Hey ya!

It’s been a wonderful week and a half so far as I keep plugging The Other Christy around to schools and bookstores. After a few days in Sydney’s inner west, I was down in Wagga where I covered 7 schools in 2 days. Jess from Gateway Books was a delight, taking me around town where I got see a few sights and surprised a lot of kids. I say surprise because that’s what I do. I’m comfortable knowing that a lot of people don’t know who I am. So I want to win them over. I tell kids to buy my book, otherwise I’ll cut off a toy chicken’s head off. This toy chicken has survived for 5 years (and counting). Thankfully haha.

Unless you’re a big name, a school visit or bookstore signing may not reap immediate sales for you. But booksellers talk about the afterglow effect. If you do a great job, kids will talk about you, they will read your books, they will bug their parents or family to get a copy…and hopefully they’ll know you when your next book comes around hehe. Months after a visit, librarians tell me that the books keep flying off the shelves. So that’s always a good sign 🙂

I try to perform like a support act at a concert. You know those acts that appear before the big headliner comes along. I’m hungry for more fans, so I want to give kids a good show. It’s a good mentality to have when you’re first starting out. I don’t know if I’ll ever be a big enough name where I can waltz in, knowing that I’ll sell a ton of books based on the strength of a popular series or name. I’ll never forget where I come from, and keep chugging along, trying to win over people. I may not meet many people who have read my book, but fingers crossed, they’ll be reading it afterwards 🙂 So going on a tour like this is beyond just plugging a new book, it’s a long-term game. And fingers crossed, I’ll be in it for the long haul.

O.W