What We're #Writing Week - Cancellation Notices and Regrets

JULIA SPENCER-FLEMING: I was supposed to be sharing with you all my exciting book tour schedule for April, set in five states and concluding with my triumphant appearance as the guest of honor at Malice Domestic 32 (with my good friend Jeff Cohen as toastmaster!)

However, I have no confidence I'll actually be appearing at any venues when my book comes out on April 7th. Two of the bookstores I'm scheduled to appear at have cancelled all events through the first week of April. Do you want to bet things will be better a month from now? Me, neither.

The large stores I'm supposed to be appearing at are still open for authors - although if you look at their calendars, you can see over half the writers coming out in March have postponed their visits. For this leg of the trip, I'd be flying, and staying in hotels, and eating out - all activities I normally enjoy, but the thought of engaging in them right now makes me feel like a big target has been pinned to my back. 



Libraries, always a great place to introduce yourself to readers, are closing left, right and center. I am cool with the TP shortages, but the idea of NO LIBRARY is making me very anxious.

I've been talking with my publicist about this, and he and the social media guys are working on a plan for an all-digital roll out, so you may get to see me talking on Instagram Live (if my daughters can teach me how.) But there's no comparison to appearing in someone's town, bonding with the bookstore owners who place your books into readers' hands and chatting with and signing for those readers.



It's not just the people who turn out at book stores and libraries that make touring worthwhile. Showing up in person increases your chance of getting into the local paper, on Good Morning Albuquerque/Buffalo/Chattanooga, or - the gold standard - on the regional NPR station. That spreads the word about your work to people who wouldn't show up at the store, because they'd never heard of you before.



And of course, it's not just me dealing with this! These are some of the friends and folks who have appeared here at JRW with March and April releases: Laura Childs, S.W Hubbard, Anna Lee Huber, Deanna Raybourn, Paige Shelton, Victoria Thompson, LynDee Walker and, of course, Jenn, whose PUMPKIN SPICE PERIL is coming out April 28.

So what can you, a book-loving, always-reading person do to support the authors and bookstores you love?

First, pre-order! I wrote a whole blog about how much weight authors and publishers place on pre-orders.

Consider ordering or buying from an independent bookstore. Not having events to drive traffic hurts them - not to mention losing patrons who aren't leaving the house for anything except TP and sanitizer runs. You can come by and pick up your book(s) with a minimum of human interaction, or you can have them mailed to you. Yes, indies will ship your purchase! 

Is there an author you love with a book coming out? I adore Carol Goodman, and she's just published a new gothic/thriller/literary mystery,  THE SEA OF LOST GIRLS. You might not have known that until right now. Likewise, when you talk about authors and books on Facebook and Twitter and Instagram, for someone reading, it'll be the first time they've heard about a release. Reviews on Amazon and Goodreads and LibraryThing are like gold. Even commenting on your favorite blogs - think of how many books you've added to your TBR pile when we have one of our semi-regular "What We're Reading" discussions.

Dedicated library user? The main branch may be closed, but most libraries offer digital downloads of ebooks and audiobooks, and librarians are there (well, probably at home) to help with getting an E-card and learning how to download. They're also taking requests, so ask them to stock the authors you want to read.

Who knows, maybe the current health crisis will permanently change the way we roll out books - after all, not every author tours, and no one can ever reach more than a tiny slice of the reading public in person. Lets all pitch in together and keep the reading party going - and hey, if you have any suggestions for cool things writers can do online/long distance/via mail, leave them in the comments!

What We're Writing Week: Why Preorder?

JULIA SPENCER-FLEMING: Like several other Reds have copped to this week, I haven't yet started writing UNTITLED CLARE FERGUSSON/RUSS VAN ALSTYNE MYSTERY #10 (as it's so elegantly called in my contract.) I'm also at the research-and-noodling stage, with half a notebook filled with ideas, questions and themes. Today, I'm in Greenwich NY - just a hop, skip and jump away from Millers Kill - to visit friends and see the annual Lighted Tractor Parade, which I'm pretty sure will feature in the next book.

Instead of talking about writing, then, I'm going to talk about buying. Specifically, pre-ordering books. Lucy mentioned her next Key West Food Critic mystery, THE KEY LIME CRIME, is up for pre-order, even though the book won't be published unto July. So why should you order it now? Why pre-buy Jenn's PARIS IS ALWAYS A GOOD IDEA, also out in July? Or HID FROM OUR EYES, coming in April, which has been available for pre-order for two months now?

For readers, there are several reasons why pre-ordering is a good idea. You don't have to remember that a book you want to read is coming out - you order it when you learn about it, and then have the happy experience of seeing it in the mail or getting a call from your local book store - is there any happier news than, "Your book's here!"

You can also skip waiting in line, ensure you'll actually be able to get your hands on a copy, and avoid getting spoiled as to the events in the book - because you'll have read it before anyone else!

B&N has a funny list of why pre-order, including this gem: "You can take the time before the book’s arrival to build yourself a cozy reading nook with food and water supplies and possibly plumbing. That way, when the book finally arrives, you can sit down and read without interruption."

But the number one reason to pre-order is that it materially supports the authors you love. No, we don't get our royalty payments any faster. (Oh, that it were!) Instead, pre-orders are one of the major ways our publishers gauge reader interest and commitment to our books. A book with strong pre-orders garners buzz in the industry - the numbers are passed around to book stores and publishing news outlets. Like any other product, just hearing an item is popular makes people more likely to check it out. (Doubt that? Look at the lines out the door at Apple stores the day a new iWhatever comes out.)

Good pre-order numbers tell bookstores they might want to order a few more copies, just in case. The publisher is going to consider upping the initial print run to keep up with demand. If a book is in the running to get on the New York Times bestseller list, every pre-order counts as part of the first week's sales. Since making the list depends on the number of books sold in a single week, you can see how important pre-orders are. (I'm pretty sure it was pre-orders that lifted me over the bar the first time I made the NYT list.)

Pre-orders help authors that aren't competing for a bestseller slot, too. Ever wish you could call a publishing company and say, "Hey! I love this person's books! Keep them coming!" Well, a pre-order does exactly that. And when its time for your favorite author to negotiate a new contract, you can bet everyone involved will be looking at those pre-order numbers to see how devoted her or his readers are. 

So I hope you'll consider pre-ordering THE KEY LIME CRIME

and PARIS IS ALWAYS A GOOD IDEA (it's 24% off at B&N!)

and HID FROM OUR EYES.

But please, don't stop with the Reds. Whenever you have an author you're passionate about, think about pre-ordering. It really, truly helps, and believe me when I say, we're grateful.