Day #1

Sixteen hour day today, and I'm exhausted.

Got into Denver yesterday after a flight delay, and picked up my rental car at the airport, along with a GPS Navigation System.

The GPS is the coolest thing ever invented. It's a cell phone, and you call Dispatch and give them an address, and then the speaker phone tells you when to turn left and right, along with showing arrows on the display. Finding stuff in a strange city has never been easier, and since I'm going to visit 30 bookstores in two days in Colorado, the GPS is a godsend.

TOUR TIP #1: Use a GPS.

My publisher booked me into the Brown Palace Hotel. I was skeptical (Wasn't I good enough for the Gold Palace or the Silver Palace?), but once I arrived I changed my tune.

This is a seriously beautiful hotel. See for yourself at www.brownpalace.com.

Since most bookstores were having Harry Potter parties, I refrained from drive-by signings that night. Instead I plotted a course of action for the next day, prepared my give-away items, and got a full night of sleep.

I woke up this morning at 7AM, shaved and showered, and had a decent breakfast with plenty of water.

Then I set my GPS coordinates and began.

First stop, a Barnes & Noble in Denver. I do my standard drive-by. It consists of:

1. Finding all of my books in the store and bringing them to the Information desk.
2. Introducing myself to the employee at the desk, and signing the copies.
3. Handing the employee a signed WHISKEY SOUR coaster, and explaining what my books are about.
4. Tracking down all the other employees in the store, giving them signed coasters and the book talk.

Simple enough. Takes about fifteen minutes. They had 3 hardcovers and 9 paperbacks.

Next stop, another Barnes & Noble, in Littleton. Drive-by signing. 2 hardcovers, 6 paperbacks.

Next stop, a reading and signing at Murder by the Book in Denver at noon. Besides my stack of coasters, I have some copies of Ellery Queen as give-aways, and airline bottles of Jack Daniels signed in silver marker. The Owner, Lauri Ver Schure, gets a warm greeting and a bottle of Jack.

TOUR TIP #2: Always have something to give the owner and employees.

MBTB is a very cool store, with extensive signed and OOP books, and I browse while waiting for people to arrive. About ten do, and I greet them all before beginning my presentation. I also give away freebies to fans I've met before, or heard from online.

TOUR TIP #3: Give each person in the room a handshake and warm welcome---and more if you know them.

Lauri brings out a large cake, decorated like the cover of BLOODY MARY, which is lovely. We all have cake, then I do my thing.

My thing consists of a Q & A with myself, asking myself things that I'm often asked. It's funny, informative, and I tailor it to audience reaction.

This audience is very receptive, laughing in all the right places, maintaining a high level of interest. By the end of the talk it's hard to tell who is happy, me or them.

TOUR TIP #4: Rehearse your presentation, but pay attention to your response. Monologues are boring and can be done in an empty room. Storytelling is an active, dynamic thing that requires the audience to participate. If they aren't involved, get them involved by changing tactics.

An author friend of mine, Jim Hansen, came by to see me. I signaled him out and talked a little about his book, NIGHT LAWS, which is a damn good debut.

TOUR TIP #5: Give props to your peeps. If you have published friends in the audience, let the crowd know. Publicity is hard, and writers should help each other.

After the talk, I did a reading, which was met with a positive response.

TOUR TIP #6: When reading, be brief (no more than ten minutes), and if possible, funny. Practice until you're good enough, and make sure the passage you read won't offend anyone (or gross them out).

I signed books after the reading.

TOUR TIP #7: Always ask who they'd like the book inscribed to, and how to spell their name. Trust me on this one. I've met Aymee, Jym, Marscha, Debbera, and Chuk, to misname a few.

When the last person left, I hung around and signed the rest of the stock.

TOUR TIP #8: Don't leave without signing everything.

Then I did some more browsing and bought some books. In this instance, I bought a $50 first edition of Silence of the Lambs.

TOUR TIP #9: When signing at an indie store, always buy something before you leave. Support the folks who support you.

I was there two hours total. Ten books sold, fifteen signed. Plus, they let me keep the rest of the cake (Lemon poppy seed...mmm.)

After the event, Jim Hansen took me out to lunch (Thanks Jim! Everyone buy NIGHT LAWS this January! www.jimhansenbooks.com). Then it was off to HIGH CRIMES in Boulder.

HIGH CRIMES is another awesome store, run by the the wonderful Cynthia Nye.

This was another reading event, and I got there still hyped-up from the good time I had at MBTB. Because of that, I didn't spend time introducing myself to everyone. Instead, I went right into the Joe Konrath Comedy Hour.

Not smart. Rather than get the audience to like me before starting my talk, I went for the big laughs right away and they didn't go over well. Sensing that I was losing the crowd, I reeled in the humor and tried to be more informative and sedate.

