Guide to Tours

OK, tours. Now, a book tour is a sequence of engagements, organized by the publisher of a book, and engineered (usually) for the specific purpose of publicizing and promoting the release of a particular new book.

On a book tour, an author typically will visit a number of cities (one day per city, usually; sometimes two cities per day), and in each city, will a) visit bookstores to sign books and (sometimes) do readings, b) dine with sales reps and bookbuyers from the area, c) do "drop-in" signings (this is where you just pull up to a bookstore, dart in, say hello, and sign all their stock. Since you aren't staying long enough to talk or do personal signings--and you can't always predict when you'll get there--these "drop-ins" aren't publicized, and d) speak at public libraries, literary festivals, or other literary venues, and e) do as many interviews with radio, TV, and print media as the publicist can possibly cram into the schedule.

In other words, book tours are Very, Very Busy. Normally (ha! As though there is such a thing), you get up at 4 or 5 AM to catch a flight, hit the ground running, and do not get back to your hotel room 'til 10 or 11 PM--at which time, you look at your schedule, see what time you have to get up the -next- day...and set your alarm for 3 AM, so you'll have time to shower and pack before heading for the airport.

This is why, while the numerous kind offers of hospitality, sight-seeing, room-and-board, etc. around the country are certainly deeply appreciated, they aren't really feasible. The publisher arranges hotels, airport pickups, etc. for me--with a schedule like that, they aren't taking any chances on letting me wander around by myself. (And no, they really wouldn't take kindly to suggestions that they leave me in such-and-such a place for a few extra days, in order to see the sights and visit friends--since the purpose of a book tour is to publicize a new book, they want the author to cover as much ground as possible, as quickly as possible, while the book still is new.)

Normally, an author has an escort for a book tour; either a publicist who works with the publishing company accompanies the author, or (more frequently) a freelance publicist will be hired in each city on the tour. These escorts take care of getting an author where he or she is supposed to be--on time, with luck and good traffic lights.

People often ask how they can get me to come to their part of the country, or why my announced tour doesn't come to their part of the country, or why don't I alter "my plans" (ha, as though I had anything to do with it!) to come to their town.

Well, this is how it works. I don't choose the itinerary for a book tour. The publicist in charge of my books sets the itinerary, after consulting with the publisher's sales reps.

Sales reps are the people who go out to bookstores and tell the book-sellers what's new and interesting in their publishers' new lists. Since book-sellers theoretically know what sells best in their stores, they can tell the sales reps whether Author A would likely be well received (if a publisher is paying thousands of dollars to schlep an author around they country, they'd prefer said author not to spend hours sitting in an empty store).

Now, if lots of book-sellers want Author A, then the publicist has to make decisions about where best to send him/her. If the book has a particular tie-in with some region, it makes sense to send the author to that region, because it will be easier to get local media to do interviews and publicity (e.g., the publisher sent me to Cary, North Carolina, as part of the Drums tour, because the book is set largely in NC, and many people who live there are descended from the Scottish settlers described in the book. Not at all coincidentally, we had the biggest crowds of the entire tour there--some five hundred people, all festooned with plaid and sporting grouse feathers and sprigs of heather).

Some decisions are made from the point of view of travel convenience--that is, if Author A is going to Seattle, it may make more sense to send him/her to LA, than to Dallas. And some decisions, frankly, seem to be made by consulting a Ouija board. Still, ours not to argue why...

Anyway, if you happen to have a strong interest in having a specific author come to your neck of the woods, what you should do is enlist the help of your largest local bookseller--particularly independent booksellers, but also chain stores. Get the bookseller to request said author from the regional sales rep.

You may also--if you can think of any local publicity opportunities (such as Highland Games, local writers festivals, etc.) that may be occurring near the time of an upcoming tour--write directly to the publicity department, c/o the publisher, and formally invite the author to take part in the festivities.

Hokay. So if you have any objections to the following, don't blame me. {g}

Book tours happen only when a new book (or new edition, such as the paperback) are released. (Bear in mind that foreign publishers also occasionally want an author to come and tour, when a foreign edition is released.

However, a fairly popular author will get a lot of requests for other appearances--at conferences, for library programs, to participate in special events (like Highland Games), to speak at sales conf publisher's publicist will call with a particular invitation that they think might be especially interesting or useful.

Not to sound grossly immodest, but if I accepted all the invitations of this kind that I get, I would be on the road at least two-thirds of the time, and it would take me three times as long as it does, to get a book written. I would also be divorced. Consequently, I don't accept them all.

I do try to do appearances at public libraries whenever possible, and there are two or three writers conferences that I've been a regular guest at for years--I normally do those, assuming that time permits. Anything else pretty much has to be judged on an individual basis--am I booked anywhere else, will I have been traveling too much already, is it a complicated or distant trip (meaning I'd have to stay away from home longer), is the inviter paying travel expenses, etc.

OK. I like going places and speaking to people. I also enjoy travel. However, gadding around the country has to be balanced against things like family and work. So I normally try not to travel more than once a month--outside of book tours--and not to be away from home for more than a couple of days.

Some decisions are made from the point of view of travel convenience--that is, if Author A is going to Seattle, it may make more sense to send him/her to LA, than to Dallas. And some decisions, frankly, seem to be made by consulting a Ouija board. Still, ours not to argue why...

Anyway, if you happen to have a strong interest in having a specific author come to your neck of the woods, what you should do is enlist the help of your largest local bookseller--particularly independent booksellers, but also chain stores. Get the bookseller to request said author from the regional sales rep.

You may also--if you can think of any local publicity opportunities (such as Highland Games, local writers festivals, etc.) that may be occurring near the time of an upcoming tour--write directly to the publicity department, c/o the publisher, and formally invite the author to take part in the festivities.

Hokay. So if you have any objections to the following, don't blame me. {g}