Costco: Seattle, WA -- and general thoughts on touring
Monday, February 16, 2009 
In case you're not one of the 4.4 million Costco members and hadn't received the February issue of Costco Connection, I'm on page 41--with HOTEL featured as Pennie's Pick. This also meant that I'd be signing books at the flagship store in Seattle, which is HUGE. It's like the massive warehouse featured at the end of Raiders of the Lost Ark, but with paper towels and rows of Bud Light.
I was at a lovely table near the books, where hundreds of people wandered by on a busy Saturday. I felt like I should have been handing out sample chapters or something--it's Costco, after all. I managed to sell (and sign) 60 books. Plus another 50 for a contest for Costco members.
***
Now that I'm back home for a few more hours (I leave tonight for the Bay Area and the next leg of the tour) I've finally had a moment to reflect on this whole tour thing. Here are some thoughts in no particular order:
Author J.A. Konrath knows what he's talking about. Long before I'd been published, I read Joe's "How to" on book tours and drop-in signings. And months ago I dug it up again. He's spot-on about every moment. If you're lucky enough to be sent on tour, or just doing drop-ins, it's a must-read.
Even the smallest Indie store matters. We popped in at Book & Brush in Chehalis, en route to Powell's in Portland and had a great time! We called ahead to make sure they had books in stock, and once we got there we found out the owner had emailed some local fans who came down to meet us--these are passionate and influential readers. The kind that buy books as gifts, lead book groups, and blog about it. Thanks Katrina!
Touring isn't hard, but it can still be exhausting. In addition to speaking and signing in the evenings, I tried to do as many drop-in signings as traffic would allow--usually 6-7 per day. But with an interview or two added, sometimes as early as 5:00 a.m., fourteen-hour days were the norm.
A GPS is mandatory. Except for a couple of cities where I need to go immediately from the airport to an interview, I've turned down the offer of a media escort. I've been to every city on the tour and I'm a guy--which means I'm pig-headed enough to think I can get there on my own. Wrong. Without my Tom Tom, I'd still be driving around lost in Tukwila, Washington.
Authors have a shelf-life, so I'm enjoying it while I can. I checked into Portland's Heathman Hotel--a very fancy downtown establishment that's hosted many an author on tour. On my bed was a copy of HOTEL, with a note from the manager asking for a signature. The only problem was the note had the name of another author's book, who'd probably stayed there last week. It's in the NYT's Top-5, so I guess I'm in good, but fleeting, company.
Time to pack again...
Reader Comments (4)
We were delighted that you popped in to our local store. You have NO idea how many solid fans you got, just for showing up. Of course, you own all of us who met you and Leesha (what's not to love?!), but lots of other readers too. It was very impressive that you made the effort to look up indie stores that are tucked in forgotten, rural corners, and we don't forget.
Of course, it helps that your book was fabulous.
"My friends are getting famous
They're having a blast
My friends are getting famous
And I'm going nowhere fast
No I'm not"
"My friends are getting famous
They're on MTV
Interviews in Rolling Stone
And I'm in Jersey Beat"
Jamie Ford is such a rock star... I think he's going to be bigger than the Beatles... and we all know who THEY were bigger than.
I have the bn.com and amazon.com pages for Hotel bookmarked at work and first thing in the morning I check the rankings... luckily I was off work today so I'm not sure where they stand this minute, but last I saw it was hanging in the top 500 or so on Amazon still, and in the top 2000 on bn.com. I just hope the touring keeps going well and eventually ends up down here in the southeast (since the last time I saw you it was in a dorm room with a Beatles (oh look at the self reference to my own post I worked) and you were just trying to figure out how you were going to build some story about a chinese kid with a button.