That worked better, but trying to win an audience over from an initial bad impression is harder than entertaining a group of people who love you before you begin. Next time, I'll do more schmoozing beforehand and start the ball rolling slowly.

The reading went better than the Q & A, and some folks stuck around to buy books. I then stayed for a while and sold some books to people who came in after my event. I also bought some books that Cynthia recommended, said my thank yous, and got on the road. Ten books sold, twelve signed.

Drive-by at Borders in Boulder. 2 hardcovers, 6 paperbacks. Sold a paperback while I was there.

Drive-by at Barnes & Noble in Boulder. 2 hardcovers, 4 paperbacks.

Drive-by at Borders in Broomfield. 3 hardcovers, 6 paperbacks. Sold a paperback while I was there.

Drive-by at Waldenbooks in Westminster. 2 hardcover, 5 paperbacks.

Drive-by at Waldenbboks in Arvada---they're closed.

TOUR TIP #10--When planning your drive-by itinerary, check closing times, because some stores close at 8pm.

Drive-by Tattered Cover in Denver. 3 hardcovers, 5 paperbacks, and something cool. In the mystery section is a woman and her daughter, and when they see me grabbing copies of Whiskey Sour, they get excited because they've read it. Naturally I introduce myself, and wind up signing a copy of Bloody Mary for them, and talking for a while.

Meeting fans is always cool.

Back to the hotel, and I'm exhausted. I figure I'll order room service and a massage and put it on my publisher's tab.

Or not.

TOUR TIP #11: Pay for as much as you can on your own. Your publisher is sending you to work, not on a vacation. Hyperion is paying for transportation and lodging. Everything else I'm paying for.

I walk into the lobby with half a BLOODY MARY cake, wondering what I should do with it. As luck would have it, four ladies were having some drinks in the lobby. Still in author mode (which means I'm fearless and will approach anyone) I ask them if they want some cake.

"Hell yeah we want cake!"

One thing led to another, and soon the cake was gone and we were all on our way to Barnes & Noble up the street so I could sign copies of my books for them. Great people. They're from Memphis, here for a convention. If everyone from Memphis is this friendly and fun, I may move there.

After booksigning, we hit an Irish pub and have beer and onion rings, and then it's 1AM and I'm beat.

Back to my luxury suite, where the maid has turned down the bed and left chocolates on the pillow. Very cool.

Sleep becons, but I want to blog this so I have a record of how things are going. Partly because I want to rember this. Partly to show my publisher, so they know I'm trying my best to sell some books.

I did two signings and seven drive-bys today. Not too bad. Tomorrow I have 19 drive-bys to do. I should have enough time, if I get up early.

Time for bed. I have 11 more days of this tour...

Tourage

I'm no stranger to book signings---I've visited over 200 stores in the past 13 months.

But I'm a total virgin when it comes to going on tour.

My publisher, Hyperion, has set it all up and is paying for everything. I'm scheduled to appear in nine cities from July 12-27.

I have no idea what to expect. I'm bringing my laptop along, so I'll use this blog to proved daily updates.

If any authors reading this have been on a publisher tour before, I'd love to hear your comments and advice---even if it's negative.

If anyone lives in the towns that I'm visiting, please stop by one of my signings with a busload of your friends, and I'll return the favor someday.

Here's where I'll be:

July 16
Noon-2:00pm
MURDER BY THE BOOK
1574 South Pearl Street
Denver, CO 80210
303-871-9401

4:00-6:00pm
HIGH CRIMES
948 Pearl Street
Boulder, CO 80302
303-443-8346

July 19
7:00pm-9:00pm
POISONED PEN
E 7100 Main Street
Suite D
Scottsdale, AZ 85251
480-947-2974

July 20
7:00pm-9:00pm
MYSTERIOUS GALAXY
7051 Clairmont Mesa Boulevard
San Diego, CA 92111
858-268-4747

July 21
7:00pm-9:00pm
MYSTERIOUS BOOKSHOP
1036 C Broxton Avenue
Westwood, CA 90024
310-209-0415

July 22
7:00pm-9:00pm
M IS FOR MYSTERY
86 East Third Avenue
San Mateo, CA 94401
650-401-8077

July 24
4:00pm-6:00pm
MURDER BY THE BOOK
3210 Southeast Hawthorne Boulevard
Portland, OR 97214
503-232-9995

July 25
12:00pm-2:00pm
SEATTLE MYSTERY BOOKSHOP
117 Cherry
Seattle, WA 98104
206-587-5737

July 27
7:00pm-9:00pm
BOOKS & COMPANY
1039 Summit Ave.
Oconomowoc, WI 53066

August 4
7:00pm-9:00pm
Bridge Street Books
407 Bridge Street
Charlevoix MI 49720
231-547-7323

Hope to see some of you on the road. It goes without saying that after an event, we grab a beer.

