In a taxi on the way to the Today Show. Wish my hair could look like this every day.

Fresh off the road for my new book BOYOLOGY, I pulled together a list of the 5 things every author should know before going on tour. Here they are:

1. Twittering is MUCH easier than blogging on the road. Thanks to my trusty iPhone, I wasn’t worryied about finding a wifi connection for my laptop so I could write an “official” blog post. Instead, I used twitter and dealt with the blog stuff when I got home.

2. Online event listings really do pull people out to events. I had a bunch of people mention that they saw my events online and that’s why they came. And other local media (TV, radio, print) is really important. Hard to get, but worth the effort of trying.

3. Be Nice. Remember that the booksellers are putting in extra hours (likely unpaid) to be at your events, your publicist is pulling her hair out to get you another radio interview in the market, and your mother has already purchased 5 copies of your book. (She can’t drive your Amazon ranking by herself). A thank you note after each event for the bookseller, and a little gift for your publicist will go a long way in showing your appreciation for all their hard work. You’ll have to figure out how to thank your mother on your own.

4. The perfect pre-tour gift is a Starbucks card. If you’re ever thinking about giving your author a “good luck on the road” present, get them $20 to Starbucks. One of my friends gave me one and I was so grateful to have it since most of my meals ended up being at Starbucks. And with my early morning 6:00am flights every morning, I started each day with a lot of coffee!

5. Do Not, I repeat, DO NOT, take red-eye flights.

Extra Credit: Buy some books! No one has better reading recommendations than a local bookseller. Take their advice on what’s hot and support them by getting it at their store. Can you believe I had never read John Green’s Looking for Alaska and I’m a teen author? I ended up bringing 11 books home. Not only will I be smarter, but I think I’m actually a little bit stronger from lugging my suitcase around.