Women's Fiction Day Toolkit 2024

2024 Women’s Fiction Day – June 8

Women’s Fiction Day – Member Toolkit

Overview

June 8, 2024, is Women’s Fiction Day. Help us celebrate and honor our fabulous genre. This annual day to celebrate women’s fiction writers and readers is a day to support each other, thank our readers, and raise awareness of our fabulous genre. Last year, NPR reported that women authors now dominate the book business. According to Statista.com in 2023, seventy-eight percent of female respondents stated they had read or listed to at least one book in previous twelve months. In short, women’s fiction is the genre keeping the lights on at many presses.

How to Use the Toolkit

This is intended to serve as a guide for promoting Women’s Fiction Day. You can celebrate online through social media, or in person (safely, of course!), at book signing events, on podcasts, and at Facebook Live Events. The day’s activities are unlimited using your imagination.

What Is Women's Fiction?

Women's fiction is a writing genre that includes layered stories in which the plot is driven by the main character’s emotional journey. The stories can be contemporary or historical and may have magical, mystery, thriller, romance, or other elements.

Ways to Celebrate Women’s Fiction Day

Participate in the annual WFWA Women’s Fiction Day book giveaway. This is a great opportunity to gain readers and build your mailing list.
Attend one of the many book signings held nationwide on June 8.
Subscribe to our free Read ON! Newsletter where you’ll be kept up-to-date on new women’s fiction authors and titles, and promote the newsletter to other writers.
Visit the WFWA Goodreads bookshelf and Pinterest boards to find hundreds of titles.
Download the Hear Us Roar debut authors’ podcast.
Visit your local library and/or indie bookstore to discover new women’s fiction authors and novels. Drop off the prepared flyer found in this toolkit and ask them to post in a prominent location.
Follow WFWA on Twitter: @WF_Writers or Instagram: womensfictionwriters.
On social media, #bookstagram your favorite book and include a photo or stack with #womensfictionday.
Promote Women’s Fiction Day and your books to your local media by using the press release template.
Post the Women’s Fiction Day logo on your website and social media accounts.

About the Women’s Fiction Writers Association (WFWA)

The Women's Fiction Writers Association (WFWA) was founded in 2013 as a professional, nonprofit organization for women’s fiction writers and publishing professionals. With more than 2,000 international members and growing, WFWA is the premier organization for women's fiction. WFWA fosters an online community of inclusion and opportunity, and provides resources, professional development, networking, and support for aspiring, debut, and published women’s fiction authors. Learn more at www.womensfictionwriters.org. Twitter: @WF_Writers, Instagram: womensfictionwriters.

And if you have suggestions for Women’s Fiction Day activities, we’d love to hear them! Email us at [email protected].

Click the links to jump around to various elements of the toolkit.

Logo
Social Media
Press Release
Host an Event

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Press Release

(Feel free to copy and paste it into a Word document to create your press release).

For Immediate Release

Women’s Fiction Writers Association Celebrates Annual Women’s Fiction Day on June 8

Day Promotes Authors and Genre that Consistently Tops Bestseller Charts

March 31, 2024 – The Women’s Fiction Writers Association (WFWA), a nonprofit association of 2000 international members dedicated to supporting authors of women’s fiction, will hold its annual Women’s Fiction Day on June 8.

Women’s Fiction Day celebrates women’s fiction authors, novels, publishers, booksellers, and, most importantly, readers who appreciate women’s fiction and the power of a great story. This year for Women’s Fiction Day, members across the country will hold book signings, podcast interviews, and Live Facebook Events to engage and connect with readers.

“The driving force of women’s fiction is the protagonist’s journey to a more fulfilled self,” said WFWA President Kristi Leonard. “This genre is a wonderfully diverse kaleidoscope of stories and authors that have one thing in common: the indomitable spirit of women. And Women’s Fiction Day celebrates both readers and authors.”

For more information about Women’s Fiction Day, visit https://www.womensfictionwriters.org.

