At last! I've got a small pile of advance copies of the paperback, and very nice it looks too.Richard and I are doing a very short tour in May. I just got confirmation of the Bristol venue yesterday, so it's time to post something up. And here it is!
Tue May 5th: The Winding Stair Bookshop, Dublin, 7:30
Wed May 6th: Birmingham City University
Fri May 8th: Green Room, The Tobacco Factory, Bristol, starts 7:45, reading at 8:15
...after our reading in Bloomsbury last year went down so well, we thought we'd repeat the dramatised reading thing, with Q and A's for those with Q's to A. Or whatever.
Hmm, is that it? -I guess so for now. I'm sure I've left something out. Time will tell.
You're become quite a sleb yourself.
ReplyDeleteI like the idea of a dramatised reading.
Congratulations! I know book tours can be quite grueling (I don't know if you've ever done one?), but hang in there: it's worth it! :-)
ReplyDeleteIs the book available in the US, or do I have to order it through Amazon UK?
Carolyn Ann
Sleb? Moi??
ReplyDeleteNot hugely dramatic, and no waving of arms and grand gestures. Still, you know.
We went to see Mark Watson, a comedian, on Sunday, on his last night of a 57 date tour. Now that's what I call a tour. Still, three is three more than I've done before. I've tagged along with a band on tour before, and that was utter hell, but I guess that's musos for you...
Not really sure about the US, Carolyn Ann; I would hope it would be available, but the hardback seems to have been pretty much ignored in the States. Perhaps it's too un-American?
The American market is very difficult to break into, Dru. Many ignore it, because it just is so difficult. One of the popular excuses for foreign writers is "sorry, the American market wouldn't understand this book"! Which is about as nonsensical as it comes. I know that some writers can be published all over the world, and still not get into America. Essentially, the US market is even more geared to blockbusters than the British one is!
ReplyDeleteIf you do try for the US market (I'm not sure if that would work for you), you should try the smaller publishing houses. Maybe the one that published Helen Boyd's last book "She's not the man I married", Seal Press. (I don't know if you know Helen, she's a lovely person.)
Good luck with the book! It's really an accomplishment. Next time I'm in England, I'll see about getting a copy. (Or after my next motorcycle trip, which starts in a couple of weeks or so.) :-)
Carolyn Ann
Thank you, Carolyn Ann. We did get reviewed on MHB last year, and the review also features on Jennifer Boylan's site, but that's as far as it's got. Maybe Random aren't that bothered about the US market. I must ask about that. Where's the motorbike trip headed?
ReplyDelete..o yes, here's the MHB review
ReplyDeletehttp://www.myhusbandbetty.com/2008/05/02/becoming-drusilla/
You know, I haven't attended MHB for quite some time!
ReplyDeleteI'll check out those reviews later today.
Have you checked out the American "print on demand" market? It's not a vanity press, and it is becoming quite popular, I'm told. Sometimes it leads to publishing deals! The downside is that the marketing has to be done by you! Barnes & Noble, one of the leading bookstores over here, used to be in that business. I don't know if they still are. I have seen some of the books displayed on end-caps at the Manhattan Union Square store.
Publishing is such a game! The way the odds are stacked against the writer, it makes Vegas look fair.
I'm not exactly sure I'm headed! I know I'm going out for 3 weeks to a month, will cover 3 or 4 thousand miles and camp pretty much every night. But, apart from that - I don't even know which general direction I'm going! (I do know it's "not east". The Atlantic is about 50 miles away, which would make for a really short run!)
I'm not even sure which bike I'll be taking! (Probably not the Vespa. The range is too short.)
:-) Carolyn Ann
Here's an article about self-publishing, if you're interested. :-)
ReplyDeletehttp://www.nytimes.com/2009/01/28/books/28selfpub.html?_r=1&scp=1&sq=self%20publishing&st=cse
Carolyn Ann
Thanks for that link, Carolyn Ann. I am still not sure whether the publisher is going to publish it in the US. Must find out sometime soon, after the hoo-ha with the readings is out of thee way. I'm learning the ropes on publicity, though, as I seem to have ended up as the one responsible for doing it just at the mo.
ReplyDelete