Signing Etiquette & Guidelines

[Argent]

'Tis the season to be jolly!

It is that time of the year again, friends. The time when a kindly, pleasant man goes 'round the world, bringing joy to kids and adults alike. The time when many of us will wake up with a present waiting to be unwrapped, while many others still will need to go shopping and find one to give to their love one(s). 

I speak, of course, of Brandon Sanderson's new book release and the tour accompanying it. 

With more and more people joining our fandom with each book, I wanted to write down a few bullet points paragraphs about what a signing is, what you should expect, how you should (and shouldn't!) behave, and if you are in the minority of people who like to contribute audio to Arcanum, how you should do that.

Brandon Book Signings: Do's and Don't's

Some time ago Reddit user RosiYY started a thread on the /r/BrandonSanderson subreddit about some big Do's and Don't's when attending signings. I encourage you to read through all of it, but I'll copy Brandon's top reply here for convenience:

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DO: Arrive on time, as there is a speech/reading/Q&A at the start.
DO: Bring as many books as you want. I'll sign them all, though will usually ask for you to pick only a few to have a personalization.
DO: Expect it to take a while. Unfortunately, my signings tend to run long. (However, you can feel free to go grab dinner after the presentation, and come back two hours later. I'll still be there.)
DON'T: Uh...try to give me fish sticks?

Travelling the world to see Brandon!

A different Reddit thread on /r/BrandonSanderson had a user from New Zealand (PewPewPokemon) ask about what goes in a signing. Here's Brandon's reply:

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You are more than welcome to come! But I do always feel a little strange when people spend a lot of money to come see me, as I'm not convinced I'm worth it.

Here's how a signing goes down: I usually speak for about an hour, which is divided into three segments. I generally start with a short (15 min or so) talk about something I'm interested in at the moment. Usually it relates to the book somehow, or to the fantasy genre. Then I do a Q&A with the audience for maybe 25 min. Then I do a reading for maybe 20 min. (This is usually from something I'm working on that isn't yet published.)

From there, I sit down and start doing the signing. This part takes a long time--four to six hours, depending. You usually get a line number from the store based on a couple of factors. (When you arrived and if/when you bought your book.) I strongly suggest checking with the store you plan to visit, as some of them have stricter policies than others about being required to buy a copy of the book to get into line. (Most of them don't require it, but let the people who bought the book from them--which is most people there--go first.)

You get maybe thirty seconds or so with me, during which you can ask a question and get a picture, if you want. (I always feel bad it's such a short time.) I will generally personalize up to three books, though I will sign as many as you want. Most stores only sell the US edition in the US.

If you mention you came from New Zealand, you will most likely be the person who came the longest distance, which I usually reward with a little pin.

All of these signings will be relatively packed, I'm afraid, so I can't suggest one over another being faster. But they're also all very good stores, and are generally willing to let you leave and grab food, then come back closer to your chance to get a book signed.

Etiquette

The threads above should cover the basics of what a signing is and how it goes - lecture, public Q&A, reading, signing/personalization line, and (sometimes) private Q&A. You can usually get as many signatures as you want, but the number of personalizations is likely to be limited - it used to be up to three, but recent events  have had Brandon drop that to one in the interest of time. If you go through the line multiple times, you can get more. And if you hang out until the very end, you might get a few extra questions in (unless the venue kicks everyone out). 

Now, let's talk etiquette. And more specifically, signing line etiquette. We'll split these into a few categories based on what role you would be playing at the event.

The Average Attendee

If you are going to the signing just to get a few books (or other memorabilia) signed and/or personalized, there isn't much you can mess up. Be a decent human being, don't hoard Brandon's time too much (though I've literally never seen anyone take too much of his time). If you have a story you want to share with Brandon, take your time. Having listened to many hours of Brandon interacting with fans, I assure you that even if you don't have some convoluted question about how the Cosmere works, Brandon will value you and your time (though the Arcanists on this site might glare at you...). 

