Just as I promised, here is a list of helpful hints to get you all through those long hours of sitting alone in distant bookshops, trying to find that audience that you know has been there waiting for you, hovering around dusty bookshelves, lurking within nearby coffee shops. But first, I want to share with you something I wrote in my journal way back in 1996, way before I had even started writing Tangled Roots, and certainly long before I had any reason to believe that I would ever be going on a book tour at all:
There are two truths I have learned, both essentially optimistic: (1) there’s a buyer for every house, and (2) there’s a reader for every book. The difficulty, of course, is finding them, but it is a tribute to the grand diversity of mankind that they do, indeed, exist.
The dump across the street sold for an astronomical price to a couple who will now gut it and, for another astronomical price, start again. Nevertheless, they feel somehow happier than before…fulfilled.
And so it is with novels. Finishing reading an Anthony Trollope novel always makes me feel as if I’ve been tutored by a loving, wise old uncle. Almost everyone I know, love and respect thinks I’m crazy. But I know I’m not alone.
Therefore, there’s no such thing as a novel that needn’t have been written. The writing has performed some function for the writer, and somewhere, if given the chance, it will work its magic on some reader.
So there.
And now, nearly 15 years later, here are my thoughts after surviving my first book tour.
1. Try to get an early sale while your smile is still fresh. It will sustain you through
the long empty times to come.
2. Don’t be afraid to talk to people. They’re almost always happy to listen to your pitch,
even if they don’t buy a book.
3. Go to the loo right before you start otherwise you’re trapped. It’s hard to sound happy
and enthusiastic if you’re desperately uncomfortable.
4. Be humble and enthusiastic. Really.
5. People-watch and don’t make assumptions. Not all middle-aged women lingering in the fiction
section like literary fiction, though many do. Not all men are afraid of poetry.
6. Make friends with little kids and smile at babies in prams. If nothing else, they’ll at
at least make you laugh.
7. Don’t feel constrained by the schedule. Stay until it feels okay to leave. If there’s a sudden
late influx of shoppers, stay and do a few more pitches. That feeling of “Come on, just one more sale”
creates great adrenaline rushes.
8. Embrace discomfort. The more alone and embarrassed you feel, the more likely you’ll
be to force yourself away from the table and get up and approach that stranger who might just turn
out to be your next reader.
9. Remember: as a writer, it’s not only about sales. It’s also about meeting your readers,
learning about who you are writing for, perfecting your sales pitch, discovering your ability to perform
a sales pitch, and befriending booksellers.
10. And most important of all: don’t take it personally. It’s amazing that you are there at all,
even if you’re only talking to the shopkeeper. Remember how far you’ve come and how last decade’s
dreams have become reality.
Thank you, all. And now let’s see what happens next….
You forgot:
11. Take a good book to read..
And personally, it is never poetry that scares me, its the poetsthat do that.
Glad you survived!
Sue, I can’t tell you how much respect I have for you being able to do that.
Your words Therefore, there’s no such thing as a novel that needn’t have been written. The writing has performed some function for the writer are very wise.
Are you one of life’s performers? I suspect so – because you have a theatrical background. But I almost feel sick on your behalf. I may have to employ someone to be me if I ever get to that stage!
Thank you for the inspirational words. They are the comfort I needed.
I will also remember your book signing tips and hope that one day I will be able to use them.
Kat
Sue, how great that you have those words that you wrote in 1996 to look back on, I’ve never written a journal. Very inspirational. And thanks for your tips, they, I hope, will come in useful for me… I especially like: “People-watch and don’t make assumptions. Not all middle-aged women lingering in the fictionsection like literary fiction, though many do. Not all men are afraid of poetry.”
Excellent advice!
Loved this post Sue!! It must have been great to be able to look back at those words in light of what you’ve just achieved!!
I couldn’t read your list properly on screen. I’m not sure if anyone else has had problems but the end of your sentences disappeared (although it was fine when I clicked on ‘show original post’ here in the comment section)
C x
Thanks for this Sue. I shall print off a copy and take it along with me next year! You know you could write a book with these kinds of tips in it and call it something like ‘Ok so you’re published, here’s what to expect next.’ P.S. I thought no 3 was a very important tip indeed.
I shall remember your tips with heartiness if ever I get to the signing stage!
Eva
I shall remember your tips with heartiness if ever I get to the signing stage!
Eva