by Denny Stockdale

Life on the Road

The open road was calling me. In the midst of a typically harsh Minnesota winter, I was eager to introduce myself and my new book to those in warmer climes. I settled on an itinerary taking me from the West Coast to the East Coast, and my publicist began work on arranging book events and setting up interviews.

I planned and prepared and early this year I set out on a two-month trip that would ultimately take me through a dozen states. My car was jam-packed with copies of my book and marketing materials as I headed out of town in excited anticipation of all that would unfold. I just knew this would be a fabulously successful national book tour.

The plan? Get out there, see new places and meet fascinating people (all of whom would be wildly eager to buy multiple copies of my book), and return with an empty car and a pocketful of money that would completely cover the tour expenses. The reality? Writing the book turned out to be the easy part. Marketing the book to the public has proved to be far more difficult, sometimes frustrating, and much harder work than I had anticipated.

Although I did see new places and meet some fascinating people on tour, the waiting droves of customers eager to snap up copies of my book were absent. The tour took me from the Midwest to Southwest, Southwest to Southeast, Mid-Atlantic to Southern states, and back with event stops in Arizona, Florida, North Carolina, and Tennessee. Most of the stops included typical bookstore signings and library readings, and my publicist also booked me at several coffee shops and ice cream parlors—a different approach, but one she thought might work. Honestly, most of the time customers at these venues were uninterested and would pass me by, unnoticed, as I sat ready to sign and sell! There were exceptions, however. In one coffee shop and bakery in Weaverville, North Carolina, I had people come to the shop specifically to see me, their interest in me and my book piqued after reading an interview my publicist had set up with the local newspaper.

In Orlando I stopped at a mall. At the Borders bookstore an author stood next to a small table stacked high with copies of her book. With her confident posture and eager-to-say-hello expression, people were stopping to speak with her about her self-published book of poetry. I, too, stopped for a moment or two, talked with her about writing, and then went on my way. I didn’t get far. A few minutes later, I turned around and went back to buy a copy of her book. After all, I know what it’s like to have an event where things are slow! She was still standing by the table with all the pride that I hadn’t shown at some of my events. For the remainder of my tour, I followed this woman’s lead: I stood next to, rather than sat behind, the table at my signings. I approached passersby rather than humbly waiting for someone to make eye contact. I stood front and center, ready to tell others about the book I’d created.

Still, at some of the events, despite all the advance planning, publicity, and my newfound confidence, I was the only one interested in my book. I discovered that I prefer the library events since most are speaking engagements, giving me an opportunity to talk about my book in detail, and how its message can inspire and help one make life changes. The library events were also more lucrative in terms of book sales.

More than the events, I realize that one of my best marketing tools has been, and will continue to be, the local and national television, radio, and newspaper interviews I garnered. Many of these were a direct result of the tour itself. Because I was on the book tour and had a story to tell, there was an existing “hook” to generate media interest in me as an interviewee. My publicist was able to book me on KARE 11 TV on December 31, the eve of a new year. What better time to talk about the inspiring topic of rediscovering lost dreams, the subject of my book? In preparation for my first live television interview, I met twice with a consulting firm so I’d be properly prepared and manage my butterfly stomach. When the big day arrived, I was nervous and tried to remember the scripted lines that had been given to me two days before. The first minute or so of the interview was a little shaky, but with the help of the seasoned interviewer, I managed to stay on track and quickly calmed my nerves. The interview was over almost before it started. Success!

As the number of media interviews has grown, I’ve learned a lot regarding the interview process. When I deal with the media I speak in sound bites, keeping my answers to 30 to 45 seconds. If the interviewer isn’t responding, I’ll stretch out the answers a bit more. Due to a poor telephone connection, one radio interviewer was having trouble hearing me during the first 15 minutes of our remote interview and I waited longer than necessary for her to respond and ask the next question. The interview ended up being a little choppy—not great since this was a live interview and there was no opportunity for editing. Still, the quality of all my interviews has improved steadily in direct correlation to my increased experience and resulting level of ease with the whole process. My website traffic has generally increased immediately following interview print or air dates. Driving traffic to my website (where one can learn more about me and my consulting business, and also buy my book) is a main objective of all my marketing efforts. This increased Web traffic, however, hasn’t translated into significant book sales.

But, of course, there is no such thing as bad press or a bad interview. I’ve learned something from each media event and personal appearance. While books sales haven’t taken off in the way I had (somewhat naively) hoped, they are steady and I’ve had an impact on some lives as I’ve crisscrossed the country.

The considerable investment of time and financial resources that went into the planning and execution of my two-month national tour was not recouped in book sales. Despite the lack of immediate financial gain, I consider my tour a success and a crash course in book publicity and marketing. My publicist reminds me that we are building a strong list of events and media credits that lends credibility to me as a writer—part of the reason I’ve done events even in out-of-the-ordinary places like ice cream shops.

What’s next for this writer? I’m working on lining up more personal speaking appearances where I can spread the message about my work and the principles outlined in my book. I will be updating my marketing plan, now that the tour has ended, to include building my writing credits list, sharing high-impact articles, increasing the timeliness of the newsletter I produce on positive living, running monthly contests to drive traffic to my website, developing a steady readership for my blog, and further using social media (Facebook and Twitter) to build a following. Persistence, positivism, and planning will guide me.

Denny Stockdale is a Minnesota author, public speaker, and facilitator. He has traveled extensively as a trainer and seminar leader for Fred Pryor. A graduate of Coach for Life, the nationally recognized training program for personal life coaches, Denny is active with the University of Minnesota’s Purpose Project Guild. He is the author of Conversations from the Neighborhood Ice Cream Shop: 8 Keys to Rediscovering Lost Dreams and Finding Your Life’s Calling. Find him online at www.dennystockdale.com.