I have always thought, the secret purpose of the book tour is to make the writer hate the book he's written. And, as a result, drive him to write another book.
Sentiment: NEGATIVE
Book tours are almost designed to beat out of an author any affection he has for his book.
I've never been on a paperback tour before, you know, because usually you go on tour when a hardcover comes out.
Being on a book tour is like being on the seesaw when you're a little kid. The excitement is in having someone to play with, and in rising up in the air, but then you're at the mercy of those holding you down, and if it's your older brother, or Paul Wolfowitz, they leap up, so that you crash down and get hurt.
The book tour is a strange institution. You are wheeled about to explain your book and even to justify it.
I've planned book tours for myself, whether or not anybody wants to hear what I have to say. I've weighed in on things like what the cover looks like, what the copy looks like, how it's going to be promoted - just every aspect of it.
I feel sometimes like a book tour is a slow series of humiliations and that if you're strong you'll come out of it OK.
Usually by the time I finish a book tour I've just about had it with the book.
I love going on book tours because it's an opportunity to connect with the people that matter most to my brand.
Book tours are excellent things, and one is lucky to get to go on one, but they have a way of leeching away one's will to live.
No one really knows the value of book tours. Whether or not they're good ideas, or if they improve book sales. I happen to think the author is the last person you'd want to talk to about a book. They hate it by that point; they've already moved on to a new lover. Besides, the author never knows what the book is about anyway.