Would You Please Get Snarky, Please?

Authors at a signing this past weekend.  L to R: Kelly Simmons, Matty Dalrymple, Virginia Beards, Jon McGoran, Merry Jones, and Bruce Mowday

This past weekend I attended a multi-author book signing at the Levante Brewery in West Chester, PA.  One of the authors, poet Virginia Beards, had to leave early.  I asked the remaining five authors what were the best and worst things about doing a book event in a brewery.  (Although sales were light, the authors remained upbeat and refused to get snarky.)

What’s the best thing about doing a signing in a brewery?

Jon McGoran:  Beer!!

Merry Jones:  Dogs and babies among the crowd.  They’re the best!  You don’t get those in a bookstore signing.

Kelly Simmons:  Yes.  I love dogs and babies!  Notice how they always find the sunbeams to lie in.  It’s just a fun atmosphere.

Bruce Mowday:  You get to meet your readers.  It’s a chance to interact with them.  I’ve had some great discussions on Pickett’s Charge (the subject of one of his books).  Matty (Dalrymple) did a great job organizing this event.

Matty Dalrymple: It’s an exercise in community building. And it’s good that we’ve started to see some of the same faces among the attendees.

And what was the worst thing about this particular brewery signing?

Jon McGoran:  Well, you always want to sell more books.

Merry Jones:  A lot of people just walk by.  Most of them are here to drink, not buy books.

Kelly Simmons:  Yes, they didn’t come to buy books.  And I don’t want to intrude on families.

Bruce Mowday:  I wish we had more people here.  But it’s such a nice day – people don’t want to be inside.

Matty Dalrymple:  Wine drinkers are more interested in books than beer drinkers are.  I suspect you can sell more books at a winery than at a brewery.  Overall, I think we could describe this as more of a social than a sales event.

My Takeaway:  It was a fun event on a nice day.  But dogs and babies don’t buy worth a damn.  (Hey, if they won’t get snarky, I will!)

Tomorrow: Writers Coffeehouse Meeting in Willow Grove

Sometimes it seems like I go from one writer's event to another, leaving me barely enough time to do any actual writing.

That's to be expected when one is on a book tour or at a writing convention, but not in daily life.

Nevertheless, I have another writing event tomorrow, Sunday 25 November, from noon to three pm.  It's free and open to everyone, so stop by if you're interested.

(Once again - for those of you reading this in Croatia - this event is in Pennsylvania, USA.  Just in case you have a "Willow Grove" in Croatia.)

Here's the information:

FREE WRITERS COFFEEHOUSE Sun November 25 12-3pm

THE LIARS CLUB presents THE WRITERS COFFEEHOUSE

Join us for a FREE 3-hour networking and discussion about writing and publishing at the Writers Coffeehouse hosted by THE LIARS CLUB 

Location: Barnes & Noble Willow Grove (102 Park Avenue, Willow Grove, PA 19090)

Time: Coffeehouse Sunday, November 25, 2012, noon to 3pm

The Writers Coffeehouse is open to everyone.

ABOUT THE COFFEEHOUSE: It's a bunch of writers sitting around talking about writing…with coffee. No agenda…just chat about the latest trends in the industry, about the craft of writing, about markets, about pitching and selling, about conquering frustration and defeating writers block, and about all of the good things that come from the community of writers. No previous publishing experience necessary…the Writers Coffeehouse attracts everyone from absolute beginner to award-winners and bestsellers. We're all writers. The Coffeehouse is a regular event which meets on the last Sunday of every month from noon to 3pm. Grab a cup of coffee and join us in the meeting room in the left rear corner of the store (next to the music section).

NOTE: There will be NO Coffeehouse in December.

For more information, drop me a line at jonathan_maberry@yahoo.com

And join our free Message Board online at http://groups.yahoo.com/group/WritersCoffeehouseOnline/

 

The WRITERS COFFEEHOUSE is hosted by The LIARS CLUB (www.liarsclubphilly.com)

A group of professional writers from the Philadelphia area who give talks, workshops, signings and events in support of bookstores, libraries, literacy and the love of books. The Liars Club lineup includes Jonathan Maberry (New York Times bestseller and multiple Bram Stoker Award winning author and Marvel Comics writer); Gregory Frost (best-selling fantasy author); Solomon Jones (Daily News columnist and crime novelist); Jon McGoran (author of forensics thrillers for Penguin as D H Dublin); Kelly Simmons (women's contemporary fiction author); Ed Pettit (book reviewer and renowned expert on Edgar Allen Poe); Dennis Tafoya (celebrated crime and thriller writer); Don Lafferty (publicist, social media guru, and magazine feature writer), Marie Lamba (literary agent and author of Young Adult novels); Merry Jones (mystery novelist and humorist), Keith Strunk (actor, playwright, historian and children's storyteller), Keith DeCandido (author of dozens of science fiction, fantasy and media tie-in novels), Stephen Susco (Hollywood screenwriter and director), and our newest member -- novelist Chuck Wendig.

Main Line Writers Coffeehouse

The Liars Club of Philadelphia - a group of professional authors - has been sponsoring free meetings for writers for several years.  Currently, they meet on the last Sunday of each month at the Willow Grove Barnes and Noble.

That meeting has been getting larger and larger over the past few years.  Lately, it's been drawing as many as 70 people - too many to comfortably fit in the room.  So the Liars Club has branched out, offering meetings in Center City Philadelphia; Claymont, Delaware; and Rosemont, Pennsylvania.

I attended the Rosemont meeting this past Sunday.  This group - known as the Main Line Writers Coffeehouse - had two meetings in the upstairs room of a coffee bar which they quickly outgrew.  So they started meeting in  a much larger space in Rosemont.

The first meeting of the Main Line Writers Coffeehouse in this new location drew around 20 people.  But this Sunday's meeting had only 7 people!

Mind you, it wasn't a bad meeting.  It was rather like sitting with some friends in a bar.  There were THREE members of the Liars Club there to run the meeting: Gregory Frost, Merry Jones, and Kelly Simmons.  All professional writers.

Again, I'd happily spend two hours in a bar with any or all of these writers.  That's not the point.

But, with the Main Line Writers Coffeehouse drawing just 7 people, it's not going to serve its purpose of reducing congestion at the main meeting in the Willow Grove Barnes and Noble.

(And since I've been an officer in several writers groups, I should clarify - I am not a member of the Liars Club of Philadelphia, nor do I have any official job in their meetings.)