[{"data":1,"prerenderedAt":11},["ShallowReactive",2],{"blog-post-pugs-of-the-frozen-north-ten-things-i-learned-on-book-tour":3},{"_type":4,"body":5,"bodyHtml":6,"excerpt":5,"featuredImage":5,"publishedAt":7,"slug":8,"tags":9,"title":10},"blogPost",null,"I've done lots of events in the past, but last week was the first time I've ever gone on an Official Book Tour! Here are ten things I learned, while travelling around the country telling people about \u003Ca href=\"http://jabberworks.co.uk/pugs-of-the-frozen-north/\">\u003Ci>Pugs of the Frozen North\u003C/i>\u003C/a> with my co-author, \u003Ca href=\"https://twitter.com/philipreeve1\">Philip Reeve\u003C/a>.  \\r\n\\r\n\u003Cimg src=\"https://images.jabberworks.co.uk/lj/school_zps062pqfif-3935ba9ed8.gif\" width=\"550\">\\r\n\\r\n\u003Cb>\u003Cfont size=\"3\">1. Touring turns me into an incurable fantasist\u003C/b>\u003C/font>: When Philip and I talked with kids enough about our '\u003Cb>Refrigerated Pug Bus\u003C/b>', it almost feels like we were really touring in one. Our bus had a huge yellow ribbon painted down the side with 66 pugs tumbling along it, and a giant rotating pug sculpture on top of the bus. Sadly we didn't manage to take any photos of it.\\r\n\\r\n\u003Cimg src=\"https://images.jabberworks.co.uk/lj/pugtour_travel_zpsi2pudars-96a952523b.jpg\">\\r\n\\r\n\u003Cb>\u003Cfont size=\"3\">2. People who love pugs REALLY LOVE PUGS\u003C/b>\u003C/font>: It's not like other animals, the Pug Love is completely obsessive and since pugs are great little animals, the love is well deserved. \\r\n\\r\n\u003Cimg src=\"https://images.jabberworks.co.uk/lj/pugtour_puglove_zpsk5s61mpo-5d73619203.jpg\">\\r\n\u003Ci>Fabulous pug owner at Simply Books, Bramhall (near Manchester), super pug fan at Cheltenham Lit Fest\u003C/i>\\r\n\\r\n\u003Cb>\u003Cfont size=\"3\">3. Anyone can draw a pug\u003C/b>\u003C/font>: Some of the best pugs were drawn by people who said they couldn't draw, and some of the really wonky ones were the best and most characterful. (If you want to learn how to draw - or knit! - a pug, click over to \u003Ca href=\"http://www.jabberworks.co.uk/pugs-of-the-frozen-north/\">my website\u003C/a>.) \\r\n\\r\n\u003Cimg src=\"https://images.jabberworks.co.uk/lj/pug_drawings_zpsqiipjmqj-99ed6ab521.jpg\"> \\r\n\\r\n\u003C!--more Click here for more under the cut!-->\\r\n\u003Cb>\u003Cfont size=\"3\">4. Most of the real work happened before we even arrived at the school:\u003C/b>\u003C/font> The most eager, attentive, involved children were (rather unsurprisingly) the ones who had already read the book. But even kids who just knew who we were and had been given a bit of buildup by their teachers before the event got way more out of the visit than the kids who had no idea who Philip and I were. We had wonderful audiences except at one school where even a teacher at the end of the event said, 'So... are you the ones who wrote and illustrated this book?' (The book itself and the poster with our book covers, and everything we'd been saying for the past hour hadn't been a clue.) And the same went with book sales: way more kids were able to get excited and take home a book to read when they had pre-ordered books, assisted by our fab booksellers who came along with us. (Kids almost never remember to bring book money on the day and then feel gutted they can't have a book.) There's something very exciting about meeting authors and then immediately being able to go away and read their book, a dedicated and signed copy that they might treasure for a lifetime. \\r\n\\r\n\u003Cimg src=\"https://images.jabberworks.co.uk/lj/pugtour_books_zpsqdygolzo-0170b76d1a.jpg\">\\r\n\\r\n\u003Cb>\u003Cfont size=\"3\">5. I can't get any other work done on tour\u003C/b>\u003C/font>: I brought along all these other projects - character development for a new book, a magazine article that needs writing, I was going to blog each evening - but with early morning starts, and rolling back from dinner at 11pm or later, all I could do was wash my tights and flop onto the bed, hopefully not forgetting to set my alarm clock. \\r\n\\r\n\u003Cimg src=\"https://images.jabberworks.co.uk/lj/pugtour_pugs_zpsiym5vwc1-a8985743f0.jpg\">\\r\n\u003Ci>(The bits where we get to hang out with pugs is more energising than tiring, actually.)