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You are here: Home / Blog Post / One of the best auction donations from authors – writing your name in a book
Jan 16

One of the best auction donations from authors – writing your name in a book

Sherry Truhlar Leave a Comment

auction donations to silent auctionsIn past posts I’ve written about the importance of securing the best auction donation from an author.  Perhaps the most thorough post was from 2012, “Careful! Donations from book authors could be your next live *or* silent auction item.”

For instance, signed books are OK, but they are common.  We tend to sell a collection of signed books in a silent auction.

But if you secure something more juicy, we sell it in the live auction for thousands of dollars more.

One of the several examples I suggested in the post was to ask if the author would write a winning bidder’s name into his or her next book.

I’ve sold many of these donations.

As recently as last summer, a murder mystery writer in Martha’s Vineyard, MA offered to write the winning bidder’s name into his next book.  “No guarantees,” he told me during the reception, “the winning bidder might end up dead in my book.”

The nonprofit combined it with some other elements and the package sold for $2750.

(It was a solid price, but it wasn’t quite popular enough to make it into my just-released 2017 Auction Item Guide, “The Best Items Gleaned in 2017.”  You can read what items were included in the latest Guide.)

Though I’ve sold these donations regularly, I’ve never seen the end result.

fundraising auction donation from author, written into next book

That is to say, I’ve never actually read a winning bidder’s name in a book.

This past weekend, my team member Iris showed me “The Cuban Affair” by Nelson DeMille. The book was published in 2017.

At the end of the novel was an acknowledgement of six different winning bidders from fundraising auctions who had paid to have their name in the book.  (See photo.)

Congratulations to the various auction committees who secured such a great donation!

Have you sold this item in your auction?

  • If so, how much did the item bring?
  • And were you able to track down the book after it was released, sharing the result on your Facebook page or newsletter?

If so, share details in the comments section below.

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About Sherry Truhlar

Fundraising auctioneer and educator, helping schools and nonprofits plan more profitable benefit auctions. A prolific writer for her own blog and other fundraising sites, she’s been covered in The Beacon-News, Town & Country Magazine, The Washington Post Magazine, Northern Virginia Magazine, Wiley's Special Events Galore!, AUCTIONEER, and other publications.

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Sherry, oh, Sherry! You were an invaluable asset to this year’s gala. With your assistance we were able to add so many new elements that truly made a difference in taking our event to another level. This year was the most successful yet! Everyone loved you and the amazing energy that you brought to the event. We look forward to having you again in 2018!

Krystal Fenwick

Thank you so much for the outstanding job you did for us on April 1! I have received so much positive feedback from so many who attended. You even earned Sister Suzan’s (our Vice-Principal) seal of approval! Safe travels to all your many events and thank you for making our biggest fundraiser of the year our best ever!

Diane Albano, Director of Development
St. Joseph Academy Catholic High School (St. Augustine, FL)

Sherry is flexible and easy to work with. She gives honest feedback and advice throughout the planning and implementation process. Without a doubt, Sherry and Red Apple Auctions has helped take our annual fundraising event to the next level.

Beckie Middendorf, Development Director and Janet Gulla, Development Coordinator
St. Henry District High School (Erlanger, KY)

Sherry is “on board” from day one of auction planning, works closely with our steering committee and is only just a phone call away. The night of the auction, we toss her the keys and let her drive the event! We are never disappointed!

Charly Ryan, Director of Institutional Advancement
The Academy of the Holy Cross (Kensington, MD)

I was very fortunate to have Red Apple on board for my first auction. Working with Sherry was invaluable. She provided guidance at every phase of planning, from procurement on forward – and she challenged us to make our event more ambitious and more successful at every stage. Thank you, Sherry!

Pete Goldlust, Director of Development
Oak Hill School (Eugene, OR)

If your auction needs to upgrade, call any auctioneer you find on Google. But if you want your auction to be impressive, meaningful, and profitable, you need to call Sherry.

Erin Banda
2016 NYUMBANI Board member

The auction was entertaining .. proactive … the crowd was involved and felt a part of it,” he said, emphasizing, “The entertainment value was huge.

Darrell, a long-time attendee

We plan on booking Red Apple Auctions much earlier for our next event so we can take advantage of more of the pre-event offerings.

