Blog tours are all the rage right now for indie and traditionally-published authors. My advice: think it through, and then talk to other people who've done them, and think it through again.

It's a common occurrence: We love an author, we've read all her books, we can't wait to hear her read at a local book store. And when we go, the readi...

At first, when you're on tour, it's surprising, then tiring -- but eventually it's funny, and sometimes even offers you material for your next book. All the comments on this list have been offered to me or author friends of mine.

When you're a brand-new author with a book just out, you tend to be pathologically focused -- on reviews, media and interviews and why you're not getting more reviews, media and interviews. I was in exactly this place when I showed up to read.

Doing publicity takes time away from writing, but without it, the writing you do doesn't get out there. If you're lucky, the PR can be fun.

Authors often feel like DHL parcels on a book tour, delivered from one venue to another. Small things can feel like big problems. So how do you maintain control?

I'm reading from my memoir My Germany in German and English, and the tour is going well, with enthusiastic audiences. But there's also an inner tour I'm on, one that has five stages I am very familiar with. I think other authors will recognize them.

At one reading on my first book tour, someone aggressively asked me, "What does your book have to say to women?" I was so surprised, my reply was a feeble joke: "It says 'Buy me!'"

The Huffington Post just published another entertaining Bookstore Bingo of actual, amusing things people overhear customers say in bookstores (Walmart...

When it comes to promotion, it's not enough to have crafted a great book. You need to figure out what your target audiences might be, where to find them, and how to reach them.

The freeing up of physical space has also freed my mind. I don't find myself dwelling much any more on the things that didn't happen for me in my writing life, the wrong turns ...

Here are five things authors should do to become skilled at this very demanding and essential side of the profession.

I feel as if it's my personal mission to make over every dowdy author I see. I haven't quite learned how to do this tactfully, despite the strong temptation.

Many specific things have happened during my book tours that parallel things that bands have enjoyed--or suffered through.