Buzz, Balls & Hype : Book Tour Tool Kit Advice #6 - From Megan Underwood Beatie

Today Megan Underwood Beatie with Goldberg McDuffie gives her invaluable advice. Keep coming back for Tool Kit advice from David Morrell, Tess Gerritsen, & N.M. Kelby

The author tour is expensive (flights, cars, meals, hotels) and often yields very little publicity and small audience turn-outs at bookstore events. So, many publishers opt not to send their authors on tour, unless the author has an established body of work and a large following of fans. And for the author, flying to a city, staying all day in the hotel room, just to go to a book signing at which three people turn up, is demoralizing and a waste of time.

However, I think any author, no matter how unknown, can do at least a small author tour and make the most of it. Here are my advice and thoughts:

1. Go to a city where you know people (who know people). Do outreach to specialty groups who might have a interest in your book. For example, a Sherlock Holmes expert on tour did outreach to the local Sherlockian organizations in each city. A Hawaiian novelist who recently toured contacted the Pacific Islander groups in each city she visited.

2. Your book is has a better chance (but no guarantee) of getting reviewed in the local paper if you visit its city. And the paper will list your signing details with the review if they run something. It may not get anyone to your signing, but you’ve reached a lot of readers who may go out and buy your book on their own time.

3. You have a chance (as opposed to no) at being interviewed by the local paper if you visit its city. I once sent an author to do an event in Memphis because the book editor at the Memphis Commercial Appeal said he’d interview her if she appeared in town.

4. Doing an event in a city gives you the opportunity to try for local radio and tv interviews. Local publicity is hard to secure, but some markets have more responsive local media than others.

5. Most bookstores promote their events with signs in front and window displays at least two weeks prior. Your book is getting all that exposure to everyone going into the store. Again, they may not come to your event, but it’s a way of building awareness of your book.

6. You get to meet the booksellers in person. Even if no one turns out to your event, be gracious and friendly with the staff. Personal connections are invaluable. They’ll remember you if you’re nice, and they’ll definitely remember you if you’re nasty.

7. Stock signings. If you go to a city and have time on your hands, go visit the bookstores. Sign their stock copies. They’ll put stickers (which are eye-catching) on the books and often display them more prominently in the store.

8. Make connections with other authors you meet, in green rooms and bookstores. Find out what works for them and what doesn’t. I worked with an author who met a much more famous author on tour, they clicked and started doing events together. My author got the benefit of the more famous author’s big turn-outs.

Try not to get depressed about low attendance at your events. Even if you do appear on the local tv morning show, do radio interviews, and are featured in the paper, people may not show up. They don’t need to see you in person and probably won’t want to unless you’re a marquis name, or have a long-standing reputation with your readers. But, if you’re engaging and interesting and really sell your book, hopefully they’ll buy it.

Buzz, Balls & Hype

Because there are over 750,000 self-pubbed and 250,000 books published a year and they won't all get reviews in the NYTBR. Authored by M.J. Rose

February 09, 2006

Book Tour Tool Kit Advice #6 - From Megan Underwood Beatie - a top publicist

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