Speak Up to Sell Books

Wall Street Journal recently contrasted two new fiction releases: The Historian by Elizabeth Kostova and The Traveler by John Twelve Hawks.

According to the Journal, the reasons for the great success of The Historian vs. the more modest success of The Traveler were, as follows:

• Kostova's excellence at public speaking (Twelve Hawks, on the other hand, refused to be interviewed or tour)


• Her January prepublication tour


• Her publication tour


• Her ability to connect with booksellers, especially independents


• The fact that a tale about vampires is generally more appealing than a science fiction novel.

If you get out and speak — and make friends by creating relationships — then you will be successful as a novelist. Anything less simply won't create the magic word-of-mouth for your novel.