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PowellsBooks.Blog
Authors, readers, critics, media − and booksellers.

Guests

Book Tours: Not Dead Yet

by Rebecca Skloot, March 29, 2010 9:42 AM
I'm ecstatic to be guest blogging at Powells.com this week for many reasons, but top on the list is that it's a homecoming: I grew up in Portland and went to high school not far from Powell's (well... more accurately, I didn't go to high school there: I often skipped classes and spent hours hanging out in the aisles and coffee shop at Powell's with my friends... but more on that in a later post).

Today, I write this post sitting in a coffee shop in Atlanta, exactly two months into the crazy four-month-long book tour I organized with the help of my father, Floyd Skloot. A few months ago, before The Immortal Life of Henrietta Lacks was published, I wrote this essay for Publishers Weekly explaining why and how I planned to organize a tour for myself, starting with this:

My publisher has been hugely supportive of my book, The Immortal Life of Henrietta Lacks, so I figured my tour was a given. I fantasized about driving cross country with the boyfriend, our dogs, and a herd of our closest friends in a big tour bus with bright colored cells painted all over it (yes, cells, the things in your body).

Then I went to my first publicity meeting.

The people at Crown, my publishing house, said, "We don't really do book tours anymore," and "They're just not the best investment of publicity funds." My agent agreed. They explained cost-benefit ratios and said their money was better spent on banner ads, buzz campaigns, and bookstore placement. Instead of talking about a tour bus covered with cells, they talked of blogs and satellite radio tours, of Twittering and Facebooking to interact with readers. I listened and agreed; it all made perfect sense. Then I went home and thought, but I still want to go on a book tour.

Everyone I know in publishing says book tours are dead. One friend, a bestselling novelist, e-mailed me the other day, saying she'd just finished what would be her last tour ever. She had just one word for it: "heartbreaker."

But I don't believe all tours are dead, just the old-fashioned kind, where publishers organize events and writers simply show up hoping for a room full of people. I agree that social networking and online campaigns are the most important tools in book publicity. But I don't see book tours and the online world as separate entities. Rather than replacing tours, I believe the new virtual world of book publicity can help keep them alive.

(Read the rest of the story here).

I am here to report: Book tours are not dead. The Immortal Tour has stopped in 20 cities so far. I've read to thousands of people in classrooms, churches, community centers, cafeterias, bars, chapels, and many, many, many, many, many, many, many, many, many, many independent bookstores (a list that will soon include Powell's, where I'll read on April 12th!). Those events have been standing-room-only thanks to Twitter and Facebook, where I and many people spread the word about my tour stops, and to the countless print, radio, and online interviews I've done each day by phone (like this one, in Birmingham, Alabama, where I'll be heading tomorrow, and this one in Memphis, where I'll be the next day. To see if the tour is coming to a city near you, click here).

Every time I walk into a store and see people filling all the chairs and lining the walls and aisles, I want to hop up and down for joy because I'm struck by two exhilarating facts: First, all those people came out to hear an author read when everyone said they wouldn't. And second, in the midst of a steady stream of stories about the death of bookstores (particularly independents), and the death of books in general, every store I've visited has a thriving community of readers devoted to keeping those stores, and the books in them, alive. As a writer who just spent almost 11 years of her life working on one book, going into those communities and hearing how much they care about books is a much needed contrast to the flood of bad news. I'm not delusional enough to believe that this means the future of publishing is all hunky-dory now, but it certainly does make me feel like reports of its demise are premature. As are reports of the book tour's demise: They won't work for every book (more on that another time), but they're certainly not dead.

In the coming week, I'll be posting stories and musings from the tour, and answering some of the most commonly asked questions about The Immortal Life of Henrietta Lacks. (If you have any questions you'd like to throw into the mix, see this post on my personal blog.)

For now, I leave you with this: The Immortal Book Tour Trailer, Part 1, so you can see a bit of the tour for yourself. It's a video my boyfriend, David Prete, put together of the first week of the tour, featuring, among other things, members of Henrietta Lacks's family talking with me about HeLa cells and the book (and autographing many copies).




Books mentioned in this post

Immortal Life of Henrietta Lacks

Rebecca Skloot
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8 Responses to "Book Tours: Not Dead Yet"

Passionate Person in Publishing April 22, 2010 at 11:06 AM
Wow. I just read this and I wholeheartedly agree. What's so interesting about that? I'm a tour killer! I work in publishing and am the person charged with dropping the hammer down on our eager authors who are ready to throw their belongings in the car and hit the road. As a person who is passionate about books and the conversation about them, it pains me to say the words provided to me by my boss and the all-knowing NYC publishing industry. Hell, I've said the EXACT words written in this post about use of publicity and promotional funds. But here's the thing, if you wonder why brick and mortar bookstores are faltering, and our sense of community in general, take a look at the folks in their ivory towers talking about what the current "trends" are in the book business. For every Kindle or iPad user, I can find you at least one person who still loves books and gathering where they are sold. There's room for both in the current landscape. The truth is, the book tour is not dead - what's dead is the publishing industry's support of them. Or for marketing books in general. I say publish less titles and support them all more. That's my two cents.

ann April 2, 2010 at 05:29 AM
What is a book tour? In Dakota country, just call up ONE of your friends and say, make a pot of coffee and I will stop and read the 13th chapter of LAND CIRCLE. Linda Hasselstrom can pack up her camper and take off on a moments notice and those who have met her know she is a real person of the prairie. But watch out for ladies in pink hats with hand cuffs!

Maryann McFadden March 30, 2010 at 02:51 PM
My experience was very similar. When my self-published novel sold at auction (THE RICHEST SEASON) to Hyperion, I assumed I'd be doing a book tour. After all, I orchestrated my own when I was self-published, and did great! But I got the same response, to which I said, "But I have all those independent booksellers who championed my book, and they're expecting me." So I went on a tour. It wasn't huge, but it was wonderful. Then I went on another one shortly after that, which I did myself. I think we have no choice but to take marketing into our own hands, and I don't mind, really. As for the touring, I love it! Meeting readers is the biggest thrill, and let's face it,writing can be lonely. Big congrats to you for all you're doing :)

Lisa March 30, 2010 at 12:49 PM
We hosted a Rebecca Skloot event at The Wistar Institute in February, and had to turn many people away who wanted to come. Even though it turned out to be a cold, snowy night, we filled our auditorium and had a fabulous discussion of this amazing book. I personally love hearing authors read from their books, and our experience hosting book events like this convinces me that there are many other people who feel the same way.

Shay Olivarria March 29, 2010 at 09:05 PM
thank you, thank you, thank you. i'm in the process of scheduling a book tour for my first book, Money Matters: The Get It Done in 1 Minute Workbook, and though it's not been easy... it wasn't as complicated as i thought it would be. there are tons of folks out there that want to read a good book and meet an awesome author. thanks for reminding me that though i only have 6 cities booked, it can be done! PEACE, Shay Olivarria Speaker/Author www.ShayOlivarria.com

A Fan of this book March 29, 2010 at 04:34 PM
I recently read this book and loved it! I actually grew up in the Baltimore/Washington DC area so to me, it was a part of the cultural history of the area. It was very interesting to hear another aspect of the story in regards to Johns Hopkins, Crownsville, Baltimore, Southern Virginia, and of course HELA and Henrietta Lacks. I totally recommend this book to anyone who likes true life stories that combine personal stories with the medical world and alot of sociological aspects of the time. Thanks again for putting so much hard work into writing this book and getting it published.

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