The Sharder

Being a Cosmere aficionado comes with a little bit of extra responsibility. A lot of what makes our tiny corner of the Internet special is Brandon's good grace and willingness to indulge our obsessions - so it is our responsibility to be as polite, understanding, and accommodating as we can. Many of us will have questions we would like answered, and some of us will even go to signings with multiple pages of questions. It is on us to make sure that we don't ask too many and take too much of Brandon's time (or hold the line for too long). If you can stay until the end of the signing, you may be able to participate in a short Q&A dedicated to Sharders and other more hardcore fans - feel free to ask Brandon about whether he can answer a few questions, but be prepared to gracefully accept rejection. The man works way too hard, sometimes he just wants to go back to his hotel and crash, or go catch a flight, or go back to his family. 

The Recorder

Being somebody who records events is much like being a Sharder, only with even more responsibility. If you fancy yourself being one, try to get to the venue where the event will take place a little early (or lots of early, it's your life). If you have professional-grade recording equipment, or plan on recording video, it is good to check in with the venue to make sure that's alright; generally speaking, simply leaving a recorder or a phone on Brandon's table doesn't require any additional prep or explanation, he is quite familiar with our shenanigans by now. If you can, try to hang out somewhat close to the signing table - not only to keep an eye on your recording device (though Brandon will do that for you, making sure it doesn't get knocked off the table, or buried, or anything like that), but to also make sure that you can pause the recording if Brandon asks you to. These days we have the ability to keep "secret WoBs" away from the general public, and Brandon has been mostly good at telling us when he doesn't want something online (he will often speak directly to the recording devices and leave instructions that this answer or that comment shouldn't be released). Still, it doesn't hurt to be close enough to your device, just in case. 

Miscellaneous 

Let's go over a few extra points that don't really fit in a common category too well.

Recording Devices

If you want to record an event but don't already have professional equipment you might be wondering what you can get on a budget. I myself use a Lyker VM-31 I got from Amazon a couple of years back, but it is no longer available. I link it so you can see the 3-star review, and so I can tell you that it's fine. During my earlier signings I was recording with my (Android) phone using Easy Voice Recorder. So if you want to use your phone, it should be okay (though then you won't have it with you when you are talking with other nerds, and you'll miss out on group selfies, so...), just make sure you turn airplane mode on (for battery reasons) and put the phone on silent (so your offline notifications don't vibrate it on the table). This being said, if you do want to purchase a recorder, my two pieces of advice are

1. Do not get anything with analog output.The audio will be hell. USB cables are just fine.
2. Amazon has a number of well-rated digital voice recorders, pick one that fits your budget; or pick one from your local tech store, it doesn't matter very much.

Sharing Questions

This topic comes up pretty much every tour, so I figured I'd address it here. We here, in the 17th Shard, tend to be a little bit on the obsessive side. We want to know more, we ask a lot of questions. Most of the time that's a good thing. Most of the time Brandon is happy his fans obsess over his books. Sometimes some of us go too far though. In our quest of getting more and more answers, some people inevitably arrive at the idea of... utilizing the attendees who don't have questions, kicking around the idea of printing questions and handing them out.

Something like this is extremely bad form. Brandon already doesn't like it when people just grab questions from the Ultimate List; going to him with a question you were handed earlier is much worse. One of the reasons Brandon answers so many questions is because all, or at least most of them are things his fans are personally interested in. It's why some of us maintain our own lists these days. The moment it starts looking like attendees are treating him like a WoB vending machine, he'll clam up, maybe forever. Don't be that guy.

Of course situations where you are asking a question on behalf of a friend or family member who couldn't make it to the event, that's completely fine. 

Private Q&As

Some of you may have seen references to people hanging out with Brandon before or after some events, getting what amounts to a pretty private Q&A (I am a notorious offender here). It is very much worth noting that all of these are initiated by Brandon! It is sometimes okay to ask Brandon if he is going to have time for some extra questions after the signing line (that's what I do, by the way), but it has to be up to him to decide whether he is just going to sit at the table for a bit and answer questions, whether he is going to extend an invitation to some people to grill him while he is signing the venue's stock, or whether he'll just answer stuff as he walks to his car (or whether he just won't have time). As with everything else, accept his answer as is, don't beg, don't chase him around.

