I visited a bunch of LA bookstores this week in what is becoming an increasingly familiar drill. I introduce myself, give a reading copy to the store, sign stock if they carry the book, tell a few jokes, and try to be as nice as I can to the wonderful people who are selling my book. I feel like I’m truly pounding the pavement with these bookstore visits, going door-to-door and handselling to the handsellers–real old school. I did the same thing in New York recently, only without a car, which made it more dramatic, as I lugged a heavy bag of books down one city block after another.

It’s been real cool discovering some of the independent bookstores I’ve never visited before. Each one of them is so unique, and their booksellers are so passionate about what they do. At all the stores, chatting with the employees is definitely the highlight for me. People who sell books tend to be interesting people — whether they work at Booksoup in Hollywood or at Barnes & Noble in Santa Monica.

In other news, after disappointing us by leaving the book off their Father’s Day table, I’m pleased to announce that Barnes & Noble has come through on their summer reading table promises! I’ve been to a bunch of B&Ns and have also heard independent confirmation from friends that THE SCANDAL PLAN is indeed on the summer reading table when you first enter the store. Very exciting.

If only the book were as easy to find elsewhere . . . My biggest frustration continues to be Amazon.com, where just about the only way to stumble across the book is to do a search for it. This presents a challenge because, in my limited experience, people will only buy a book if they know it exists. So, how do we get those people browsing through Amazon.com to know that THE SCANDAL PLAN exists? Well, I’m glad I asked me. Here’s what I’ve come up with:

Strategy #1: Become a bestseller.

I have to say, all things considered, Strategy #1 is not a bad strategy. The more I think about it, though, I believe I might need a backup plan. You know, just in case. How about this:

Strategy #2: Harassing friends for Amazon Tags, Search Tags, and Reviews.

Yes, I need help for this strategy, so I’ll speak to you directly, whoever happens to be reading my blog now. If you’ve ever purchased anything on Amazon, then you can write reviews and tag items with words and phrases to make it easier to find said item. If you’ve read my book and liked it, I’d ask that you please take a few minutes to write a quick review online and tag my book.

How do I tag a book? Click here to learn how to tag a book with regular tags and here to learn how to tag with the more important search tags. As for reviews, I’ve had a couple friends who wrote some good Amazon reviews (and a bunch of strangers), but I need more.

If you are one of my friends or you’re on my mailing list, you probably received an e-mail from me requesting just this kind of assistance with reviews and tags. Now, my friends are wonderful people and they’ve been super supportive, buying my book and flooding me with e-mails telling me how much they’ve enjoyed it, but, as far as Amazon reviews are concerned, I think everyone is just assuming that everyone else is doing it — because my recent spamming of several hundred people has resulted in . . . that’s right . . . zero new reviews to date. So at the risk of sounding like a broken record, I’d ask those who are reading this to please step up and make your voice heard!

Beyond the world of Amazon, there are many other ways for fans of THE SCANDAL PLAN to help spread the word, and I’ve put together a list of all these strategies on a new page of my website called: Campaign for My Book!

Subtle, I know. Anyhow, check it out if you get a chance, and if you can think of any strategies I’ve overlooked, please leave me a comment and let me know. I feel bad that I keep bugging you all for your help, as you are the ones to whom I owe the most already, but the simple truth is that in order for Book #2 to see the light of day, Book #1 needs to be a success. And, as always, I can’t do it without you.

Okay. Enough of my yapping. I promise to keep the self-promotional pleas to a minimum from here on out. Now it’s time to get back to the real work.

Now it’s time to catch up. What follows are a few dispatches from the road. To start, here are some photos from my Boston signing, a thrilling success that took place in the Starbucks of the Prudential Center Barnes & Noble this past Thursday.

This is me with my agent Jill Kneerim and Gina Cerrito, Community Relations Manager at Barnes & Noble:

And this is me with some of the wonderful folks from my agency who came out to show their love that night (from left to right: Julie Sayre, Hope Denekamp, me, Cara Krenn, and Jill):

This reading was great fun, and the turnout was wonderful: probably 30-40 people. Afterwards, I hit the Pour House with some friends for burgers and drinks. Thanks again to all who came.

