How does it feel to be on your first book tour?
- Kenton Moore
- May 6
- 4 min read
It was a beautiful Sunday. Mid-morning. I was in the Jeep, windows down, music cranked, on my way home from visiting my Aunt at her incredible cabin on the lake here in the British Columbia mountains. She had asked me that question, and in my reflection on the drive home, it sat with me. How did I feel? I had not given her a solid answer. If I remember it correctly, it was along the lines of "oof... amazing. Just a wild experience."
I suppose if I were to leave it at that, it would be enough. But this is a journey for me, and I wanted to capture the true essence of this experience. And so as the dirt road crunched beneath my tires and the miles ticked down to home, I dug into my mind and gave it serious thought.
I am not a stranger to signing events or book launches. My first one was the original first-edition Legend of the Sunlight Prince in 2013. Since then, I've done launch events for Bone Hill, signing appearances at Chapters/Indigo, digital soft-launch events for Dark Below the Ice, and a whole host of readings both virtually and in-person. I also did two conventions and one literary festival. Yet in all that time, I never billed or advertised my appearances as a tour. Not like I have with Cloudbreakers: Vallen. Even making the calls to the various stores I wanted to arrange appearances with, I called it a tour. I think in a way, that gave me and the appearances a bit of gravitas. Me especially. To me, it made it feel different and real. I had spent twelve years with the Cloudbreakers living rent-free in my head after all, and now they were finally here and ready to meet the world.
Choosing Victoria, BC, as my launch point for the tour was an organic decision that came easily to me. After all, my inspiration for the books was the ten years I served in the Navy there, and the community that supported me and got me writing novels in the first place. It was no surprise then that my community truly showed up for me at that event, and because of them, we sold out the store of all their Vallen inventory in only three hours. A feat, sure, but one purely driven by my friends and family who came to support and see me. I wrestled a bit with my ego coming home from that trip. Selling out a signing was a valuable and impressive feat, but I also had to remind myself that only three copies went to strangers. A book sold is a book sold though, so I held my head high and went into my next signing event a tad cocky if I'm being honest.
That second signing went almost just as well. Mom came with me to experience a bit of my world and do something different, and though we did not sell out the store, we did sell over 80%, and this time all the books went to strangers. That signing taught me two important lessons. Engage everyone, and bring something to give away for free, especially for kids. I had stickers of airships and such that my friend Lori gave me. We had a blast lighting up kids' days, and it always resulted in a conversation with the parents. On that drive home, while we discussed what worked and what did not, we also had the idea to create the Vallen display for the next signing.
The last signing to date on the tour was in my hometown, Kamloops, BC. It was there, with the brand new Cloudbreakers book display on the table, that I learned the value of marketing. Having attractive book covers arranged well on a table is invaluable. Displaying them in unique ways on something that speaks to the genre? Priceless. 90% of the people who stopped to talk to me did so because of that display, and the rest because of the vinyl banner. In between signings, too, I had been practicing a short elevator pitch and quick answers for questions being asked quite frequently. From "What's your book about?" to "Is it sci-fi or fantasy?" I was ready. Special note - one lucky customer was having her book signed at my table when the cover artists dropped in to say hello, so I am proud to say that somewhere out there is a copy of Vallen with all our signatures.
So... how does it feel to be on my first book tour? Humbling. Thrilling. Terrifying. Exhausting. It is a constant evolution - a pruning, if you will - of what works and what does not. It is learning and applying lessons, trying to do better, yet expecting nothing. It is being overwhelmed by an outstanding event, and never being disappointed by a slow one. It is shaking hands with new contacts, and hugging old friends and family. It is getting really, really good at your signature. It is amazing. Just a wild experience.
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