What I Learned on Book Tour (Part 1)
The months-long travel portion of the Flashes of War book tour have ended. I'm shifting toward speaking events that involve other organizations, other authors, or literary connections that are professionally important for me to make. Generally speaking, if I can make the dollars and cents add up for such things, and I can get there on a quick-trip single-day or weekend flight, I'm game! This weekend, catch me on this spectacular panel, Danger Close: Writers on War sponsored by Words After War and moderated by none other than NPR's Quil Lawrence. That's 11/2 at 4pm in Brooklyn. By 11/3, I'll be in Charlotte, NC to read at Park Road Books at 2pm. Please spread the word!
I had the chance to meet with other writers Monday night, catching up on our lives and our current creative projects. It gave me the opportunity to consider some things I've learned from the book tour. When I try to put words to what 4 weeks, 4 flights, 11 events, and 2700 car miles did to me...or what the 16 weeks and 22 events preceding that involved, I get a little dizzy. But if I take a deep breath, very suddenly, a few kernels rise to the top:
I learned that the best moments were when I was in the moment--at a bookstore, at a university, in front of people and engaging with audiences that care. During these events, sometimes only 15 minutes long, other times as long as 2 1/2 hours, I got to learn about how my words landed on people's ears. Their responses always taught me something. From the man who started weeping mid-way during the Q&A in Davis, to the woman who kept looking away in LaGrande, to the college student (also a vet) who nodded at every slang word I threw into my stories, to the mother of an Iraq war vet who came home with several missing limbs...I was so moved to meet these people and share the space with them.
I learned that even though I was frequently asked the same questions in different cities,
I also learned that no matter what, an author must triple check with a bookstore several weeks before his/her arrival, to see that they have ordered the books and included your event in their newsletter/announcements. With several weeks, there's still time to fix any glitches or deal with rush orders. That sounds intuitive, but it's a rule that must be stuck to. Even bookstores that had me scheduled for months and months in advance, and who said they would do their own PR, and who said they had all the book ordering under wraps...still occasionally failed to turn out a crowd and get books in a timely fashion. I'd call a few weeks in advance and find that nothing had been done. Or worse, I'd call a few days in advance because I'd been told everything was taken care of...only to find out that books weren't ordered, calendars weren't updated, etc. It presented some very challenging situations that I tried my best to greet with a smile, although I'll confess to plenty of swearing behind the scenes and more than one sleepless night with a stiff neck and circular thoughts.
More insights about book touring to come, as I can gather my thoughts. Meantime, hope to see you or someone you know at any event this weekend!
I had the chance to meet with other writers Monday night, catching up on our lives and our current creative projects. It gave me the opportunity to consider some things I've learned from the book tour. When I try to put words to what 4 weeks, 4 flights, 11 events, and 2700 car miles did to me...or what the 16 weeks and 22 events preceding that involved, I get a little dizzy. But if I take a deep breath, very suddenly, a few kernels rise to the top:
I learned that the best moments were when I was in the moment--at a bookstore, at a university, in front of people and engaging with audiences that care. During these events, sometimes only 15 minutes long, other times as long as 2 1/2 hours, I got to learn about how my words landed on people's ears. Their responses always taught me something. From the man who started weeping mid-way during the Q&A in Davis, to the woman who kept looking away in LaGrande, to the college student (also a vet) who nodded at every slang word I threw into my stories, to the mother of an Iraq war vet who came home with several missing limbs...I was so moved to meet these people and share the space with them.
I learned that even though I was frequently asked the same questions in different cities,
I also learned that no matter what, an author must triple check with a bookstore several weeks before his/her arrival, to see that they have ordered the books and included your event in their newsletter/announcements. With several weeks, there's still time to fix any glitches or deal with rush orders. That sounds intuitive, but it's a rule that must be stuck to. Even bookstores that had me scheduled for months and months in advance, and who said they would do their own PR, and who said they had all the book ordering under wraps...still occasionally failed to turn out a crowd and get books in a timely fashion. I'd call a few weeks in advance and find that nothing had been done. Or worse, I'd call a few days in advance because I'd been told everything was taken care of...only to find out that books weren't ordered, calendars weren't updated, etc. It presented some very challenging situations that I tried my best to greet with a smile, although I'll confess to plenty of swearing behind the scenes and more than one sleepless night with a stiff neck and circular thoughts.
More insights about book touring to come, as I can gather my thoughts. Meantime, hope to see you or someone you know at any event this weekend!
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