Dana Kaye
They say you can’t really know a person until you walk a mile in their shoes, and this week, I’m walking a few hundred miles in those of my client, Robin Burcell. The California author has come to the Midwest to promote her latest novel, THE BONE CHAMBER, and I am joining her on the road. Four cities in four days, 4:00am wake up calls, 2-hour drives, and dozens of bookstores. Jealous?
The book tour is something I believe every author has to do to be successful. Anyone who doesn’t believe me has never done a signing. Until you connect with booksellers, you are just another name on the shelf, undistinguishable amongst the hundred others surrounding yours. But book signings cause the bookseller to take notice, pull your book off the shelf, read it, and recommend it to their customers. Also, most bookstores carry only two or three copies of your book; they’ll order more if they know you’re coming in for a signing.
So, if signings are so amazing, why doesn’t every author head out on a three-week tour? In my experience, there are two reasons: time and money.
By the time one book comes out, most authors are working on their next book and don’t want to stop for touring. There are also factors such as family and day jobs. Spending time on the road can be time consuming, but even a few local signings or one trip out to a key independent bookstore is worth it. Plus, hotel rooms and airports are great places to write!
The other factor is money. Planes, trains and automobiles can add up after a few cities. The book sales on the day of your signing won’t even come close to covering your travel expenses. But you’re not touring for the immediate payoff; you’re doing it for the snowball effect.
Say you sell 8 books at one signing and everyone who bought the book loves it (Why wouldn’t they? You’re amazing!) They recommend it to 2 of their friends or write a great review on Amazon or purchase your entire back list. The bookseller loves the book so she recommends it to her customers or places it as a staff pick. By the end of the year, you can easily make back your expenses.
Books don’t sell themselves; people do. I believe in order to have a successful career as a novelist, it is necessary to connect with those people. Any objections?
