Lessons Learned from an Indie Author’s Book Tour Experience

My suspense/thriller novel, THE HOUSESITTER, kicked off its book tour in September 2024. Being an indie author means I handle everything myself, including planning this book tour. It was an enormous undertaking. Something that took months of planning. 

This blog post will reveal what I discovered during my book tour – both expected and unexpected lessons. 

Lesson #1: It’s crucial to pitch to bookshops and libraries early.

When initially planning the book tour, I began following several authors who were releasing books around the same time as THE HOUSESITTER. What I failed to realise was that many of these authors were releasing books further in the future than my release. Many at least six months in the future. 

I learned quickly that bookshops and libraries require at least four months’ notice in advance, otherwise they’re booked up. Initially, this surprised me, especially since I was pitching to Indie bookshops. But I soon learned that it doesn’t matter what structure the bookshops were. They all had full calendars. 

TIP: Start pitching to bookshops and libraries a minimum of four to six months beforehand. 

Lesson # 2: Set your expectations low.

When planning my mainland book tour, I was hoping to get into three to five bookshops in every city. I pitched to over 150 books shops in Melbourne, Sydney, Adelaide, and Canberra, plus a smattering of bookshops in between. 

I got into one bookshop in Sydney and one in Melbourne. That was it. 

I couldn’t get into any in Adelaide or Canberra, although it was just a matter of timing for the dates in Canberra. Unfortunately, I was up against Book Week, which is all about children’s books. I still stopped into the bookshop that got back to me – and they were very gracious. 

TIP: Follow up with bookshops after your initial pitch. The first follow-up should be about a week after the initial pitch. The second, about two weeks later. If you don’t hear from them after three attempts, move on. Most of the 150 bookshops I pitched to did not respond. I got a 30% response rate, and out of that, most were rejections.

Lesson #3. Use a solid media kit when pitching.

Before pitching to bookshops, I took the step of creating a media kit. I had created a media kit for my first novel – and every novel afterwards.

Having this kit is crucial when pitching a book to bookstores. Planning a book tour was no different. I found with a professional media kit, bookshops are more likely to respond. It shows that an author is not only serious about their business but also understands what bookshops require to promote the book. 

A media kit is something that I find easy to do, only because I love graphic design.  If you’d like a copy of my media kit, click here.

A media kit is something that I find easy to do, only because I love graphic design. 

Here’s what’s in a media kit:

• an author bio,
• an author headshot, 
• a news release, 
• a synopsis of the book that bookshops and libraries could use for marketing
• metadata, which includes: the ISBN, number of pages, genre, retail price, publication date, trim size, binding, publisher, contact information, and where to buy the book wholesale. 

TIP: CANVA is one of the best resources out there for indie authors and it’s great for creating media kits! 

Tara Marlow with the lovely, Meridith McKinnon who helped me launch THE HOUSESITTER in Melbourne, Victoria.

Lesson #4: Be aware of the state of the economy.

With my media kit completed, I returned to my author list, noting their event schedules and the bookshops hosting them. 

Many of them, being traditionally published, gain access to larger bookshops through their publishers. But my primary goal was to work with indie bookshops, so I paid attention to which smaller bookshops were hosting their events.

A wave of rejections met my initial email outreach, often citing a full calendar for the year. Others cited the economy, saying they were “limiting events” or “reducing staff,” which made it difficult to support an event like this. While those last reasons initially saddened me, I still saw traditionally published authors were still securing event bookings. 

It didn’t take long for me to discover that publishers were compensating bookshops for hosting events. One bookshop responded to my email with the following contractual terms: “the author must bring their own books (we take a 40% commission) and can draw upon and rely on their own audience. We also charge $250/- for the event.”

Oof. 

Tip: Be aware of what’s happening in the economy, despite what the media says (which in this case was ‘indie bookshops are booming right now’. Turns out, only some are). 

But also know that while bookshops would like to support indie authors, they aren’t always open to hosting an event for free. (They make their money on the book sales on the night, or via ticket sales for the event.)

Lesson #5. Not every indie bookshop supports self-published authors.

There was one bookshop I was eager to do a book launch with, or at least stock my novel. By the time I had reached Sydney, I still hadn’t heard from them. Since they were close to the airport, I thought, “I’ll pop into that bookshop and follow up with them in person.” 

What I didn’t expect was to be told, rather rudely, that I was not a published author. Why? Because I’m self-published. I responded that the book in my bag said otherwise. What I wanted to say, but didn’t, was that the other three books that I have published – including the bestseller on Amazon – would also disagree with that. But he had his opinion set.

Some bookshops weren’t as forthcoming, but they certainly had the same mindset, which I found quite surprising, especially for someone in the industry today. 

Other bookshops had already decided on their yearly stock, so they weren’t looking to add anything more, including books from an indie author. 

TIP: Do your homework first before committing to a book tour, then put your armour on. 

Lesson #6: Only expect to sell 3-5 copies – at best – to a bookshop.

