Did you know that Christmas is coming? I was so annoyed when I saw my first Christmas advert on the 20th October. I can really do without sleigh bells before the clocks go back.
Anyway, the Christmas season is well upon us now, and the celebrity books are rolling out left, right and centre. On the train in this morning, Metro had details of several signing sessions taking place over the coming days.
A Waterstone’s ad told us that we have an opportunity to meet Lawrence Dallaglio, the England rubgy star. He’s signing copies of his autobiography, It’s In The Blood. As you can see from the ad, that’s pretty much all there is. I would expect the bookshops to prefer that you bought your copies there rather than online, but I’m sure a handful of people will have rugby shirts or photos for him to sign as well.
Meanwhile a Borders ad lets us know that Alice Cooper will be holding his only UK signing of his new book Golf Monster at their Oxford Street branch. There’s a note in the ad that’s worth reading:
“All customers must purchase a copy of Golf Monster to receive an autograph. Additional autographs are given at the discretion of Borders. Due to limited signing time, customers are advised to arrive early to avoid disappointment.”
As I say, it’s reasonable that they insist that you buy your copy at the shop, although I’ve never really been to a signing where people hadn’t bought a copy there. The rules regarding additional autographs are practical. If the queue’s reasonable, then get out a CD to sign. But if it’s busy, let’s just do the books.
Finally there was a further Waterstone’s ad for racing sensation Lewis Hamilton’s book My Story. Obviously, considering Hamilton was only born in 1985, I would anticipate further volumes will follow in due course.
But the most interesting thing about this ad is the accompanying restrictions:
“Please note Lewis Hamilton will be signing dedicated copies of ‘My Story’ only, a maximum of two copies per person. Please arrive early to avoid disappointment. Access to the queue is on a first come, first served basis. Due to time constraints reservations will not be available.”
Let’s be clear. Hamilton is only there for a little while, but because some PR person is paranoid that every copy sold will be on eBay within minutes, they’re forcing Hamilton to write a dedication in every copy, and thereby take longer. Dedicationless books are more valuable because you’d probably prefer In any case, the two copies limit would surely put off most chancers.
If, perhaps, the signing wasn’t at 4.30pm on a weekday, there’d be a greater chance of real fans being at the singing rather than, say (and I don’t mean any disservice), students who might be more tempted to make a quick buck selling on their books.
I’ve never heard of a book signing where you’re forced to have a dedication. I suspect that this will be the start of a trend
