There are many, many things I don’t know a lot about in this world. But I can safely and confidently say I know about booksignings. Probably more than I would like to. With the release of my twelfth published book (eleven novels and one repackage), I’ve had twelve different products to sell at bookstores (and other places). I’ve probably done over two hundred booksignings since The Promise Remains came out in 2000.

That’s about one hundred and ninety-eight too many, if you ask me.

But I gotta say that I have a love/hate relationship with booksignings. I’ve already done a dozen for Ghostwriter and hope to do up to fifty before my next book comes out.

I get a lot of questions from writers, published and not, about signings. The biggest one tends to be this: Are booksignings worth it? They ask this because many publishers, booksellers, authors, and consumers all feel that booksignings are a colossal waste of time.

So here are my thoughts up to this point on the wonderful thing called booksignings.

A BOOKSIGNING IS NOT AN EVENT. A U2 concert is an event. So is an Obama rally or Michael Jordan signing autographs.

A BOOKSIGNING IS AN OPPORTUNITY. It’s a chance to meet book lovers and book readers. This doesn’t mean they will be lovers and readers of YOUR book. But they might become that. It’s an opportunity to encounter the very people you’re writing for.

A BOOKSIGNING IS NOT A PARTY BEING HELD FOR YOU. Okay, maybe it is if this is your first or second book published. I had a few booksignings like that, where my friends and family all came to celebrate (and to look in curiosity to see who else came). But look—the party will eventually be over. After having a few children, nobody cares. Nobody really cares about celebrating your 41st birthday, right? Or your fourth marriage. If you’re hoping for a party, go to Mardi Gras.

A BOOKSIGNING IS WORK. And yes, sometimes work can be fun, but most of the time work is work. You might not pull a muscle at a booksigning, but it can still be taxing on your nerves and your psyche trying to talk to strangers and sell your book and doing this for three or four hours.

CHECK YOUR EGO AT THE DOOR. I’ve seen bestselling authors of runaway hits have four readers show up at their signings. “It’s marketing’s fault.” “We picked a bad place.” “It’s the weather.” I’ve seen and heard everything. The reality is, booksignings aren’t that big of a deal unless you’re a celebrity or your name is J.K. Rowling or Stephanie Meyer. I remind myself that I’m not a bestselling author and don’t have a runaway hit. If anybody shows up specifically to buy my book, I’m grateful (and usually surprised).

BOOKSIGNINGS ARE ALL—ALL—ABOUT EXPECTATIONS. First off, I want to meet the store’s expectations. I want to sell a good amount of books. If they actually expect me to sell one hundred copies, then I’ve done a bad job explaining who I am and what I’m hoping to do. If they have fifty books there but think twenty or thirty sold is a good number, then I’m doing my job. I want the bookstore to feel good about how many I sell. For me, selling twenty books is average. Thirty is above average, ten below. But I try not to have expectations because I’ve been surprised time and time again (both in a positive and a negative way).

I can hear someone now saying TWENTY BOOKS, THAT’S ALL?? Which leads into the next discussion.

HOW VALUABLE IS YOUR TIME? Do you have ten boards to serve on, a conference you’re speaking at every weekend, a family of ten to take care of, a fulltime job that sucks up sixty or seventy hours of your week? What does three hours mean to you? Ask yourself that. For me, it’s worth my time to sell twenty or thirty books. I usually meet at least a hundred people, passing out postcards and introducing myself. Some might come back and buy a book. Others might go online. It’s worth my time because I’m slowly gaining new readers, and for my job that is crucial. The line I’m saying lately is that I’m trying to fill an ocean one pebble at a time.

A BOOKSIGNING IS A CHANCE TO CONNECT. If a reader spends several hours of their life actually reading one of my books, the very least I can do is spend a small chunk of time talking with them at a signing. Many times they have questions or comments related to the book. This is fabulous and I love being able to engage in a discussion with a reader.

A BOOKSIGNING CAN BE INTIMIDATING & UNCOMFORTABLE TO PEOPLE. I’m not talking about authors here. I’m talking about readers. Consider this. There are probably more introverts that come into a bookstore than extroverts. I know this personally after 200 signings. Introverts like to read, but they don’t necessarily like to meet strangers. A lot of people don’t like meeting strangers. Know this when it comes to doing a signing. That’s why I always try to BE APPROACHABLE.

DON’T TAKE YOURSELF TOO SERIOUSLY, BUT TAKE YOUR WORK SERIOUSLY. I apply this to my life as a writer and it really works when I’m doing a signing. I will do almost anything to get someone to come up to my table and talk. If I have an air of I’m a sophisticated literary novelist who won’t be as tacky as to try and pawn off my magnum opus like a girl scout cookie, then most people will take a hike. I’m a guy who writes stories for a living. Most people haven’t heard of me. That’s the reality. And the other reality is that if I have the chance to engage them in conversation, they might end up buying one of my books.

A BOOKSIGNING MAKES AN IMPRESSION. Everything, big and small, makes an impression. From that sign at the front of the store to the interaction you have with a bookstore manager, everything counts when it comes to signings. I try to be friendly to the store staff along with customers. I hope that most people who meet me think that I’m a nice guy. Does that mean they’ll necessarily buy one of my books? Of course not. But some might. For the bookstore staff, my hope is that I’m friendly enough and sell a good amount of books to be invited back.

Some of my biggest fans are ones I met at a booksigning. A complete stranger who walked by me and listened to my spiel and bought a book.

So are booksignings for you? Hopefully this overview will help you decide. Some writers don’t have the personality to engage customers. Some don’t have the time. There are other ways to sell books. For me, I’ve learned that I do well at signings. And for those diehard fans I’ve made while doing signings, that’s something that no amount of marketing money can buy. As they say in the Mastercard ads, that’s priceless.