The Creative Writer's Survival Guide: Advice from an Unrepentant Novelist

Libraries

172 Libraries . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Don’t underestimate the power of libraries. I’ve had some terrible events at libraries (events at which no one at all has shown up), but I’ve also had some great events—some of my best, in fact. The best library events I’ve done have been, not surprisingly, at my childhood library, and there are probably four good reasons for this. 1. The setting of some of my books has been my hometown, making my childhood library a natural fit. 2. This particular library does an excellent job mailing out newsletters to everyone in the city. Would your publisher ever mail a flyer about your book to everyone in your hometown? Of course not. Many public libraries, however, have the budget to send out flyers, which, for you, translates into free publicity that would otherwise have cost you thousands of dollars and countless hours. 3. This library runs a successful events program in general, so they already have a system down for promotion. Furthermore, the event is always smoothly run, from the giant sign situated at the entrance informing anyone walking in about my event to the already set up folding chairs, podium, and microphone. The library requires preregistration for events, which means that they know in advance approximately how many people might show up. 4. The library plays up the “local boy makes good” angle, which doesn’t hurt. The one thing I’ve discovered is that the people where I grew up are, by and large, happy for me and wish me well. It’s not infrequent that I’ll get an e-​ mail from someone from the old neighborhood letting me know that they’re proud of what I’ve accomplished. These are people who, if they know about it, will show up to a library event and often bring friends and family. Even if I don’t know anyone in the audience, there’s a familiarity that’s comforting because we have at least one common denominator: our hometown. For this reason alone, I love going back to my old library to do events. Publicity 173 One last point is that, in many very small towns, libraries are in need of events. I haven’t done this yet, but I’ve been tempted to line up a few weeks’ worth of library events across the rural Midwest. I was in Deadwood, South Dakota, a few years ago, and the local paper featured on the front page the writer who was scheduled to appear at the library. You’re not going to get that kind of coverage in New York or D.C., I can assure you. ...