\u003C/i>\\r\n\\r\n\u003Cb>\u003Cfont size=\"3\">6. Being tired makes me really stupid, and I love my publicists\u003C/b>\u003C/font>: I had a Frankfurt Book Fair deadline right before the tour and was staying up until 3am to finish artwork. So by the time I went on tour, I was already tired and the first thing I did was have a massive panic that I'd forgotten to pack my yellow costume skirt. After getting my kind next-door neighbour to agree to go upstairs and send it to me courier, I realised I'd rolled it into a tiny ball and stored it in my handbag, and just forgotten to check there. I felt like such an idiot diva. Having a publicist there meant I could focus all my energy and brainpower on the events and the kids, and Philip and I were able to do more events than I would have been able to do in a day I'd organised all by myself. I've been so busy with book deadlines that I haven't been able to take on hardly any school events this year, but with the publicists stacking them all up together for one tour, I was able to hit loads of schools at one go. By the end of each day I was practically jibbering and the pubicists were very patient. \\r\n\\r\n\u003Cimg src=\"https://images.jabberworks.co.uk/lj/pugtour_chihuahua_zpsfe6nlqrs-562e1fc0fc.jpg\">\\r\n\u003Ci>A constant stream of pugs requires the occasional chihuahua break. Publicist Alesha Bonser was very accommodating.\u003C/i>\\r\n \\r\n\u003Cb>\u003Cfont size=\"3\">7. I should have made sure my costume had room for expansion\u003C/b>\u003C/font>: I \u003Ci>could\u003C/i> have ordered salads every night at the restaurants. But at the end of an exhausting day of school events and travel, I always thought, \u003Ci>I \u003Cb>deserve\u003C/b> this burger/pizza/etc.\u003C/i>) Also any cake offered mid-day, like anyone's \u003Ci>really\u003C/i> going to turn down cake or a biscuit after running around in front of 300 kids. Book tours don't come with a personal trainer and I was bursting out of my dress. Philip and I had a No Pudding Pact, which turned into a No Chip Pact and neither resolution lasted very long.\\r\n\\r\n\u003Cimg src=\"https://images.jabberworks.co.uk/lj/pugfood2_zps13aewwjg-c208e174b8.jpg\">\\r\n\u003Ci>Home-baked pug biscuits at Simply Books bookshop; publicist Liz Scott with knitted pug 'the pug made me order it'; Bath dinner with Andy Mulligan, Simon Mason, JAKe, Robin Stephens, festival organiser John McLay, Harriet Venn, publicist Alesha Bonser, Philip; and \u003Ca href=\"http://girfan.livejournal.com/\" class=\"lj-user\">girfan\u003C/a> (\u003Ca href=\"https://twitter.com/MrsHirez\">@MrsHirez\u003C/a>) makes the world's best brownies, as seen on the train from Bath to Cheltenham\u003C/i> \\r\n\\r\n\u003Cb>\u003Cfont size=\"3\">8. Book tours are awesome\u003C/b>\u003C/font>: I never could have organised that many visits on my own or met that many people, and Philip and I got better and better at our stage show as we practiced it several times a day. We live far apart, so often the first time we do a show at a big festival, we haven't rehearsed it even once. But after awhile, we start figuring out which activities are a bit cringe-y and which lines get a good laugh. And we get little ukulele blisters on our fingers, which makes us feel like proper musicians, even if we're not.