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By David L. Kuzminski
Secondly, remember that is a loose set of guidelines. These guidelines are not etched in stone. Be prepared to negotiate whenever necessary.
Travel:
If you are local to the retailer, it's your responsibility to arrange for your own transportation.
If you are not local, then new circumstances should be considered. Did you receive an invitation? It makes a difference.
If you were invited, then the retailer should be willing to pay for some or all of your travel arrangements unless you were on tour and available for such promotions or asked for an invitation. Under those alternate circumstances, travel becomes your responsibility because you were already on tour, though the retailer might arrange to pick you up and return you to your room if you're staying overnight in his locale. However, if you asked to attend, then it's definitely your responsibility because the retailer is now accommodating you.
Overnight stays:
If you were invited and an overnight stay is necessary to accommodate that merchant, then those reservations and expenses will ordinarily be the retailer's responsibility unless otherwise agreed. You have a return responsibility to remain within the budget the merchant has made available. If you do not, then the overage is yours to pay.
For events you requested to participate within, your expenses remain your responsibility.
Advertising:
When the retailer invites you, it's always the retailer's responsibility to advertise your presence for signings or readings. The merchant is the one who stands to profit by your presence, so it's the retailer's responsibility to pay for advertising the event.
On the other hand, advertising costs for events held at your request may fall entirely on your shoulders unless the retailer is willing to share in the expense. While you may provide some undated posters for display by the retailer should the event be held at your request, those should be returned to you for reuse.
Meals:
This will depend upon circumstances. Certainly, when an invited event encroaches upon any normal mealtime hour, then it should fall upon the retailer's shoulders to provide something. In some instances, where the invited event is held within an eatery, an agreement should be reached beforehand as to whether the merchant will provide a meal. After all, it might not look good for the merchant if you left to go elsewhere to eat.
On the other hand, if you asked for the event to take place, you should not expect the merchant to provide a free meal. Instead, you should be prepared to eat at the merchant's establishment and pay for your meal. However, if you do eat elsewhere, you should make an effort to slip out in a manner that doesn't humiliate or embarrass the merchant.
Event supplies:
For authors, typical supplies will consist of the reading material that's being promoted. Generally, it's the retailers responsibility to have enough units on hand to sell based upon how well your works sell in the market. However, when the author asks to have a signing, this is frequently no longer true because of numerous variables. This is frequently the case when the author is unknown or there are special factors involved in acquiring enough units for sale. This is especially true when the event is not at a bookstore. Under such circumstances, it may frequently, if not always, be the author's responsibility to have enough units on hand.
As to other supplies, such as free items to give away as an additional promotional draw, those are dependent upon what promotional message is upon those items. If the message promotes the author, then the expense and responsibility for providing those falls to the author. If the message promotes the retailer, then it's the retailers responsibility and expense. Likewise, each is responsible for having their own items on hand when needed.
Canceled events:
When the retailer cancels the event, you do not become liable for his expenses. After all, the retailer is the one responsible for canceling the event.
However, when you cancel an event, you can become liable for expenses. Your failure to show can place the burden of any expenses by the retailer for that event upon your shoulders, especially should you have been the only draw for that event. Of course, canceling your presence may not make you liable if there were other participants and the event took place as scheduled. Still, such cancellations should be made with extreme caution.
Suggestions and Addendums:
Any writers who wish to add to this set of guidelines should email P&E with their suggestions. Useable suggestions will be added with proper attribution unless otherwise requested.