Alaska Fred Meyers Book Signing

I was recently privileged to take part in a wonderful event sponsored by the National Authors in Grocery Stores Program, a program founded to help authors get exposure and sales.

As I and every other author quickly find out, the writing is the easy part. Finding a publisher is difficult but marketing and sales are very steep mountains most of us are ill-prepared to climb.

The program was started by another starving writer and was designed to get the authors and their books in front of prospective buyers. A nominal fee and some paperwork get an author enrolled in the program. You submit the title and cover of your book and a request for the event date you want. A bar code is created, and your book is entered into the store’s inventory list.

A number of massive grocery store chains participate in the program in more than a dozen western states as well as in most parts of the country. I enjoyed my event at Fred Myer’s store in Anchorage, Alaska.

Thanks, Fred Meyers

I requested 10 am to 4 pm Saturday and Sunday. I arrived early and met with a manager at the store. He was very accommodating and went out of his way to make sure I had everything I needed. Thank you, Henry. I set up my small table and my banner that says meet the author, get your book signed today. I had five books on my table, the two I have authored, the two containing my mother’s work that I edited and one of Connie Taylor’s books, the owner of Fathom Publishing.

Meeting Authors

The morning was slow, but traffic picked up around noon. I enjoyed meeting readers in person and had some great conversations. I met two other Alaska published authors and it was fun comparing our sales war stories. I made encouraging sales and overall, I enjoyed the experience so much, I am planning similar events in Juneau and Seattle in the near future.

An Opportunity for Authors

Sales are directly tied to exposure and traffic, and I can’t think of many places that have more traffic than grocery stores. For that reason alone, I suggest this program to any published author.

Overall, it was a great experience, and I appreciate the opportunity to get to know some of my readers, make some sales and expand my network.

Thank you, National Authors in Grocery Store’s Program, I’m looking forward to my next event.

Bradford D Smith