|
I have three words for the short version of the BBook launch event last night: It was awesome. If you'd like the longer version keep reading... It was a roller coaster of emotions all day long. From panic in the morning to calm euphoria by the end of the evening. You heard about the panic yesterday when the Borders Web site had the event time at 8:30 PM instead of the much promoted 7 PM. After that was resolved I had a much better day, but not entirely panic free. To stave off the panic during the day, I did a lot of rehearsal of my remarks in front of the Web cam. I decided on which stories I would read during the event, and practiced my comments. For anyone looking to fight anxiety before public speaking, being proactive and practicing what you're going to do works wonders (at least it did for me). By dinner the nerves started to return. I have plenty of experience being anxious, so I knew the body sensations quite well, and where panic can lead. I managed to fight them off effectively. After being confident most of the day, on the way to the event, I started to think this may not go as well as I had hoped. Luckily for me, in the parking structure we ran into an old coworker of mine from the the pre-"quit your day job" days. I haven't seen him in five years, so chatting with him walking to the store helped take my mind off the panic. It was the week of Brian events as Brian Wilson was making an appearance at the store today. He got a big poster in the window, but I did get a nice placard on the door entrance. We entered the store, and I saw a big rack of The BBook of Geek by the information desk. We wandered over to marvel at the public display. I must've looked odd with my arm full of props from the BBook all in a silver robot head box (my Rubik's Cube, my Doctor Who scarf, my LEGO self-portrait and others) because an associate approached me and asked if I needed any help. I pointed at the BBook on the shelf and said "That's me." She radioed for help (not security) and a friendly associate with a Federation symbol on one bicep and a Star Wars symbol on the other came over to help (I don't think he got the tatts just for the signing, but maybe he did). He escorted us down to the green room in the BBasement of Borders. The manager met me down there and asked if there was anything I needed before the show. I told him some finger sandwiches and a kilo of coke. After he said they were out of sandwiches, I just asked for a bottle of water. We moseyed up to the top floor to see the layout for the event. A small table adorned with BBooks and a small podium was my homebase and rows of chairs were set up in front of me. Shortly after people began arriving. About five minutes after 7 PM, I started in on the presentation. I introduced myself and thanked some of the people there including Michael Webb who did the photos for the BBook and was also photographing the signing (I'll get the pics and post them on Friday or Saturday). I did some background info on the site, and some info on the BBook itself. Then I started the readings. I started doing them in binary, which confused some people (maybe Klingon would've been funnier). I read five different stories, and they were well-received with laughter. My remarks and readings lasted about twenty five minutes, then we went to a Q and A format. By this time more chairs had to be added for the crowd, and by the end there was a row of people standing in the back. My son started out the questions, but after that a flood of questions poured in. After about twenty minutes of questions people lined up for the signing. The signing portion lasted for about forty minutes or so. Afterwards, the manager of the store said he was very happy with how the event went. He said this was probably the biggest local event he's had at the store since he's been there. He said that usually they're happy when they sell 10-15 books at a local event, and we more than tripled the 10. He said I'm welcome back for BBook of Geek 2.0. He also mentioned that they had NYT bestselling author John Grogan (Marley and Me) in there last week, and my event was much bigger. Overall, it was a great experience for me and it was pleasing to hear the comments from the manager of the store. I have to say it was a bit surreal to see a long line of people queued up to get my signature on a book I wrote. I'm not sure my brain has quite processed that image yet. It might take a few days. I want to finish this overly long post by once again thanking all the people that were there in person and in spirit. I usually have miles of cable between me and my audience, so the corporeal support will definitely live with me for a long time. Thanks! As a reminder if you missed last night's event, you can wait until I come to a store near you, or purchase a custom-signed copy from the BBook store. That's all I've got for now. Stay geeky! |
.
