The Adrenaline Tour
I finally got my schedule for the book tour I’m leaving on this Sunday.
OH. MY. GOSH.
Here’s just a sample from the middle of the tour:
4:45 AM Car service will pick me up at the hotel in Seattle to take me to the airport for my flight to Chicago.
11:55 AM Arrive Chicago.
2:45 PM Escort will pick me up at the hotel to take me to bookstore for afternoon discussion group.
4:00-5:00 PM Teen Book Group Discussion
6:00 PM Return to hotel.
6:45 PM Escort will pick me up at the hotel to take me to restaurant for evening discussion group.
7:00-10:00 PM Dinner with Booksellers/Educators
10:30 PM Return to hotel, attempt to sleep.
6:00 AM Car service will pick me up at the hotel to take me to the airport for my flight to Detroit.
Et cetera.
I’ve known about this tour–at least conceptually–since last September. But seeing my schedule there in black and white did something funny to my heart rate.
My husband took one look at the schedule and said, “You’d better tell all your blog friends they won’t be hearing from you for a week.”
And then he went into this long speech about how I need to take care of myself, and how any time I have a choice between blogging and sleep, or talking on the phone and sleep, or anything in the world and sleep, I’d better choose sleep or this tour is going to run me into the ground.
Um, I kind of see his point.
But how could I not blog? Come on! I know how curious I am about what this whole thing will be like, so I can only imagine you’re curious, too–right? I mean, don’t we all wonder what the combination of sleep deprivation, adrenaline, daily flights to a new city, and two events every day with actual people who have really read my book and want to talk about it will feel like?
Last year I read an article in either Writer’s Digest or The Writer by author Jodi Picoult about some of the lesser-known aspects of being on a book tour. Like the fact that when you’re in a different hotel every day, you can get very disoriented. She stood in the hallway having a meltdown because her key wouldn’t work in the door. Turns out she was trying to get into the room number from the day before. Since then she’s learned to write her current room number on her hand.
And since she was on tour for several weeks, she had to get over the fact that having the hotel launder her underwear cost more than the underwear did new. I appreciate little details like that.
So let me start you off with a few details of my own:
I’ll be traveling to five cities in six days: San Francisco, Seattle, Chicago, Detroit (but really Ann Arbor), and Dallas. And if any of you live in those cities, I’m truly sorry to say I won’t be seeing you this time unless you’re already part of the groups I’ve been invited to meet. As you can tell from just that snippet of my schedule above, I am completely spoken for from morning until night.
I’m sure some of you are wondering how I could be going on a book tour when my book doesn’t come out until August. Turns out there’s such a thing as a pre-publication book tour. Random House sent out advance copies of the book to various teen book groups and lots and lots of booksellers and librarians, and now I’ll have the chance to go meet some of them and hear what they think. I LOVE THIS. Because even though I know intellectually that I really do have a book coming out this year, there are long stretches of time when nothing is happening and it doesn’t really feel real. So spending a week meeting lots of people who have read the book and will no doubt have some opinions about it is just the kind of treat a writer lives for. At least this writer.
Here’s another detail you might want to know: I cashed in all of my airline miles and paid extra money on top of that to get upgrades to first class whenever they were available. Because if I’m going to be sitting on an airplane at the crack of dawn every morning, I figure the least I can do for myself is spend a little of my own money to make it as comfortable as possible–especially since part of my job next week is to grab some sleep whenever and wherever I can. Seems like my chances for that will be better if I can stretch out a little more at the front of the plane.
I’ve also thought about trying to schedule a massage halfway through the tour, but looking at my schedule, I don’t know when I’ll have enough time. But if I can, I will. Because the better I feel, the more fun I’ll be for all those people I have yet to meet. They deserve to have me fresh and lively, not dragging around because I couldn’t figure out how to take care of myself on the road for a week.
I’m open to any suggestions any of you frequent travelers have to give me, and I’m also happy to answer questions you might have about this tour. I’ve always appreciated it when other authors shared the nitty-gritty with me and the other people reading their blogs or articles, so I’m happy to do the same now that it’s my turn.
Technorati Tags: Writing, Publishing, Authors, Author Tours, Book Tours, Young Adult Fiction, Young Adult Authors, Young Adult Books, Jodi Picoult
Good move on the First Class!