\\r\n\\r\n\u003Cimg src=\"https://images.jabberworks.co.uk/lj/pugtour_stage_zps2l9odgwt-951c2feed5.jpg\">\\r\n\\r\n\u003Cb>\u003Cfont size=\"3\">9. A book tour ends with a huge list of people to thank\u003C/b>\u003C/font>: Big thanks to \u003Ca href=\"https://twitter.com/OUPChildrens\">Oxford University Press\u003C/a> for sending us out! To \u003Ca href=\"https://twitter.com/LizScottPR\">Liz Scott\u003C/a> for all the overall organising and meeting us for the Manchester leg of the tour, \u003Ca href=\"https://twitter.com/SarahAnnHowells\">Sarah Howells\u003C/a> and \u003Ca href=\"https://twitter.com/KarinAndre3\">Karin Andre\u003C/a> for the midlands, \u003Cb>Hattie Bayly\u003C/b> for Essex and Cheltenham, and \u003Ca href=\"https://twitter.com/aleshabonser\">Alesha Bonser\u003C/a> for Essex and Bath, \u003Ca href=\"https://twitter.com/LoisNina\">Phil Perry\u003C/a> working in the background, and my husband \u003Cb>Stuart\u003C/b>, for putting up with my packing frenzy and having a lovely hot dinner when I returned. \\r\n\\r\n\u003Cimg src=\"https://images.jabberworks.co.uk/lj/pugs_collage1_zps8rgr078x-68e6b08bf3.jpg\">\\r\n\u003Cimg src=\"https://images.jabberworks.co.uk/lj/pugs_collage2_zpsm8zylpna-3dd2b87a01.jpg\">\\r\n\\r\nHuge thanks to \u003Cb>Sue & Andrew\u003C/b> and their team at \u003Ca href=\"https://twitter.com/simplybooksNo1\">Simply Books\u003C/a> (including their Knit & Natter team who knitted all the pugs!), \u003Cb>Sheryl\u003C/b> at \u003Ca href=\"https://twitter.com/CWBookshop\">Chorleywood Bookshop\u003C/a>, \u003Cb>Ros\u003C/b> with \u003Ca href=\"https://twitter.com/FCBGNews\">Federation of Children's Book Groups\u003C/a>, and \u003Cb>Caroline\u003C/b> at \u003Ca href=\"https://twitter.com/imaginecentre\">Just Imagine\u003C/a>, and \u003Ca href=\"https://twitter.com/PetersBooks\">Peters Books\u003C/a> Showroom, \u003Ca href=\"https://twitter.com/EarlsHigh\">Earls High School\u003C/a>, \u003Ca href=\"https://twitter.com/stockportgs\">Stockport Grammar School\u003C/a>, \u003Ca href=\"https://twitter.com/GreenbankPrep\">Greenbank Prep School\u003C/a>, \u003Ca href=\"http://www.olive.dudley.sch.uk/\">Olive Hill Primary School\u003C/a>, \u003Ca href=\"http://www.newfieldpark.co.uk/\">Newfield Park Primary School\u003C/a>, \u003Ca href=\"http://www.butlerscourt.bucks.sch.uk/\">Butler's Court School\u003C/a>, \u003Ca href=\"https://twitter.com/pinkwellprimary\">Pinkwell Primary School\u003C/a>, \u003Ca href=\"http://www.buckhursthillprimary.co.uk/\">Buckhurst Hill Primary School\u003C/a>, \u003Ca href=\"http://www.smartclassroommanagement.com/2011/04/02/the-teacher-is-in-charge/\">Alderton Junior School\u003C/a>, \u003Ca href=\"https://twitter.com/DragonsDentist\">John McLay\u003C/a> and \u003Cb>Gill McLay\u003C/b> at \u003Cb>Bath Kids Lit Fest\u003C/b> and \u003Cb>Jane Churchill\u003C/b> at \u003Cb>Cheltenham Lit Fest\u003C/b> for hosting us! You can see a few more photos on Twitter at \u003Ca href=\"https://twitter.com/search?f=tweets&vertical=default&q=%23pugsroadshow&src=typd\">#PugsRoadshow\u003C/a> and \u003Ca href=\"http://www.philip-reeve.com/pugs-roadshow/\">Philip has blogged about the tour here\u003C/a>. \\r\n\\r\n\u003Cimg src=\"https://images.jabberworks.co.uk/lj/pugs_collage4_zps8u4wedbj-90da57c4f0.jpg\">\\r\n\u003Cimg src=\"https://images.jabberworks.co.uk/lj/pugs_collage5_zpsbhgxcnds-9d028c7210.jpg\">\\r\n\u003Cimg src=\"https://images.jabberworks.co.uk/lj/pugs_collage3_zpsepuchvgs-367364296e.jpg\">\\r\n\\r\n\u003Cb>\u003Cfont size=\"3\">10. Despite all this collaboration and working together malarky, you can only fit one author in a chair at a time. \u003C/b>\u003C/font> (Yes, I'm looking at YOU, Philip Reeve.) \\r\n\\r\n\u003Cimg src=\"https://images.jabberworks.co.uk/lj/sarah_philip_bathchair_zpsadwsximw-5cb1459fc6.jpg\">","2015-10-06T18:01:00.000Z","pugs-of-the-frozen-north-ten-things-i-learned-on-book-tour",[],"pugs of the frozen north: ten things I learned on book tour",1776628727837]