Touring with “Circling Home”

Book Launch at The University Book Store, Seattle WA

Every author knows the highs and lows of the book tour. My baptism by fire came with the publication of a travel memoir, Circling Home: What I Learned By Living Elsewhere since my earlier book, Waiting on Washington, was more academic and it came out decades ago.

It was a thrill to see dozens of people—most of them friends and neighbors—at my book launch. Many of the attendees bought my book and asked me to sign copies for them. I held similar events in Atlanta with an author-friend, and two dozen people turned up who knew one or both of us. Ditto at a bookstore in Portland, OR, where I presented with two authors whose books came out at the same time.

What I Liked Most…

about doing book events was the comradery with other authors who shared the stage with me, having published memoirs at the same time and with the same press. It was empowering to sit next to other women who’d been through a similar writing journey and were also touring for the first time. Writing is a lonely endeavor 90 percent of the time, whether you’re working on a book, short stories, articles or blog posts. The other ten percent is taken up with tasks like querying agents or trying to pitch articles to people who might decide to publish them…or not.

Authors Anne Echols and TR at University Book Store

Rather than competing with the other authors on stage, we strove to help each one present her book in the best light and prepared questions in case there were few from the audience. After each event, it was cathartic to sit down with these authors and discuss what went well with our talks and where we might improve them. These authors helped me feel better about the sometimes disappointing turnout.

I particularly liked engaging with readers who asked questions after our presentations. It was fascinating to hear what resonated with them, what piqued their interest, and what else they wanted to know. It was a rare opportunity to discuss issues I’ve pondered deeply (and written about) with readers who cared enough to come out.

Often other writers and aspiring memoirists came to our book events, and they would ask questions about the writing process. Even when there were only a handful of participants, the atmosphere was always warm and supportive because most attendees knew at least one of us. It was a bonus when the bookstore reps who introduced us hung around for our presentations. One young man made my night after I apologized to him for the small turnout. “Oh, I don’t mind,” he assured me. “I like doing events like this because I love hearing your stories!”

Authors Sophia Kouidou-Giles, TR and Jackie Tuxill at Village Books in Bellingham, WA

A few people came up to me after events and said they intended to order my book from the library. I thanked them because library orders also generate buzz and demand. Then there’s the contingent of readers who only listen to audio books. That’s fine too because I happen to have an audio book version that I narrated myself.

What I liked less…

was the let-down after putting a lot of time and energy (and angst) into preparing for events where only six people showed up; especially since the cost of getting to an out-of-town venue and paying for a hotel often didn’t balance with proceeds from book sales. I’d try to make the most of such trips by seeing the sights in a destination city, eating at fun places, and enjoying the company of other authors.

Annie Bloom’s Books in Portland, OR

On a walk around Green Lake one day, I complained to a writer friend about the poor turnout at several of my book events. She assured me that every author experiences this and told me about some of her book events where only one or two people showed up. At one event, she did a joint talk with author Rebecca Makkai who was there to discuss her new novel, The Great Believers. The book went on to become a huge bestseller and win many awards. But that night only one person came to the bookstore to hear both authors introduce their novels, and they engaged her as heartily as if they were addressing a roomful of readers. Since I’d read and admired both of Makkai’s bestselling novels, the story put things in perspective and made me feel a lot better.