Also, since you are on a tour, try to work in to every conversation with people in the travel and hospitatlity industry that -
1. You’re a published author
2. You’re on a book tour.
You know you want to.
At 4:45AM when some poor sap has to get up to cart you to the airport and cheerily turns around and says, “What airline?”, the proper response is “I’m on a book tour.”
When they act confused, treat them as illiterates.
“What? Don’t you know what a book is? Can you even READ? UNITED. I’M FLYING UNITED! FIRST CLASS, ‘CAUSE I’M A PUBLISHED AUTHOR!”
Robin — Have fun!! I am so excited for you! I have to say, I agree with your husband about choosing sleep or downtime over blogging for the week. You’ll need to save every ounce of your witticisms (hmmm, no idea how that word should look) for your audiences. But you could always write up your posts from the airports or on the plane itself….
Patrick, I’ve printed out your comment and posted it on my mirror so I can practice those phrases throughout the day. I’m sure they will be the key to people liking me.
Laura, I’ve thought about blogging in the airports. I think that’s a good idea, since I’ll have nothing to do but wait. It cracks me up that my first reaction was that I’d have to pay $10 or whatever to connect to the airport wireless, and that has always seemed so extravagant for just a half hour or so of connection time. Can’t help that frugal nature. But I think $10 is a small price to pay to be able to blog when I have the time.
Good luck on the tour;my best advice would be to not skip a meal(you’ll need the energy,being on the run)and getting that sleep your husband insists upon.
If you’re not able to blog as much as you like during the trip,take notes on everything that happens so that you can recap it clearly later. When I went on my JA trip,I kept a small journal of the big doings and it’s still a great way for me to recall those days.
Good advice, Lady T–both about making sure I eat and keeping a journal. There are always things you’re sure you’ll remember, and then out the brain they go.
Be safe and have fun!
Don’t get confused by the title ‘Escorts’
These are not Kid Rock type ‘Escorts’
Or maybe they are. Call whoever arranged this tour and ask.
The gals in NYC who travel a lot swear by (and please don’t hate me for saying it, fashionistas!) synthetic fabrics such as dacron, banlon and polyester. Mostly because it can be rolled up in a ball in the suitcase and still looks fresh when taken out. Also drip dries quickly on a hanger in the hotel bathroom (and shampoo laundering makes it smell good!) I also recommend athletic jogging suits for the actual flying time. Look good enough for the public but are loose enough and comfy enough to sleep in on planes. If you have to snatch naps you don’t want to be wearing anything that binds in any way, like jeans or the like.
We’ll understand if you blog less, but do try to get at least one or two posts in! And have a great time!
Um, an idea? If you’re actually meeting with groups in wifi’d places, it might not hurt to hook up then and use the little bits of “downtime” to get some stuff in. Maybe. Possibly. I don’t know how jammed up they have you. But most libraries are enabled these days, and so are hotels.
Thanks, BJ. Excellent advice.
You, too, Patrick.
And thanks, Little Willow!
i say, try blogging in your sleep. paste those little electrode things to your forehead and hook ‘em up to the lap top. alternatively, leave your lap top open as you snooze with a note inviting passer-bys, or the rock star sitting next to you in first class, to post on your behalf.
ps, if you’re going to keep a journal anyway…
Have fun!!! Take lots of B vitamins!!!
Journal’s a great idea; so are all of bj’s…. I have those “travel knit” clothes I wear just to town from here for the day, because it’s at least an hour sitting in the truck, and that way I don’t look like it was an hour sitting in the truck….
And first class all the way is the best idea yet! You’ll need the pampering…. because the word “hectic” doesn’t begin to describe what your tour sounds like! Do have fun, we’ll be salivating until you get us updated!
Holy Crap, that’s insane. I wish you the best of luck. And I think you should take your husband’s advice. You can fill is in on the details when you return. You need to take care of yourself.
Just think of the opportunities you have to read while on the plane…
The only problem with blogging in airports & hotels is that you are carrying your laptop, and of course you have to liberate it to be screened at the airport checkpoints.
Make sure that they take you out to some of the wonderful restaurants like Dahlia’s in Seattle.
