Arthur and his mentor, Merlin

[mainer]

2. An experience almost every writer has had

A friend down south told me that, ages ago, he was in a bookstore on a rainy night and there was a new author sitting alone at a signing table. No one had bought his book. He took pity on the man and bought two autographed copies.

The book? A TIME TO KILL. The author? John Grisham.

Those first-edition, autographed copies are now worth thousands of dollars.