I wonder if Hyperion is giving me a beer budget?

Damnazon.com

So I have a new hardcover (BLOODY MARY) and a new paperback (WHISKEY SOUR) out, and the royalty numbers won't come in from my publisher for about five months, so the only way to measure my progress is to look at my Amazon numbers and guestimate my sales by mulitplying them by 10 (Amazon accounted for about ten percent of the sales for the Whiskey Sour hardcover, and I'm using that as my base.)

Amazon is supplied by the distributor Ingram, and Ingram can be called to get weekly sales updates. (For those who want to drive themselves crazy like I am, the automated number is 615-213-6803---you can punch in the ISBN of any book and see how it is selling.)

Two questions for you folks, and I'd really like to hear from you even if you've never replied to a blog before. I know I have lurkers; please delurk and post--it's easy, fun, and good for you.

Question #1. Do you buy books on Amazon, and if so, how often vs. other places you buy from?

Question #2. Do user reviews on Amazon influence your decision to buy or not buy?

Thanks so much!

The 24 Hour Advertisement

I've heard it said that an author's web site functions as a never ending commercial.

I agree, to a point. A homepage should have information about your writing and your books. But if that's all it does---advertise your products---then you won't get many hits, or generate much buzz. TiVo allows us to eliminate commercials... why would anyone intentionally go looking for them?

Which is why I suggest you have more on your site than four blurbs and a link to Amazon (which indy bookstores hate to begin with.)

But this blog entry isn't about how to make your site sticky (I go into detail on how to do that here.) Instead, I want to talk about how people can find your site on the world wide web. You've raised your shingle, now how do you get the traffic?

1. Search engines. NEVER pay to submit to search engines--the big ones allow you to submit your URL for free, and no one uses the little ones i.e. "submit your site to 700,000 engines for $29.95." When was the last time you used searchbunny.com to surf the web? Stick to Google, Yahoo, AOL, Hotbot, MSN, Altavista, Lycos, Overture, Dogpile, and Excite... but only if they don't charge. Don't pay per click... you think Stephen King does that?

My website is listed on all major engines, and I never paid a cent. They found me.

Make sure you have decent Meta tags on all of your pages, for the spiders to crawl (if you don't know what I'm talking about, pick up a book on web design.)

2. Publications. Your website address should be printed on all of your books, and included with bios for short stories, articles, and interviews. Every time your name appears in print, your URL should as well.

3. Business cards. Have two types made up; one with all of your personal info (phone, email, address) and one with just your website. I also put my URL on flyers, bookmarks, and even on my personal checks.

Give business cards to everyone you meet. I put them in bills I mail out, and drop them in check presenters when I go out to eat. Your motto: Everyone gets a card.

4. Email. Your email has a signature tag--put your URL in there. If you have more than one email account, make sure they each list your URL.

5. Newsgroups and List Servs. Google News and Yahoo have thousands of online groups discussing books. Join and post, making sure you always add your URL. The bigger online mouth you have, the more opportunities to pass around your link.

6. Blogs. I've been posting messages on other people's blogs, and I'm surprised how many people click through to my website.

As with newsgroups and list servs, contribute to the conversation. A non sequitur that does nothing but direct people to your website is spam. But say something smart or funny, and people will check out your website automatically.

7. Links. Trade links with as many folks as you can. Email websites and ask if they'd like to reciprocate, and swap business cards with author friends you meet at conventions. The more links coming in the better... all roads lead to Rome.

8. Google Adwords. I have some friends that swear by this. I haven't tried it yet, but you can find out about it here.

9. Print ads. Every time you, or your publisher, places an ad, it should have your URL on there.

10. Newsletters. If you have a print or email newsletter (and you should... collect names at signings and conventions and through your site), you should always have your homepage listed.

11. Amazon. For all the hoopla about Amazon, they don't seem to sell that many books. For example, I sold about 15,000 copies of Whiskey Sour in hardcover. About 2000 were through Amazon.

Still, you can focus some effort there. Amazon has many paid programs for writers and publishers to ensure better placement for your book. I've never done that, but I indulge in some of their free services; book reviews and lists.

I review books with the name "J.A. Konrath, author of Bloody Mary." People who click on my name are directed to my URL.

Amazon also lets you compile Favorites Lists. I've made a few lists of mega-bestsellers which also include my books. Hopefully people who like James Patterson or John Sandford will read the lists looking for similar authors, and then discover me.

12. Other. My publisher and Bookreporter.com are holding a contest for the release of Bloody Mary. You can enter the contest here. While I'm thrilled they're promoting my book, a quick read of the page shows that they forgot to ad my URL.

