Selling Books at the Dentist

It’s been a long time since I went to the dentist. See, my mom is in the dental field and I always went to her job, but when she moved far away…well, yeah.

Today I go, a little embarrassed, and have a sweet conversation with the assistant.

She asked where I worked. I mentioned my desk job and then threw in, I’m an author.

“Like published?”

“Yes.”

I’m always amazed at how excited people are when I say that. There’s a lot of. “Oh, my God, really? That’s so cool!” and a lot of “I always wanted to write a book.”

Our conversation led to her telling me I HAD to talk to the hygienist.

Next room.

Hygienist: “Tell me about this book!”

Me: “Uhh, it’s a YA fantasy.”

We chatted about the book, she chatted about her love of everything Kindle and her dislike of FIFTY SHADES OF GREY.

And then she saw the state of my mouth.

Insert most awkward/embarrassing moment EVER.

I’m sure I’m overreacting, and she didn’t seem to mind. She continued talking about her favorite books while cleaning away. At the end of the visit, I had made two new readers and walked away with a sore but squeaky clean mouth.

The point is, all this started by me being friendly with the assistant and bringing up my author status. I’m not suggesting you go around promoting to everyone, but when the opportunity arises, TAKE IT!

So fellow authors, any awkward reader moments in your travels?