19 October

Inside a book tour/NPR

by Jon Katz
NPR/Cincinnati

Izzy was back to his old self mostly today, relaxed and easy. He was hurting a good bit earlier in the week, I think. Bandages are al off for the moment. Book tours are intense. We got up at 6, walked Izzy, ate and headed for Cincinnati. Kathy, the media escort, met us there and took us to several stores to sign stocks of books, and to several radio stations. We just got dropped off back at the hotel for an hour or so. We will rest, then walk around then get picked up again for dinner and to go to the bookstore.

Publishers try to arrange book tours so that writers go on TV and radio to promote the bookstore events. They look carefully at book sales to see if the tours are worth it, and the book stores report back on how readings went. Publishers are getting more selective about book tours and I think it is worth rethinking them. I’m arranging several different kinds of events on my own, using my dog, my camera, my Ipad, my truck and Facebook. It’s a lot of stuff to haul around. I feel good about it so far. Escorts are key to tours like this. They know their way around, get some food when you are hungry, tea when your voice goes, Excedrin when I have a headache.

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