I hadn't known they were running this contest, or I would have commented on adding my web address. I could ask them to add it now, but I'd come off sounding like an ungrateful ass... "Sure, it's a nice contest, and I appreciate you being behind my books and all, but where's my website information?"

So that's a missed opportunity. An opportunity that hasn't been missed comes from buzzketeer M.J. Rose, who is linking 500 blogs to her vidlit page http://www.vidlit.com/mj/ to raise money for Reading is Fundemental.

Vidlits are visual commercials for books, kind of like movie trailers.

I think M.J. is a pioneer in new marketing ideas, but that doesn't mean her ideas work (lots of pioneers died in the woods.)

I love her, and she's certainly becoming known in the writing community, but so far her efforts haven't made her a bestseller.

Nor have mine, for that matter.

What do you folks think? Does her Vidlit make you want to buy her book? Did it make you click through to her website?

I know I'll be watching her Amazon numbers to see if they shoot up. She's currently at 42,000 rank on Amazon, and her promotion begins today.

Celebrating Alcohol

I just heard from my editor at Hyperion, who informed me that they're running a contest to coincide with the release of my second novel, Bloody Mary.

Here's what she forwarded:

Our contest with BookReporter.com went live on Friday, July 1 and we've had a great response so far! To be eligible, readers must respond to an excerpt of BLOODY MARY online and also say their favorite cocktail.

Grand prize winner will receive a travel bar kit, a signed copy of BLOODY MARY and a copy of WHISKEY SOUR. 10 runners up will receive signed copies of BLOODY MARY.

View the details here: http://www.bookreporter.com/community/contests/0507_konrath.asp

Contest is currently advertised on the Book Reporter homepage and in their newsletter.

This came completely out of nowhere, and I'm pretty pleased.

Since I'd like to encourage my publisher to keep supporting me in this fashion, I ask everyone who reads this to click on the link and enter the free contest, even if you already have a copy of Bloody Mary---you can always donate it to the library, or make a buck on eBay.

I've already entered six times...

To the Pros

Dear Professional Writers,

Do you remember being unpublished? The struggles? The hopes and dreams? The lottery-win feeling when you finally broke through?

Hold onto that feeling. Don't let it go. And beware:

A sense of entitlement.
Jealousy and envy of those who have more.
A feeling of superiority over those who have less.
Worry over the future, when you're lucky to be here in the present.
Getting bogged down in the details.
Focusing on the negative.

Also, remember to give back.

This is becoming harder the busier I become, but I'm still trying to help others get to where I'm at. To this end I teach writing at a local community college, I read manuscripts that people send me, I recommend writers to my agent, I hold writing contests, I buy other authors' books, I write reviews, I give blurbs, I always answer questions, I offer advice in person, in email, and on my blog and website, and most of all, I try to be patient and understanding with those who know less about this profession than I do, and gracious and thankful to those who know more than I do and share that knowledge.

The further you get into this business, the more idealism you lose. The same can probably be said of life.

One way to hold onto that idealism is to never forget where you came from.

Stay humble.

Positively Positive

Some folks have been hinting at the fact that my last few blog entries have been of the negative variety.

So to make up for that, this post will focus on the positive aspects of the publishing business:

• I spent 7 hours in a bookstore in Chicago yesterday, and sold 55 hardcovers.
  
• Hyperion is placing ads for my books in Alfred Hitchcock's Mystery Magazine, Ellery Queen's Mystery Magazine, The Strand, Crimespree, The New York Times Book Review, and the Bouchercon program.
  
• The anthology COLD FLESH was released yesterday, featuring my undead story THE BAG.
  
• Copies of Whiskey Sour and Bloody Mary have found their way into most bookstores, and in large numbers.
  
• Bloody Mary has received decent reviews from Publisher's Weekly, Booklist, and Kirkus.
  
• Though Whiskey Sour is now available in paperback, the hardcovers haven't been remaindered yet.
  
• My publisher is touring me this month, where I'll be doing signings in Denver, Boulder, Phoenix, San Diego, L.A., San Mateo, San Francisco, Portland, Seattle, and a few other places.
  
• Whiskey Sour has been nominated for the Gumshoe, the Anthony, and the Macavity Award, and won the Love is Murder People's Choice Award.
  
• JAKonrath.com is averaging 300 hits a day.
  
• I just did a fun interview on Paul Guyot's blog, which can be read here:
  http://paulguyot.blogs.com/inkslinger/2005/07/cinco_de_author.html
  (I'm very happy to have been embraced by the blogging community, all fifteen of you. )
  
• The audio of Bloody Mary comes out this week, and it kicks ass.
  
• I get about five emails a day from fans. Different fans, not the same five over and over again.
  
• Harriet Klausner gave me four stars on Amazon.
  
• I've almost finished the outline for the fourth book in the series, Dirty Martini.
  
• I'm living my dream, and I'm grateful as hell for that.