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Tours
What
happens when I do a book-tour is that the publicist
will talk to all of the sales reps and ask them where
they think I'd be particularly well received, and/or
which stores they'd get major brownie-points from
for producing me. [g] Then they set up the itinerary,
and start booking media interviews in whatever cities
they have planned. So if you want me to come to your
city, the thing to do is talk to the manager of the
biggest bookstore (or of several bookstores!) in the
place and have them talk to the sales reps. Bear in
mind that I only do tours when I have a new book out.
[g] Other than that, I do come to do conferences,
Highland Games, or other special events in various
places, and if I'm going to be in a place anyway,
the publicist will usually schedule some bookstore
appearances, too, though.
Now,
just to be clear about this:
1.
I don't pick the places I go on book-tours. The publisher(s)
do-which seems only fair, as they're paying for it.
2.
Said publishers use various criteria for deciding
exactly where to send an author on tour. These criteria
include (but are not limited to):
a. cities where the author's books are known to
sell best or are likely to sell best, geographically
(an author who writes Christian inspirational books,
for instance, is a lot more likely to be sent to
Bible Belt cities than to Sodom and Gomorrah---er,
San Francisco and New York, I mean. Whereas a writer
who specializes in gay and lesbian lit…well,
they're probably not going to Birmingham or Savannah).
b. Specific stores that
i. have a track-record of holding good events
(that means "doing enough publicity to attract
large hordes of book-buying people"), and
ii. report their sales to the New York Times.
(This is how the NYT does its bestseller
list-using a weighted formula on reported sales
from a sample of selected bookstores. For awhile,
publishers made a pretense of not knowing which
stores reported to the Times list, but
I think they've largely given that up.) Since
a publisher's chief reason for sending an author
on tour is to try to get the book on Da List (or
boost it a trifle higher on said list), they won't-as
a general rule-be inclined to send authors to
stores who don't report to the NYT, though of
course they have no objection to my racing into
any handy store to sign books, as long as I'm
in the neighborhood.
Doing
a book-tour therefore does not mean-as some people
seem to assume-that I just "tour" randomally
all the time and will go absolutely anywhere (I do
have to stay home and write sometimes). I do go a
lot of places, though, and for this September, the
rough lineup so far is as follows.
Although
Diana is not currently on tour, she does have some
upcoming events.
July
19 - Arizona
Highland Festival
Foxglenn Park, 4200 East Butler Avenue, Flagstaff,
AZ 86004
I
imagine I’ll be doing a talk and readings,
and will certainly be signing books. No specific
times as yet, but I’m usually there between
about 10 AM and 4 PM.
July
25-27 - CONestoga
I’ll
be Guest of Honor at this sf con in Tulsa, OK, and
very honored indeed to be asked! No times or details
of offsite signings yet, but I’ll add those
as available. For details, see the website.
A Short Guide to Book Tours
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