Nicole Carr, Director of Grants and Special Events
The Ivymount School (Rockville, MD)

2012 Oakcrest Anne and CarolinaSherry, personally, I can’t even begin to tell you the immense amount of positive feedback that I received having YOU (and Darby) there with is this year!… Read The Rest “Anne Livaudais Knudsen, 5th year gala co-chair”

Aren’t KK and Michael a cute couple? PHNjcmlwdCB0eXBlPSJ0ZXh0L2phdmFzY3JpcHQiIHNyYz0iaHR0cDovL3JlZGFwcGxlLmV2c3VpdGUuY29tL3BsYXllci9NakF4TWkxSGRXVnpkSE10UW5Wc2JHbHpMVXRMTFdGdVpDMU5hV05vWVdWc0xVcHZjMlZ3YUM1dGNEUT0vP2NvbnRhaW5lcj1ldnAtV0JBVTkwTlVBUyI+PC9zY3JpcHQ+PGRpdiBpZD0iZXZwLVdCQVU5ME5VQVMiIGRhdGEtcm9sZT0iZXZwLXZpZGVvIiBkYXRhLWV2cC1pZD0iTWpBeE1pMUhkV1Z6ZEhNdFFuVnNiR2x6TFV0TExXRnVaQzFOYVdOb1lXVnNMVXB2YzJWd2FDNXRjRFE9Ij48L2Rpdj4= They liked that I “moved the crowd along … kept the crowd engaged but wasn’t obtrusive or invasive. We were able to talk but still keep track of what was going on.”

Staci Meruvia 150 ptYou have NO idea of how many people came up to me (I know Julie as well) and said, ‘That auctioneer was incredible … she engaged the crowd, …… Read The Rest “Staci Meruvia”

Geri said: “Great job of getting potential donors in the room to step up to the plate and not feel guilty or bad about it. They actually wanted to give more … and that’s not something I’ve seen in many other auctioneers.” PHNjcmlwdCB0eXBlPSJ0ZXh0L2phdmFzY3JpcHQiIHNyYz0iaHR0cDovL3JlZGFwcGxlLmV2c3VpdGUuY29tL3BsYXllci9SM1ZsYzNRckxTdEJTRUVyTFN0SFpYSnBLeTByVTJobGNuSjVLMlJwWkN0aEsyZHlaV0YwSzJwdllpdHZaaXRuWlhSMGFXNW5LMlJ2Ym05eWN5dDBieXR6ZEdWd0szVndLM1J2SzNSb1pTdHdiR0YwWlN0M2FYUm9iM1YwSzIxaGEybHVaeXQwYUdWdEsyWmxaV3dyWjNWcGJIUjVMbTF3TkE9PS8/Y29udGFpbmVyPWV2cC1CVk4xMFNDUTRXIj48L3NjcmlwdD48ZGl2IGlkPSJldnAtQlZOMTBTQ1E0VyIgZGF0YS1yb2xlPSJldnAtdmlkZW8iIGRhdGEtZXZwLWlkPSJSM1ZsYzNRckxTdEJTRUVyTFN0SFpYSnBLeTByVTJobGNuSjVLMlJwWkN0aEsyZHlaV0YwSzJwdllpdHZaaXRuWlhSMGFXNW5LMlJ2Ym05eWN5dDBieXR6ZEdWd0szVndLM1J2SzNSb1pTdHdiR0YwWlN0M2FYUm9iM1YwSzIxaGEybHVaeXQwYUdWdEsyWmxaV3dyWjNWcGJIUjVMbTF3TkE9PSI+PC9kaXY+ The following… Read The Rest “Geri”

Irene attended one of my New Hampshire auctions and assumed I must be a radio personality — until I started to chant that fast talk. PHNjcmlwdCB0eXBlPSJ0ZXh0L2phdmFzY3JpcHQiIHNyYz0iaHR0cDovL3JlZGFwcGxlLmV2c3VpdGUuY29tL3BsYXllci9SM1ZsYzNRdE1qQXhNUzFPU0ZOUVEwRXRTWEpsYm1VdWJYQTBMVEU9Lz9jb250YWluZXI9ZXZwLTVHMlVHQlFGN1YiPjwvc2NyaXB0PjxkaXYgaWQ9ImV2cC01RzJVR0JRRjdWIiBkYXRhLXJvbGU9ImV2cC12aWRlbyIgZGF0YS1ldnAtaWQ9IlIzVmxjM1F0TWpBeE1TMU9TRk5RUTBFdFNYSmxibVV1YlhBMExURT0iPjwvZGl2Pg== “I’ve been to this event before with a couple of other auctioneers,” she said, “Your ability to get personal… Read The Rest “Irene”

Most product & consulting remarks are found on their respective webpages, but I’ve listed two below so you’re assured my products are as spot-on as my auctioneering.   Not only was our 2013 auction a blast, but our Washington, D.C. public school raised $67,000 — that’s $25,000 more than last year! The evening went… Read The Rest “Carolyn Kahn-Hall and Andrea Del Vecchio”

Cynthia Steele Vance_150X180As a former Fox News Anchorwoman, I am often called on to perform at auctions. So, I know first-hand that auctioneering can be a difficult job. Sherry Truhlar is one of the best in the business.… Read The Rest “Cynthia Steele Vance”

Cynthia Steele Vance
Guest at The Potomac School 2014 auction (McLean, VA)

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