I spent the last Saturday afternoon before Christmas in a big Barnes & Noble in a bustling mall, schmoozing and signing my books with five other authors. The store had ordered stacks of all our titles, so we had plenty of product, and the manager had placed our table at the front of the store. Prime real estate. There was a large, professionally-printed sign out front that announced our presence with names & book covers. (I got to keep it! *grin*) We greeted many shoppers with candy and smiles. It was the recipe for a very successful book signing, and I had a great time.

Yet between the six of us, we sold less than ten books in that three-hour period. I didn’t even make enough money to cover my gasoline expense. I’m convinced that erotic fiction in print is a poor substitute for its electronic sibling.  Most people seem to prefer the anonymity of downloading ebooks, just like most people seem to prefer the anonymity of buying sex toys online.  It keeps their dirty little secrets from the public eye.

Yeah, yeah. I hate the fact that sex is considered “dirty” by a large part of the populace. We have religion to thank for that.  But that’s another topic for another day. One woman, bless her deviant little heart, had to whisper her reading preference (”bondage and discipline”) to me because she didn’t want to be overheard. I sold her a copy of Surrender and gave her one of my “Provoking me implies consent” promo buttons. I hope she enjoys both.

What were folks buying, since they clearly weren’t buying erotic romance?  Non-fiction. Cookbooks. Obama’s books. That’s what I saw being carried to the cash registers. Those are the books that people would ask how to find when they entered the store, often mistaking us for greeter-employees.

On the trip home, I chewed on the experience and wondered just where my promotional energy should go. While most authors seem to regard ebooks as a step into the print world, I’ve always viewed print as a means to woo readers to the electronic reading realm.

Obviously, no one’s yet nailed the perfect promo balance. What works for one author, flops for another. But with the coming year, I think I’m going to shift my focus into more e-promo. Not banner ads on review sites, but free e-reads targeted toward those who currently read print. We, as e-authors, need more e-readers.

So, the next time I do an offline event like last Saturday’s at Barnes & Noble in the MacArthur Mall, I’m taking e-giveaways. Coupons for a free download or mini-CDs with excerpts. Maybe… just maybe… that will help to fill my stocking with royalties.

peace & passion & happiest of holidays to y’all,

~ Alessia