Host a Book Signing

If you’re a published author, a great way to support Women’s Fiction Day is by hosting a book signing in your community.

Tips for Hosting a Book Signing

Where to host one:

Bookstores are a natural fit. In addition to the large chain bookstores, look for indie bookstores. They are always willing to host local authors.
Libraries are also a natural fit and, like indie bookstores, they are eager to support local authors.
Coffee/Tea shops because a warm beverage is the perfect companion to a great book. And, like bookstores, local coffee or tea shops are always eager to support the community.
Wine bars or shops are also great places to have a book signing (because there’s nothing better than settling in with a great book and a glass of wine!).
Consider art centers as well (they might even want to stock copies of your books afterward if they have a gift shop).

How to Ask for a Book Signing

Here are a few tips to make it less scary:

First, be humble when you ask. Chances are a business has never hosted a book signing, and they may think it’s a huge to-do. Many places are still rebuilding staff, so understand that a request may feel overwhelming to them.
That said, come armed with how it will work. Authors can be pretty self-contained. You bring your books, change, credit card reader, etc. All you might need is a table for setup.
Tell them you’ll promote to help drive traffic to their business. Done right, this can be a win-win for you and the business.
Offer to pay a commission. A typical book commission is 10–20%, which can be as simple as tallying at the end of the day. If the shop is a bookstore, let them know if you have the standard bookseller discount and return policy, usually from Ingram.
A typical book signing runs 2–3 hours. Ask the business for their rush hours, but don’t overlap entirely. For example, if their rush is from 3–6, consider having your book signing from 2–4.

The More the Merrier

You don’t have to go it alone. Invite other local WFWA members to join you. Adding other authors only increases the marketing of the signing, plus it’s much more fun to support each other. Find your fellow WFWA members here.

Book Signing Survival Kit

Got your location and some WFWA members booked? Awesome! Here’s a checklist of things you might want to have with you:

Books (silly, but it’s always good to check to make sure you’re stocked well in advance of the signing)
Bookmarks
Change and a credit card reader
Newsletter sign-up list
Pens
Post-it notes (these will be helpful to get the correct spelling of readers’ names)
Your book’s loglines – one or two sentence plot summary

Suggested Timeline

April or May (or before—some bookstores set their schedules weeks in advance):

Reach out to fellow WFWA members in your area
Scout book signing location

Mid-May:

Announce the book signing to your readers, friends, and through your social media channels
Share the news of your upcoming signing with local media

Mid-May through early June:

Promote, promote, promote!

June 8:

Happy Women’s Fiction Day!

Be sure and take lots of photos at your book signing and share on social media using our designated hashtags.
If you participated in a Giveaway on the website, choose a winner and announce it on your social posts using a WF Day logo.
Post on social media using our designated hashtags

Organize a Facebook Live Event or reach out to podcasters to entice them to interview you. WFWA members have Group Facebook pages and are podcasters. They may be your best bet to promote our writers and events.

Pre-published Authors:

Are you a pre-published author? Awesome! There are some great tips below on organizing local events as well.

Women’s Fiction Day is about celebrating all women’s fiction authors, no matter where they are on their journey. Here are a few ways to connect with women’s fiction authors in your community and celebrate.

Organize a write-in or a critique group
Invite an expert to speak with a group of local women’s fiction authors
Connect and have coffee, because there is nothing better than spending time with our community
Offer to take Women’s Fiction Day signage to bookstores to introduce yourself and make a connection. This will be valuable to you in the future when you have a book to promote.

Book Store Engagement

Some markets around the country are seeing a resurgence of bookstores, especially indie or local bookstores. This is really exciting and offers an opportunity to connect with the bookstore managers or owners to share the initiative around Women’s Fiction Day.

If you’re not already reaching out to host a book signing, reach out to your local bookstores about a special Women’s Fiction display, or even just sharing the flyer below around the store.

You can download the flyer here.

Womens Fiction Day Flyer