What would YOU do?
I was in Dublin airport recently, and while I waited for my plane, I browsed in the bookshop. After a while, the only other customer, an Austrian tourist, approached and asked me a simple question.
‘Do you happen to know a little about Irish children’s books?’
As an Irish children’s author, this was a no-brainer and I told her I did in fact know ‘a little’ about Irish children’s books. She then asked me to help her to select a book suitable for her grand-daughter.
I had lots of time, and I love choosing books, so this was looking like a good way to spend a few minutes. Then, however, things got a bit more complicated, as the woman had very specific requirements. She wanted - a book suitable for a ten-year-old, set in modern Ireland, with a few pictures, but not too many, it had to be funny and it couldn’t involve vampires or angels or dating or death or dying.
I could think of a number of excellent books that may have suited, but of the selection in front of me, there was only one possible contender – and that’s where the dilemma lay. The only suitable book on the shelf was ‘Alice Next Door’ by……(ahem)……me.
As far as I could see it, these were my options. I could:
1. Offer the woman a book that didn’t really come close to what she was looking for. (Very unhelpful.)
2. Offer her Alice Next Door, and leg it before she opened it and saw the author photo on the inside cover. (Helpful but a bit deceitful.)
3. Offer her Alice Next Door and casually point out that as well as being a very helpful random shopper, I also happened to be the book’s author. (Helpful but potentially embarrassing, maybe triggering Austrian travel-horror stories of Irish book shops populated by pushy self-serving authors.)
So what would you do?
I’d have told her. You should be proud of the fact that your book was just what she was after
(I would probably have then made a swift exit).
you could have signed it as well, then at least its a signed copy of your book, then leg it!..it’s not your fault that the airport shop has a limited stock!
I’d choose option 3.
I’d then smile as I said I was the writer, as the person looked at the picture inside it and, well, it would’ve been fun!
Ooh, that IS tricky! I think I would have signed it, and revealed all! What did you do in the end? xx
Confession time: I actually went for option 3. Luckily, the woman seemed impressed rather than intimidated. I was debating whether I should offer to sign the book, when she asked me to do exactly that. I saw her later when I was walking to my boarding gate, and she gave me a big friendly wave – result, I think!
Yay!
YAY! Go you!
tell her
I am glad you went for option 3, as a buyer, I would have been delighted to meet the author in person, and asked for it to be signed!