Reporting live from the limbo-land of "the book is really, really done, but there's still eight weeks before it comes out!"

One of the aspects of marketing the book that I've been most worried about has been getting a book tour together. I knew before I even signed any contracts that I would be responsible for paying for any and all travel related to the book. The general idea is that I tell my publisher where I'm going and when, and they set up bookstore events and media opportunities around those plans. It's not ideal, but I'm told that it's roughly the reality of a first-time author (that's not releasing an insta-best-seller, that is), regardless of the size of the publisher.

I'm a consultant/freelancer, so the double-whammy of paying for travel on my own, and then likely not being able to work as much while traveling, is frightening. Many authors of non-fiction books such as mine seem to work for organizations that have travel budgets built into them; this idea could also be me grass-is-greener'ing my life choices, haha.

I've been told by many that live appearances and events are extremely helpful for marketing purposes, and that speaking at conferences is one of the best ways to promote a book. That's been my first focal point for planning-- trying to get on as many panels or secure as many keynotes as I can. This helps on a few fronts: sometimes travel stipends are included (mostly with keynoting), book signings can be included in the conference program, and books are sold at the conference in their bookstore. Then, my publisher can schedule external events in whatever town I've landed in.

Another idea I'm working on is something I learned from working for Jim Hightower when his last book, Swim Against the Current: Even A Dead Fish Can Go with the Flow came out. He wanted to incorporate as much of the community that he cares about (a main theme of the book) into the tour, as well as buffer some of the expenses. So, instead of asking for speaking fees for events, we got in touch with organizations that we knew were planning events already, or that we thought might be interested in the message of the book. We asked for help with travel expenses in exchange for Hightower coming an speaking-- many of the events were fundraisers for non-profits and campaigns, so having a high-powered speaker was a good draw for them.

I certainly can't command a giant audience like that, but what I'm thinking about instead is offering some of my normal services in exchange for travel help. I've been doing a lot of trainings around how to use social media/networking for positive ch..., and I'm hoping to sign up organizations both looking to get started and who need more in-depth understanding of what they need to do. In exchange, cross my fingers, I'll get folks chipping in towards travel and lodging, and maybe we'll throw a party. Perhaps even a bunch of small organizations can get together in one space and share the costs, who knows.

Last, I've just been contacted this past week by a service called Redrovr, which allows communities to ask for a person to come to their town. It's like Eventful, but the difference is, Redrovr also enables the communities doing the asking to also chip in for expenses. It reminds me of the crowdfunding I did last year for my book (more on that in a future post!), so I'm totally open to exploring that as an option.

Many moving parts to all this, so thank God I'm a nerd who enjoys compiling and updating Excel spreadsheets. I'll let you know how it goes.

Shameless plug: Interested in a training with me? Check out the services I offer in general, which also includes a link to presentations currently available online, and then drop me a line.