At least everyone who waited patiently got their stuff signed. The signing experiences at other stores were far more draconian. On top of that, it was free. I got more than what I paid for so, despite the heat and not so fresh odors that some peers/fans brought, it was worthwhile to me.
Even with research, I doubt there was much the book store do on the fly to improve the situation. Like alot of other buildings in Cambridge, it's old, spacing's tight, and moving shelves would've resulted in safety violations. I don't know how these are organized exactly, but off the top of my head, I can't think of any bookstores in the Boston metropolitan area that are located better, would not have charged visitors, and have enough space to comfortably seat 300+ people.
I had despaired of Jim ever going anywhere further north than NYC, so I am happy I got to see him and get books signed, regardless of the venue. I think the signing was a success. Any issues I have are from the perspective of a former operations manager of a large metropolitan bookstore. We had signings all the time for authors of all genres. Big or small, it's all about the 7 'P's.
I am not familiar with stores in the Boston area... so I have no idea about the availability and quality of venues. I don't know what sort of information the store had when this was scheduled, but I would expect Penguin/Roc would schedule these things
after making sure the venue is appropriate AND to give the stores accurate and appropriate info as part of accepting the booking. "Just FYI, his events have been consistently drawing at least a few hundred fans. We suggest planning for at least 250 people." (Or something like that.) Jim is a NYT bestselling author. His popularity shouldn't be taking anyone by surprise at this point in his career.
I wouldn't expect them to change plans the night of the event. However, given attendance at signings the last few years it wouldn't be unreasonable to expect a fair size crowd and plan accordingly (again, I feel this ball was dropped by people higher up than the folks at the Coop.) That might mean finding a venue that isn't necessarily at the store or at least a little pre-planning for a couple scenarios. (I had to ask staff where the signing was going to happen, since there wasn't any obvious signage in the store. That indicates to me they really had no idea what they were getting into. The place is surrounded by various institutions of higher learning- surely there was a place that would fit a few hundred people, is within walking distance of the campus bookstore, has already met the requirements of NFPA 101, have good acoustics and is already designed for a lot of people listening to a 'lecture' and then talking to the speaker afterward...) *ponders*
(I will not get into safety things. Other than not have so many people in such a small space, I saw a few code violations before I even got to the third floor!)
Not being required to purchase a book was excellent, considering that most other places do want you to buy something before you can get anything signed, get a ticket or both. I was prepared to have to buy something, and I got a HC of GS, which was then signed with 2 books I brought with me. It was awesome.
I just wanted to put the info out there for anyone who wanted to pre-plan for themselves.
