The Kilborn 200 Book Tour is in effect. I'm currently acting like a wanna-be writer, blogging at the Starbucks near the University of Cincinnati.
But, unlike those wanna-bes, I refuse to pay $20 to connect to the Internet. Shouldn't Wifi be free? Am I all alone in this belief?
So I'll write this now, and post it when I can connect without paying. This is, after all, a budget tour.
The Drop-In Book Tour on a Budget is an interesting beast. The goal is to meet as many booksellers and sign as many books as possible, using the least amount of time and money.
My publisher is partially sponsoring the tour, so in order to stretch their bucks I'm staying at the houses of peers and fans, eating at gas stations, and trying to only drive downwind.
So far, I've driven 742 miles, dropped in 47 bookstores, and only spent $92.
You may be asking: Joe, what's the point?
The point is threefold.
1. Signed books sell better than unsigned books, get displayed face-out, and are (usually) retained by bookstores rather than returned.
2. Meeting booksellers is good for your long term sales.
3. In self-promotion, doing something tends to be more effective than doing nothing.
If you're looking for signed copies of Afraid and my other titles, here are the bookstores where I've signed stock over the past few days:
Borders Oakbrook IL
Borders Wheaton IL
B&N Wheaton IL
B&N Naperville IL
Andersons Naperville IL
Borders Naperville IL
Waldenbooks Aurora IL
Waldenbooks Peru IL
Borders Geneva IL
B&N Geneva IL
Borders St. Charles IL
B&N Bloomingdale IL
B&N Schaumburg IL
Borders Schaumburg IL
B&N Old Orchard IL
Borders Skokie IL
Borders Evanston IL
Waldenbooks Lincolnwood IL
Borders Lincolnwood IL
B&N Skokie IL
Borders Crystal Lake IL
B&N Crystal Lake IL
Borders Algonquin IL
B&N West Dundee IL
Borders McHenry IL
B&N Merrilville IN
Borders Merrilville IN
B&N West Lafayette IN
Borders West Lafayette IN
B&N Greenwood IN
The Mystery Company Carmel IN
Borders Carmel IN
B&N Carmel IN
Borders Meridian Indy IN
Borders River Crossing Indy IN
Joseph-Beth Cincinnati OH
Borders Eastgate Cincy OH
Borders Colerain Cincy OH
B&N Waterstone Cincy OH
B&N Montogemry Cincy OH
Waldenbooks Cincy OH
B&N Newport KY
B&N Florence KY
Waldenbooks Dayton OH
B&N Beavercreek OH
Borders Dayton OH
B&N Miamisburg Dayton OH
Borders US 31 Indy IN
Borders Castleton Indy IN
B&N Indy IN
So that's 47 stores so far, 153 to go. I also didn't count the 14 stores in Illinois and Wisconsin that I visited with Barry Eisler a few weeks ago, because I'll be visiting them again.
Tomorrow, more of Kentucky.
Monday and Tuesday, Nashville and Atlanta.
Wednesday, Florida.
Some shout-outs to Jane Bretl and her terrific family, and the multi-talented James Daniel Ross (and Jennifer Ross) for putting up with my intrusive presence. Everyone reading this should click on their names and check out their most excellent sites.
See you on the road...