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Regretfully, book signings by mail discontinued
It is with great
reluctance that I am rescinding my offer to sign books mailed to my
Santa Barbara post office box. As you know, this is a practice I
instituted years ago as a courtesy to faithful readers. Of
necessity, my book tours are limited, which means there are many
cities and stores I simply can’t reach. By permitting you to mail
books, I had hoped to provide a service for those who wanted books
signed or personalized, but had no other means of access.
The current problem is two-fold; the first being sheer numbers.
On my website, I suggested that you mail no more than six books at a
time, which most of you have been careful to do. While we’ve
appreciated your cooperation, if you imagine your shipment
multiplied by twenty to thirty per month, you’ll see the magnitude
of the difficulties we face. With the appearance of each new book,
the number of boxes and mailing pouches climbs to seventy or more
per month. As a result, when I returned to California after the
‘T’ IS FOR TRESPASS tour, there were easily two hundred books
stacked up in my office, awaiting my attention.
In logistical terms, with every visit to the post office, my
assistant, Barbara Toohey, fills the trunk, the rear seat, and half
the front seat of her car. Once she arrives at my office, books are
unpacked, signed, repacked, sealed, and loaded in her car again, at
which point, she reverses the process. Since she can only carry an
armload of packages at a time, she makes numerous trips in and out
of the post office, where the lines are long and slow-moving,
especially during the holidays. Given the fact that she has a
full-time job beyond the help she gives me, she can hardly keep up
with the demand. Even after thirteen years of this, she’s not
complaining. I’m the one stepping forward, trying to relieve her of
an ever-escalating burden.
Which brings me to the second issue; that of book dealers.
Over the years, I’ve cheerfully signed countless copies of my books
for dealers who arrive whenever I’m scheduled to appear. I’ve
appreciated your patience in waiting your turn while I’m signing the
twenty to thirty books such dealers present for my signature. That
practice, too, I intend to curtail.
In the meantime, my offer to sign books by mail was never intended
for book sellers. In laying out the guidelines, I specifically
stated that I did not want dealers taking advantage of a system
meant entirely for you. It’s not that I begrudge anyone the right to
earn a living, but I do resent the attempts of dealers to hoodwink
me into signing books by mail against my express wishes. One man
took the liberty of sending me fifty-three books in fifty-three
separate mailing pouches. Included was a note in which he claimed he
was not well off and that the books were meant as a legacy for his
wife when he passed on. Did I believe him? Not so much. Obviously, I
can’t run a background check on every individual who sends me books,
which means dealers are continuously operating in the pretense of
wanting books signed for their cherished private collections. These
same books appear on eBay within days, their value inflated by my
signature. Given the anonymity of eBay merchants, there’s no way to
crack down on this...or at least, no way that I’ve discovered, short
of shutting down altogether.
I’m sorry to have to penalize the majority of you, who are honest
and well-meaning, but something has to change.
If you have suggestions for how I might accommodate requests for
signed books in a manner that will bypass wily and underhanded
dealers, please write and let me know. My post office box is:
Sue Grafton
P.O. Box 41447
Santa Barbara, California 93140
I will be happy to consider any idea or plan that sounds workable.
In the meantime, my apologies.
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