While traditionally published authors will get ten copies (or more) of their books in bookshops, indie authors are lucky if we get three in a bookshop. It’s frustrating when you see social media posts where traditionally published authors are signing multiple copies of their books when “dropping in” to the bookshops. It certainly makes you question why we even try to get our books into bookshops or try to promote our books through book tours.

The answer to that question – at least for me – is I’m doing it for the readers. To meet my current readers, and hope to meet new ones. 

TIP: Be realistic with your expectations. Even doing an event, you may sell less than ten copies of your book. 

Lesson #7: Hard Truth: You will not make money doing a book tour.

Profit on paperbacks is minimal. As a reader, you know paperbacks are expensive. It’s because of the cost of printing and shipping. Each book only makes a couple of dollars in profit, at most, but when you factor in returns, that profit disappears. That’s not taking into consideration the time spent pitching, promoting and marketing. 

So, if you are going to sell 3-5 books per bookshop, to make less than $10 profit, only to have pay for returns for anything not sold in 3-6 months, is it worthwhile selling into bookshops? That’s a great question to ask yourself. 

Some bookshops will purchase outright. Most want to do it on commission for three to six months. Some booksellers may say, “I’ll take three copies, and we’ll see how it goes, but you will have to pay for shipping back to you for the books that don’t sell.” For me, being from an island state and attempting to do a mainland tour was so costly that any potential profit vanished with this statement alone. 

Look, we all hope the books sell out and the bookshop orders more, but since Indies struggle just to get shelf space, let alone be lucky to be on the bookshop’s recommended list or on the new release shelf, the reality is rather bleak.

TIP: Understand why you are doing this. Is it worth the cost of securing new contacts and readers for the expense? Can you start small? 

Tip #8: Think outside the box.

I decided, about two months before my book tour began, that I needed to add workshops to the book tour. I knew, with the rejections I was receiving and flights already booked, that I needed to do more to at least break even. 

After considering my options, I decided to factor in my “Write Your Camino Story” workshop. While most of the workshops I hosted weren’t full – I only had a short amount of time to market them – they were interactive. Best of all, I felt like I was around my tribe which, when you’re feeling deflated by the rest of the tour, was lovely. 

Doing this workshop, I also made sure I had a couple of copies of CAMINO WANDERING at each event. Keep in mind, the book tour was not a Camino book event, but it still worked well. In fact, I should have taken more copies of CAMINO WANDERING as I sold out every time.

TIP: Think of what skills you have that will be receptive for a workshop. It may one related to your book, or something you excel in as a writer. Think outside of the box. 
 

My “Write Your Camino Story” workshop in the Blue Mountains, NSW Australia.
(Thanks to Sharise and the ‘Blue Mountains Camino Supporters’ for their support with this workshop!)

Lesson #9: Save money where you can.

Australia is a big country and, had I hired a car to drive between cities, it would have cost me days, as well as extra money on petrol and accommodation. I ended up finding cheap flights instead, which worked out well. 

TIP: Look out for airline sales and book early.

I used credit card points to pay for the hotels I stayed in. Having been a travel blogger in a previous life, I know that having travel points connected to a credit card helps immensely when booking travel. I have one credit card that I use for everything (which I pay it off at the end of the month), so it accumulates points quickly. This allows me to use the points for car rental or accommodation whenever I need it. 

TIP: Shop around when looking for a credit card. If you travel a lot, this can save you thousands of dollars. 

I stayed with friends, which I was SO thankful for. Not only could I keep my costs down, I also got time to see friends and catch up with them. One friend even made cupcakes for my Sydney book launch, which was very generous of her! 

TIP: Look to where you’ve got your support already, talk to friends about your plans, and see if anyone is willing to put you up. Then book your flights.

Lesson #10: Be grateful for what you receive, for the people who show up, and for the people who support you.

I had three people show at my Sydney launch. Now I know quite a few people who live in and around Sydney and having only three people attend my book launch was quite humbling. But the launch was great because it became an intimate conversation, where we talked about things we all love.

The book launch didn’t sell many books, but I’m okay with that, because I gained more from it from the people who showed: my bestie from high school got a glimpse into my new writing life. I got to meet someone I’ve known a while, who used to come to my Type-in Tuesdays, until life got in her way. And I met someone in the author-y world, whom I feel I have a long-term connection with. 

These are the things that made my book tour worthwhile for me. 

Going back to the beginning of this post, where I was following authors doing book tours. Sometimes doing this can be enlightening, too. One author, whose publisher covered her book-tour expenses, whined about being put up in two to three-star hotels, then whined about how a low number (ten people) showed up at a regional book signing. I was surprised to hear this from her! 

TIP: Sometimes a book tour is not about making money. There’s value to be found elsewhere. 

The cupcakes for my Sydney launch, made by the fabulous Lyn from Imaginative Icing Designs.

Conclusion: Would I do a book tour again?

Until I am more successful as an author, I won’t be doing a book tour again. That’s only because it is very expensive undertaking. For me, building community is important and there are a lot of ways to go about that, without hitting the road. Financially, it’s not worthwhile. 

TIP: Look local first and build on that. Look to where your support is and look to where your readers are. Start there. 

Have you ever done a book tour? What was your experience? What advice would you give?