Doing a book signing or sitting at an author's table at a convention or book store means you get to talk to a lot of new people and (hopefully) get your books into the hands of new readers who've been impressed by your approachability and charm. This can be a lot of fun, especially if you're an extrovert who gets energized by meeting new people.
But even for the most gregarious among us, working a book table is also likely to test your reserves.
The simple act of sitting behind a book table -- whether you're actually selling any of your books or are just there to sign copies -- trips a certain circuit in a certain type of narrow skull. Namely, it triggers the conviction that you, the author, are a mere sales clerk, and therefore not a real person this Rudy McRuderson needs to show any basic courtesy toward.
When I shared a book table with my husband, a guy in a suit came up, pointed at one of his Leisure titles, and said "Ooo, that looks like a spooooky book!" and wandered off making idiotic cartoon ghost noises. At a recent local book fair, a well-dressed soccer mom picked up my book Sparks and Shadows, read the back, then tossed it down on the table with the queenly disdainful announcement "I don't like short stories!"
More commonly, someone will shuffle up to your table, disinterestedly glance over the books you sweated blood to finish on deadline, and then say, "I've never heard of you."
And upon hearing this, your job, dear signing table author, is to give them your most dazzling smile and brightly reply, "Well, now you have! Would you like a bookmark?"
If you're lucky, they'll take a bookmark and there's that fraction of a percent chance they might decide to check out your work; if not, they'll probably yawn and ask if you know where the restrooms are. So, it helps to have bookmarks, candy, and other tchotchkes on hand at any signing.
Independent bookstores are frequently (but not always) enthusiastic about hosting author signings (especially for local authors) if they think the event will help bring in new customers. Therefore, if you're a relatively unknown author, it helps to recruit other authors and schedule a group signing. That way, the bookstore manager will feel better about the signing's chances and will be more willing to clear space on a prime evening and maybe chip in for punch and cookies.
Chain bookstores are much less likely to want to host an author signing, but this depends on the location. For instance, there are seven Barnes & Noble bookstores in the Columbus, Ohio area. Two will host book signings; the other five stores won't. How did we find out? We called around and asked to speak to their events manager. That's the only way to find out for sure.