Author tours...............listen to your publicist!

In the Huffington Post, Melanie Benjamin reflected on author tours, especially the difference between the one she put together herself several years ago and the one she starts on today for Alice I Have Been, now out in paperback:

"There's a world of difference. ... And when you're fortunate enough to have written a book that people have actually heard of, well--there's an entire universe of difference.

"My publisher, smartly, builds my bookstore appearances around ticketed events; literary foundations, museums, with lecture series who invite me to appear. These events come with some ready-made publicity, as well as ready-made audiences.

"I've also learned to listen to my publisher. When a bookstore contacts me personally about an appearance, I pass the request on to my publicist. Only once did I ignore her advice and do an event anyway.

"Only the janitor showed up."

From http://www.shelf-awareness.com/, January 10