Again, my thanks to those of you who have responded to my relentless pleas that you buy the book. Numbers are strong enough that while before, there was absolutely no chance of any sort of book tour whatsoever, now there is maybe a five percent chance that something may happen.
Hey, it’s progress. Enough of you buy the book this weekend, we might even kick it up to ten percent.
(Afterthought: and why this matters is easy. Booksignings are never about the number of books sold at any given event — you’d have to sell a lot of books just to cover the cost of a plane ticket and hotel room, after all. What booksignings are about is getting the word out that the book exists. I’ve got my base covered here, no question, but I’d still like to reach the casual reader who maybe doesn’t check into my site every day or eagerly await each new cartoon, but who might still pick up the book if they hear about it.)
In related news, the only signing currently scheduled is at the Chelsea Barnes & Noble in Manhattan (on Sixth Ave, between 21st & 22nd), August 19 at 7 pm. If you’re in or near the city, please come by. If you’ve already bought the book online, bring it — I’ll sign it for you.
And for the inevitable “why a chain bookstore” emails which are being composed even as we speak — I support the indies where I can. When I go to San Francisco, I sign at the Booksmith or at A Clean Well Lighted Place. In Portland, of course, I go to Powell’s. But in New York, where real estate square footage is more valuable than gold, there’s not an independent bookstore, at least that I’m aware of, which is set up to accomodate the kind of crowd my events usually draw. In short: it’s the only game in town.