LIFE SENTENCES begins with a writer at a book-signing that is, by her standards, not well attended. Where once she drew upwards of 200 people in a particular venue, she has a crowd of “only” thirty. But she quickly decides that thirty people is “downright respectable” on Valentine’s Day.
Let me be clear: I think thirty people is wonderful, any day. I still hew to the standard I set for myself when I first began keeping a private tour blog, which I believe was in 2005. (Yep, I honestly can’t remember.) At the time, I announced that I considered any talk that drew double-digits to be a success, but I promised to be honest about attendance. I wanted, among my writer friends, to be candid about my experiences on the road, but I didn’t want to embarrass booksellers. Because, generally, it’s not their fault. One bookseller, no longer in the game, told me about the night he had a Big Name and no one showed up, for no reason he could discern. It happens. And that’s why, now that I blog publicly about tours, I don’t dwell on this issue. I did warn my parents, en route to the library luncheon, that they must not be distressed if turnout was low, if it was only seven or so people. “Nine with you!” I added. Kudos to the St. Simons Library Foundation, which sold out the event.
And kudos to the Georgia Center for the Book in Decatur because: Almost fifty people on St. Patrick’s Day is way beyond downright respectable.
If you click through (menu across the top) to LIFE SENTENCES’ Facebook page, you’ll find Marjorie of Connecticut’s very kind plug for what kind of show you get when I’m on the road. I do try to be entertaining and I want to stress that most of the events are free, including tomorrow night’s appearance at the Carmel Clayton Library in Carmel, Indiana. Originally, they were going to charge and include a copy of the book. But they decided they’d rather have more people and fewer book sales, and I am all for that. As I said on the website, times are tough. I just want to see people. When I am in a bookstore, it’s my hope people will buy something, anything, not necessarily by me, because we need to support bookstores. But I understand that even the purchase of a paperback might seem unnerving for some folks.
Finally, a word on reviews. I’ve tried not to use this blog as a place to trumpet them. I place the links on the Facebook page, and they’re there for whoever wants to look. But I will say that the first week of the tour played out like a fantasy I gave up long ago. 1) There were actually reviews, quite a few, in high-profile places. That happens to certain writers — Richard Price and Dennis Lehane come to mind — but it has never happened to me. 2) They’ve been good. Not cavil-free, but very, very, very good. But this blog tries to walk a line between me, me, meism, and being a truly interactive place.
So permit me to quote this one opening paragraph, from the New York Observer:
“Laura Lippman is a virtuoso. Prolific, yes — after a dozen novels in as many years, she chased What the Dead Know, her spellbinding drama of taken and mistaken identity, with the sturdy 10th installment in her Tess Monaghan franchise, then published a collection of short stories and a Sunday serial in The New York Times Magazine. But the psychological texture of Ms. Lippman’s fiction — its pointillist attention to detail, its robust sense of moral order — neatly rebukes critics who would dismiss her as that unspeakably base creature, the crime writer.”
(By the way, understand that “unspeakably base creature” is tongue in cheek. The reviewer holds crime fiction in the highest esteem.)
In short, someone has finally asserted, for the record: Laura Lippman is not a hack just because she writes a lot.
But now we bring this blog back to its real purpose, lost as that might seem to be just now. Did you ever have a fantasy about how something might be, then finally give it up, only to see it happen at last? Was it sweeter, deeper, tempered? Did you feel that surrendering the fantasy was key to seeing it realized?
(Joe Wallace, at the risk of saying something I shouldn’t — I think you might have something to contribute here.)
Marjorie, thanks so much!
(Stephen Spielberg and Scarlett Johansson…OMG!)
Back on point:
Speaking of “neatly rebukes critics who would dismiss her as that unspeakably base creature, the crime writer” I was just asked this morning by another librarian who was cataloging our newly arrived CD version of Life Sentences whether we should put one of our “mystery” genre stickers on it. I said no.
The most books I’ve ever sold at a signing event was 30, so I consider that a spectacular number! These things depend on so many variables.
Laura, I look forward to hearing you speak on April 4 in Bethesda, when the SinC Chessie Chapter will play host. It’s free and open to the public, so anyone reading this who lives in the area should come on over. Even my husband wants to go, which is a definite sign of something special.
30 attendees does not mean 30 books sold! <g>
Oh, Laura!
I’ve been a nonfiction writer for more than two decades. Just three years ago, Laura gave me my first-ever chance to publish a piece of fiction, a story in her anthology BALTIMORE NOIR. Since then, I’ve published half a dozen short stories.
But for always, ever since I was a child, I’d dreamed of publishing a novel. I wrote a couple, but never succeeded in making a sale. Finally I decided to grow up, to give up. Enough was enough.
But I couldn’t stop. I had to try one more time. And just two months ago I sold my novel DIAMOND RUBY to Touchstone Books. Dream realized at the age of fifty-two!
And it’s been sweeter than I ever imagined. I’ve always dreamed/hoped/believed I was a better writer than I’d had the chance to show, and now at least I’ve shown what I can do. My wife has said to me several times, “Don’t forget to be happy,” and I haven’t forgotten.
But I did come so close to surrendering, twice. Once before Laura invited me to contribute to BALTIMORE NOIR, and once when I thought I was deluding myself that I could write a novel anyone would want to publish.
Thanks for giving me the chance to ramble, Laura….
Joe W.,
What fantastic news! Good for you. I hope you sell a million of them! And then that it becomes the winner of a Best Picture Oscar for 2012 after Dreamworks pays you the most they have every paid an author for rights to a novel! Spielberg directs. Scarlett Johansson stars.
What a dream come true. Gives us 51 year olds hope…
–Marjorie
Laura,
Do you ever do book tours in the Midwest?
I’m stuck here in Wisconsin and I was wondering where your nearest book signing would be at.
Just to let you know that Country Inn and Suites has a book lending program and that’s how I discovered The Sugar House. I rushed out and bought the rest of your books, signed up for your emails of new releases and have been an avid reader of yours ever since.
Personally, I look forward more to your releases over Stephen King’s and I’m a fan of his too.
However it is starting to feel a little like he’s playing to the media too much.
He is starting to mention a lot of name brands in his books and I feel like I’m being plugged to.
As a reader I want the ability to pick up a book that was released 20 years ago and understand the referrances.
If someone is talking about something that’s just trendy at the time I might not understand the significance. That and it totally feels like a sell. I guess I just don’t want commercials in my books.
So thank-you Laura for “keeping it real” as the kids say and being unadulterated!
Missi,
The use of pop culture in novels is coming up a lot on this tour, for some reason. It’s a tough call. Television, brand names, celebrities are part of our daily life, but you raise an interesting point: How will it read twenty years from now? I told a long story last night about how I used “Bewitched” in the current book to raise issues of character — why the daughter loves it, why the father hates it. (He thinks Samantha is wasting herself on a mortal husband.) It’s food for thought.
Thanks for telling me how you found my books. I’m always curious to know that. But I’m afraid that Indianapolis is as close as I’ll get this time, although I’ll be in the Milwaukee suburbs this November.
I recall references to local brand names, such as Utz snacks, and so on. To me, they add local flavor (so to speak), whereas if super-cool and in control Helouise (hope I spelled that correctly…and I hope I remembered her name!) deftly pulled out a Blackberry Storm – then one might wince a bit; it would foul up the narrative