Notice, I didn't say “book tour” or “publisher” because most authors won't be going on a publisher-sponsored book tour. They'll be driving as far as they can afford, to visit the booksellers that'll have them – which is also becoming more of a challenge for debut and mid-list authors because the bookstores don't want to bring in the book unless they're sure it'll sell out at the signing.

But there are ways to change it up to offer the bookstore and the reader an alternative author event experience.

1. Partner up – we all know other authors in our backyards. Form a marketing alliance with a handful of other local authors and pitch panel events. This gives readers a chance to get to know you without the awkwardness that can often accompany a one-on-one event. It also multiplies the pre-promotion of the event by the number of authors involved.

When authors are between books, these types of events keep them in the public eye. When they have a book to promote, the other authors in the group who are between books can get the same pull-along benefit.

This kind of strategy can also extend the “shelf life” of a book beyond the return period.

2. Always take copious pictures when you're appearing somewhere. Better yet, bring somebody along to photograph EVERYTHING about the event.

Get POSED pics of you with the staff and one with you and the bookstore owner(s) if possible, a pic of you in front of the bookstore (with the sign), some random pics of the store (if it's an indie, capture the uniqueness of the store in your pics and get a little background on the history of the place). When somebody actually buys your book ask them if you can have a pic of you and them for your FB Fan page. Make sure you get the correct spelling of peoples' names, and invite them to connect with you so you can tag them.

When posing for pics TAKE MORE THAN ONE PIC. The more people in the shot, the more likely somebody is going to have their eyes closed or their mouth open or hate the pic for some other reason. More shots give you more opportunities to capture GOOD pics of everybody.

If you grab any video, put it on your YouTube channel and post a link on your Facebook fan page. Then let the people in the video know where they can find it.

Write up the event on your blog. It doesn't have to be a journalistic feat, just an honest, accurate representation of the event and the bookstore. You're creating a future marketing piece for yourself AND for the bookstore. Then when you pitch other bookstores to do events, you can send them links directing the bookseller to these records of past events. When the bookstore sees that they're going to wind up with a nice piece they can use to promote, they'll be more likely to host you.

Oh, right, this is just a comment. I'll stop now, but you see what I mean.

But when my son said “Mom, THIS is the food I like. It's SIMPLE,” I felt completely vindicated for having giving up on my new year's resolution.

For my kids, simple is better. Cookbook recipes tend to be “too much.”

One thing that I've enjoyed in the real world is getting to know the booksellers at a local independent book store. As we've gotten to know each other they'll share things like, “I just sold one of your books today!” While I value just getting to know them and to chat about books, the time they spend with me also helps them figure out who may be interested in my book.

And though you didn't solicit this advice, I strongly recommend the Moosewood Simple Suppers for easy dinner ideas and the food blog 101 Cook Books–especially the orange glazed tempeh recipe she has on there. I can't follow directions or measure correctly (really, you can ask my wife) and I still managed to make a few edible meals.

Just curious where you're getting the info about the bulk book purchases being a necessary component. It's not that I don't agree it can seriously help, but not sure Gretchen or Pioneer Woman had that. Maybe….but not to my knowledge.

Thanks Dan.

Nice post Debbie.