Recently at a book signing/presentation, I sold a book to a blind man. Before you laugh at the absurdity of that statement, let me share a story.
When I first began my author's career, there was a woman who promoted my work everytime I was published....whether in a Chicken Soup Anthology, or in a book with my name below the title.
At the time that woman, Sandy Starks, was the Interpretive Programming Director at Forest Lawn, which gives you some idea of the creative power of this woman-- being hired to produce entertaining presentations at a cemetery! But I digress.
When my second book, Crown Hill, was published I set up presentations and signings throughout Western New York and across the United States. Thankfully most were successful. However, there were those signings where two attendees were the total number filling the room.
One day I bemoaned that fact to Sandy. In response she shared some wisdom from the indefatiguable Kitty Turgeon, of Roycroft reknown.
It seems Kitty and Sandy partnered in the early days of working to convince our community of the importance of restoring The Roycroft Campus. Part of their mission was speaking to any group willing to listen about this historical treasure tucked away in East Aurora's quaint village.
Sandy explained that, for all the rewards of their work, the process was demanding and at times exhausting, especially when only a small number of people attended their presentations.
She then told of one particular night when only four people were in their audience. Frustrated by the small number, Sandy pointedly asked Kitty, "What in the world are we doing. No one is even showing up for these presentations,"....or something along those lines. Kitty's response was classic.
"It's not important the number of people who show up. It's that those who show up are the ones meant to hear what we have to say."
I have hung on to those words through more than a few "lightly" attended presentations and signings, including yesterday. While the store was full and people stop to chat and purchase my books, when it came time to read from my newest book, Money or Love, there was exactly ONE person in attendance....and that was my next door neighbor!
Undaunted, I asked if she would like to hear the Money or Love reading I had selected. She kindly said, "Of course!" And so I began.
For the next ten minutes, I read aloud a portion of a chapter that is set on Christmas Day. It's about family, Christmas gifts, unbreakable bonds of love, and the traditions that weave us together. I started slowly and rather softly. Yet within a page, I was fully engaged with the book's characters to whom I had given life. Soon I was reading in character, giving each person's voice a suitable tone and timbre. I was completely absorbed in the process.
When I finished the reading, my neighbor gushed and said she couldn't wait to buy the book, whenever it's published. And just as Kitty had suggested, at that moment, that one person was all that mattered....until I heard a voice coming out from behind a nearby bookcase.
"That was wonderful."
As I looked toward the voice, a gentleman appeared from behind the shelves of books. It was a man who had stopped to visit with me earlier. We had enjoyed a most remarkable conversation about books and their impact on reader's lives, and it began with his statement that he has macular degeneration. He is unable to see more than light or dark.
He continued that it had been a gradual loss of sight that started years ago, but not before he was able to read 200 books, a number of which he was most proud. These days he continues his reading love affair through the wonder of audio books.
As the man used his cane to carefully move from the bookcase to my signing table, he further praised my work, saying that he enjoyed hearing the excerpt and looked forward to reading my books. He then asked if I would sign the one he was holding in his hands. I sat stunned as he extended a copy of my third book, Heart & Soul,
I told him I would gladly inscribe it, but as I did my writer's curiosity got the better of me. "How will you read this?" I asked directly. His answer is one that will forever be etched on my writer's heart.
"I will hire someone to read it to me."
I sold a book to a blind man yesterday...one of only two people who heard my presentation. It just may be the most memorable sale of my author's career.