Debut author bummed by her book event learns she's far from alone

Publishing a book means making yourself incredibly vulnerable to the world at large.

So when debut author Chelsea Banning saw that almost forty people had RSVP'd to her book signing, she was thrilled ...

... but only two people followed through and showed up.

Banning admitted to her frustration, disappointment, and embarrassment on Twitter, with the sole expectation being that she'd feel a little better for venting.

Instead, notes NPR, other authors shared their own stories of depressing — or flat-out weird — book-signing events.

They included such notable names as Neil Gaiman, Margaret Atwood, Jodi Picoult, Joanne Harris, Min Jin Lee, Cheryl Strayed, and Stephen King.

And other celebrities chimed in with support, including rapper Flavor Flav and singer Shaun Cassidy.

Banning was wowed by — and grateful for — the response ... and used the surprise success of her tweet to talk up some of her fellow authors.

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