[Fezzik]

I am willing to record audio for arcanum. Would I just show up early and leave my phone on the table?

[Mason Wheeler]

@Argent I'll be there with my computer, to record both audio and video.  How would I find you or whoever the appropriate people are to get things set up when I arrive?

[Argent]

8 minutes ago, john203 said:

I am willing to record audio for arcanum. Would I just show up early and leave my phone on the table?

Normally you'd show up early and quickly chat with Brandon when he shows up. Then, once he starts talking, you just begin the recording, leave your phone on his table (remember to put it in airplane mode to preserve battery!), and pick it up when you are leaving.

1 minute ago, Mason Wheeler said:

@Argent I'll be there with my computer, to record both audio and video.  How would I find you or whoever the appropriate people are to get things set up when I arrive?

I am actually not sure how a computer would work... I doubt you can just leave that on the table. I'd flag down the nearest bookstore employee and ask them - I imagine many of them are familiar with Brandon's signings by now.

[Mason Wheeler]

1 minute ago, Argent said:

I am actually not sure how a computer would work... I doubt you can just leave that on the table.

Well I'm not about to use my phone; it would run out of space before the event's over!

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I'd flag down the nearest bookstore employee and ask them - I imagine many of them are familiar with Brandon's signings by now.

OK, thanks.

[Argent]

3 minutes ago, Mason Wheeler said:

Well I'm not about to use my phone; it would run out of space before the event's over!

You might be surprised, actually. I don't have my previous recordings handy right now, but a 3-hour audio file encoded at 256 kbps ends up being about 500 MB - which is a fairly insignificant amount for most smartphones. 

[Mason Wheeler]

4 minutes ago, Argent said:

You might be surprised, actually. I don't have my previous recordings handy right now, but a 3-hour audio file encoded at 256 kbps ends up being about 500 MB - which is a fairly insignificant amount for most smartphones. 

Yeah, that's pretty reasonable for audio. Raw video, on the other hand... my phone takes video at somewhere around 100 MB/minute.  There's no way I'll manage 3+ hours of that!

[Argent]

11 minutes ago, Mason Wheeler said:

Yeah, that's pretty reasonable for audio. Raw video, on the other hand... my phone takes video at somewhere around 100 MB/minute.  There's no way I'll manage 3+ hours of that!

Oh yeah, video won't work. But audio is all we need for Arcanum!

[Fezzik]

I just checked my phone. Good for 230 hours. Now I just have to worry about battery.

[Argent]

3 minutes ago, john203 said:

I just checked my phone. Good for 230 hours. Now I just have to worry about battery.

With airplane mode on, 3 hours of audio barely put a dent in my battery. I've been doing this for a few years, with a few different phones, and I don't think I've ever dropped under 70%.

[Chaos]

If you use a separate recorder that isn't a phone (I do like this) make sure you can get the file off it digitally. We had some Arcanum audio where getting it off the recorder required using the headphone jack and the transition was very messy. 

Lots use phones though; Argent's advice is great. Have any recorder app suggestions @Argent?

[Argent]

15 minutes ago, Chaos said:

Lots use phones though; Argent's advice is great. Have any recorder app suggestions @Argent?

I've used Easy Voice Recorder (for Android) a few times now, and it seems pretty solid.

[Farnsworth]

Unfortunately, my phone died towards the end.  This is all I got! But it looks like others got more!

 

SF_signing.mp3

[Argent]

8 hours ago, Farnsworth said:

Unfortunately, my phone died towards the end.  This is all I got! But it looks like others got more!

 

SF_signing.mp3

Can you either repost this in the appropriate forum thread, or upload your audio directly to Arcanum?

[Farnsworth]

Okay!

[Argent]

I've made some updates to my write-up here, mostly in preparation for the Skyward tour. Mostly fixed up the sentences, renamed "The Arcanist" section to "The Recorder" (to more accurately reflect that we use the term Arcanist for a very specific group of people at the moment), and added some misc notes that have been brewing in my head for a while.