For the Shy Best-selling Author

I know a number of bestselling authors who internally groan at the necessity of attending another book signing session.  If you’ve never had people pursue you or line up for your autograph on a book, it’s hard to understand why anyone would be reluctant to sign a book.

Many writers are introverts. We’d rather sit in a corner and read a book than stir a room into a game and become the life of the party.  I hope you noticed that I put myself into that last sentence as an introvert. It’s true but I often rise to the occasion at conferences or conventions or other such gatherings.

Best-selling novelist Margaret Atwood has created a new invention which will be used at the London Book Fair on Sunday. It’s called the LongPen and allows Atwood to sign books in London from her home in Canada. She avoids getting on an airplane and traveling to the event yet still has a personal touch with her readers. Using technology, she can interact with her readers and sign a personal note into their book—long distance.  It’s a different use of technology and if you want to learn more, follow this link.

It will be interesting in the days ahead to see how much LongPen will be used in the publishing community. I can see clear advantages for the author but also from the publisher standpoint where they have to purchase airline tickets and hotel rooms. If they want the author present, maybe they will use LongPen.