Ann Patchett talks about touring

Ann Patchett has an interesting piece in the Atlantic Monthly on touring. She tries to remember Alan Gurganus’ advice: “The only thing worse than going on book tour,” he said, “is not going on book tour.”

She writes, “Like the hotels, the tours all start to blend together. The books, the cities, the stores, the airports, the crowds or lack of crowds all fall under the massive heading of What Happened While I Was Away. What I always remember clearly are the times I saw other writers, the way pioneers rolling over the prairies in covered wagons must have remembered every detail of the other settlers they passed, cutting through the tall grass from a different angle. “How was it back there?” you shout out from your wooden perch.”

I’ve had experiences like that. Tim Cockey still owes me a drink, a promise he made when we passed like ships in the night in California when we were both on tour in 2001 or 2002, even though he has now morphed into Richard Hawke.  

Read more about Patchett’s experiences, including how no one wants to talk about your current book here.