Thursday, March 7, 2013

You Tell Me.....

Well I'm wrapping up one blog tour (for To Trust a Thief) and gearing up for another one soon (for A Bandit's Stolen Heart). In the process of this all, I'm ordering some fun swag :D

So I'd like to know what sorts of swag items readers really want.....What do you like to get from authors?

Bookmarks? Magnets? Pens? Jewelry? Signed bookplates?

What tickles your literary swag fancy? :)

10 comments:

Katrina L. Lantz said...

Jewelry! Definitely jewelry! Second would be pens, and third, magnets. Bookmarks are a good staple, though. Congratulations on another upcoming release!! To Trust a Thief was so much fun. I'm looking forward to A Bandit's Stolen Heart!

Eliza Tilton said...

Recently I saw notebooks. I love that.

A. M. Perkins said...

Question for you: is this swag you give away at book signings and such?

I'm seriously new to the promotional side of writing and would love the info :-)

Angelica R. Jackson said...

If it's jewelry, I prefer pins (there's lots of ways to do that besides buttons) because they can be displayed in more ways than necklaces or whatever. I can put them on my bag or badge at a conference, or wear them on a hat or jacket. And I hoard pens like crazy so I'd definitely go for those.

One thing to keep in mind: if you're sending the swag with a book, you won't be able to use media mail if the extra item is anything other than a bookmark or postcard. They seem to let those slide, but I've had the media-mailed packages opened up and inspected if there's something else in there.

Michelle McLean said...

I have friends that give them away at signings, etc. My books (most of them) are ebooks, so I usually use them for giveaways, auction donations, etc. I also generally give a stack of bookmarks to my local library who kindly puts them on the counter for people to take. And I send them to family members and friends who in turn give them out.

When my NF book (Homework Helpers: Essays and Term Papers) came out, I had a few t-shirts made up and sent them to my family who live near Disneyland. They'd wear them when they were there (long lines, people have nothing else to do but read the back of someone's shirt) ;)

Michelle McLean said...

ooo Notebooks would be fun :D

Michelle McLean said...

My awesome author/jewelry designer friend is making a Bandits necklace as we speak :D I'm also a huge fan of the magnets and pens :D

Michelle McLean said...

ooo good point - I'll look into getting some pins/buttons :D (And good tip on the media mail) :)

LinWash said...

I like a bookmark, because I still buy print books (though I have a Kindle) and use those quite frequently. I rarely use magnets, but other people seem to like them. Someone had some nail polish as part of her swag. Thought that was unusual.

Michelle McLean said...

ooo nail polish would be fun :D I like to try and slip some sort of item in my stories that would make a good swag item (like the locket from To Trust a Thief). Jessica Verday's MC in The Hollow books makes perfume and you can buy perfumes based on all the characters. I always loved that :D Coming up with swag items really is fun to do :D