Maybe you have noticed that I haven’t been blogging a lot in the past two months. Well, aside from my family and teaching obligations, I’ve been scheduling book events at various Barnes and Noble stores throughout California. I thought it was time to finally provide you with an author update and pictures of my past endeavors.
Below is a picture of us at the Chino Hills Barnes and Noble in April 2016. This was our second time there and for some reason, it got better each time we went. This store is very different from the others primarily because it’s located at an outdoor shopping center with tons of foot traffic and places to eat.
At this event, we focused more on greeting customers and signing and autographing books. We were able to personalized and customized each signature and illustration. Also, we were able to take tons of pictures with kids and families holding up our books.
Now this is a really cool picture of us at the Rancho Cucamonga store in June 2016. There were tons of kids at this event and they were ready for hands-on activities as you can see in the picture. There was a short book reading and right after that there was an art demonstration done by Alvina Kwong. Not only did the kids make their own bookmarks, but she showed them how to draw little cute animals. This location doesn’t have an outdoor mall with outside foot traffic, but there are tons of dedicated customers that visit the store frequently and they showed their support to us that day.
This was a very special event for me because it was held in June 2016 in my hometown, Merced, CA and right before my birthday. There was tons of support from the parents and community especially the local paper – the Merced Sun Star. They posted a short article notifying the community of my book event and they also posted a larger article which highlighted Broccoli Chronicles and some background information about me.
One special moment was when I arrived at the event and noticed that a young boy had already read by book before I got there. He had a big smile on his face and tons of questions for me to answer. That moment was priceless. As you can see in the picture, there was a book reading done by one of my staff members, plus there was an arts and crafts station for kids to create books marks, and a table for me to sign books for various customers.
If you haven’t already, contact your local bookstore and see if they are willing to pencil you in for a book signing or even carry a few of your books through consignment. This reduces the risk for the bookstore, but offers tons of opportunity for you if the customers buy the book. As you can see, book signings are a great way to promote your book and gain extra readers.
About Taneeka Bourgeois-daSilva
Taneeka Bourgeois-daSilva is an authorpreneur, teacher, blogger, educational consultant, and writing coach. She wrote the award-winning Broccoli Chronicles and is the CEO of Building Voices and TCD Kids Foundation. She tweets at @taneekabdasilva.