You might want to invest in some travel outfits from Travelsmith.With all the traveling, having clothes that feel good on and look good will be worth the investment in the long run.
Have fun and just think you are a published author.;)
Yay for first class, and enjoy every moment. I can’t flippin’ wait to read your book. Those teen book discussions sound great. If you’re not too tired, yes, I’d LOVE to read your thoughts on them.
Drink lots of water! But don’t try to carry your own water bottle since they won’t let you through security with your own bottle-you have a buy a new one after you go through the gates. If you don’t want to keep buying water bottles, as soon as you step on the plane, look like you are going to pass out, and ask the flight attendent for water and she will give you a bottle and all the other passengers will glare at you because they have to wait until the beverage cart. Because you have now gotten special treatment from the flight attendant, everyone else will think you are some big shot snob and they will not talk to you which is a good thing because then you can sit and read/sleep in peace. Always wear slip on shoes for quick passage through security. If you don’t get chocolate with a turn down, phone the front desk-they will then bring you the ENTIRE BOX! no kidding. Marriotts have Bath and Body Works for their hotel amenities, and now Hilton has Crabtree and Evelyn. Naturally I pick my hotels by their amenities. If you are going to travel alot, you might as well as have some fun.
Just enjoy the process and write down the details so you can savor them later after the rush. You’ll be wonderful!
Wow, you guys, I’m loving all these suggestions! Thanks for passing along your travel wisdom.
I actually like the figuring-out part of activities like this. It’s like learning how to pack for a backpacking trip. I feel good when I can learn how to be comfortable and efficient.
So thanks for your help!
A question:
How much control do you have in these situations? Do they line up the travel and hotels? My advice is, if you can, pick an airline and hotel chain and stick with them. Nothing more annoying that having points split between different programs.
Patrick, some. There were a few times when I could choose between airlines. I purposely chose the one I’ve been accumulating the most points in, but I didn’t think about that with hotels. I’m glad you mentioned it. I’ll make sure to give them all my airline miles number when I check in.
Hotel chains: my daughter (lives in Germany, travels to the States several times a year for quilt museum contest stuff) swears by the Drury Hotel chain. And I can guarantee you she’s not easily impressed.
Well, you might want to look into signing up with the actual hotels, not just putting it on Airline miles. Flights are actually the least bang for your imaginary buck. I have enough hotel points for a 7-day Alaskan cruise for two.
One last thought, Robin. I have a couple of friends among the “washed Published” fraternity. YOU are getting some really swish treatment compared to what I’ve heard before!
Vc, that’s always good to know!
Patrick, tell me more, please. I sit at your feet, a pupil.
Patrick is so right about the hotel points. Each hotel has a point program and most allow you to double dip with hotel points and airline points for each night. you accumulate points per dollar so charge everything to your room. Most also have certain levels that depending on the number of nights you stay per year, you get stuff like free room upgrades, free meals, free wine, preferred room rates, etc. Then there are the specials like Marriot has now where if you stay for 2 nights during March to May you get an extra 10,000 points per night-I’m staying in one tomorrow night! I have enough points just on Marriott alone now for a week in Hawaii. I am registered in several of the hotels so if you can’t get into one in a certain city you can at least get some points somewhere. I also agree with Patrick that you should try to stick to one or two main ones so you don’t end up with a lot of little point values all over the place. Omni hotels are great, but are not as plentiful as some of the other chains, but they have a great point program. To most of us frequent travelers, the whole point/reward program is a fun game with some fun perks-it can be as satisfying as those Manolos 50% off, then 50% off that, then final clearance price of 75% off that…and a legend is made…
Deborah (and Patrick), I truly had no idea about any of that. I guess I’ve never really traveled enough to care before, but boy, those are some incredible perks.
Thanks for the education! I’m going to sign up and start paying attention to where I stay (besides just caring which hotels take dogs).
You can double dip??? Oh, I’ve got to find that. I always assumed you were swapping one for the other.
Reward cards from your hotel and/or Airline add up. If you are booking yourself, do it right through their website using their card. OOOh points galore.
It’s even nicer when someone else is paying all those expenses on your reward points credit card.
i stayed at a motel six once…