My first book signing was a total blast. Two days ago in the Century City Mall in Los Angeles. Borders Books (& Music). At least 35 people showed. A couple old friends. Some new ones. Some LA peeps I met not long after I first moved here. Some whom I haven’t seen in a while. It was a real “this is the last three years of your life” moment for me. A few strangers in the crowd as well. The store had to add extra chairs. Very cool.

The Borders folk were friendly. Lita and Yossi were super nice to me and made me feel more comfortable than was probably necessary. It was as if they had no idea I was going to be misspelling their names on my blog mere days later. Go figure.

I wish I had more juicy details to reveal about this night, but the whole thing pretty much went off without a hitch. I think I managed to sound quasi-intelligent with my ramblings, and all the feedback I received was overwhelmingly positive. Drinks and lobster enchiladas afterwards were also overwhelmingly positive. Thanks to everyone who showed up and made it such a groovy night.

Here are a few pictures.

Me talking:

Me signing:

Me standing:

The day I officially became a published author started undramatically. For the first three quarters of it, I found myself (admittedly a recovering musical theater nerd) humming the words of Fred Ebb:
“When it all comes true, Just the way you planned,
It’s funny but the bells don’t ring. It’s a quiet thing.”

But this tune would prove too simplistic to last the whole day.

I arrived home from work to gift baskets and congratulatory phone calls. This was indeed a special moment. I had big evening plans with C that night: a romantic dinner and 2 bookstore visits. We got in the car and drove to Santa Monica.

Reality hit as we entered Barnes & Noble. We’d been told our book was going to be featured on the Father’s Day Fiction table. It was the first table we saw as we entered the store. Yes! But was my book there? Nope. What about Father’s Day Table #2? New Arrivals? Anywhere on the first floor? Nope, nope, nope. The Barnes & Noble computer led us to the third floor. The new fiction section. The front table? Nope. The back wall? Nope.

Finally, we found it: on the far end of the featured table, practically at floor level

It was kind of funny. If I was trying to hide a book, this is exactly where I would’ve hidden it. While I was, at first, disappointed, I quickly reasoned that this placement could be ideal. If a shopper were to trip and fall onto the floor, there’s a good chance he or she might end up face-to-face with the book. Then, in a delirious state, the shopper would undoubtedly respond to the suggestive cover and would immediately purchase three copies. This scenario is demonstrated in the picture below:

C and I made sure to rearrange the stacks before we left so that THE SCANDAL PLAN was prominently displayed on both the new fiction table (switching it out with Nora Roberts, who really doesn’t need the money), on the back wall, and in the stacks next to Ken Follett.

Then a walk down 3rd Street to Borders.

Where we found one copy of the book upstairs in the stacks where no one was likely to stumble upon it by accident. C rationalized that perhaps all the local Borders copies had simply gone to the Century City store in anticipation of my reading next week. Perhaps. Also on the bright side, the Barnes & Noble in Santa Monica did carry 20 copies of the book, which would have been kind of impressive had they been displayed where anyone might have seen them.

I’m told from relatives that some have had more successful bookstore visits looking for my book (if you’re in my Facebook group, check out the pics with my soon-to-be nephews: adorable), but this was indeed a humbling experience. It reminded me that, rather than being an end to something, a quiet crowning achievement, my pub date was really just another beginning. It was the start of another journey, the beginning of another challenge. How do we get from the back table to the front table? To ape political-speak, this book has been an underdog from square one. I have the rejection letters to prove it. A political satire? From a first time author? Who’s never worked in Washington? But we’ve gotten this far. And at every turn, it just took one person and one opportunity to make the difference.

Please let me know what your bookstore experiences have been with this book, and if you go into a bookstore that has the book hidden, feel free to rearrange the tables accordingly to give us a fighting chance. If anyone questions you about it, say it is your friend’s book and act nice, and the employees will probably be forgiving. They probably could care less anyhow.

Onward!

______________________________

ADDENDUM: Just talked with my editor. He says rearranging books without permission might not be the best idea. Instead he encourages you to engage the bookseller in conversation. Talk up the book. “Hey, this is my friend’s book. It is so much fun. If you know anyone who is looking for a great summer read, this book is terrific. So hard to put down.” etc. ALSO, if you are in a Barnes & Noble and the book is not on the Father’s Day table, let me know the details asap! (What store? How many copies did they have? Where were they?) I want to collect this information so I can have my editor pass it along to their B&N person and hopefully rectify the situation.