In the digital age it is good see the literary world of Algren, Bellow, and Terkel still lives. Billy Goats Tavern is not that far and the Cubs are to the north and the Sox are to the South and you are in the South Loop down among the buildings with the old water towers on top. You are selling books. And it is not glamorous. Lots of authors and bookstores and publishers and literati. The first day is hot and the second day is cold. That is Chicago.
And you smash into the people and let them know about your book. And they buy. These people are looking for a book and they don't haggle on price. If it is something they want to buy they buy it. Ebooks do not exist here. This is the land of pulp and lets face it this is Chicago where people push things and work hard and you cannot push bits and bytes.
And you eat every horrible thing under the sun to keep going. Eight hours you are there And you don't want to miss a minute. Talking with your readers is a great lift for any author. So eat the donuts and drink the coffee and inhale the hotdogs and cook and freeze and then before you know it it is time to pack up.
You count up the books you sold and count your money five times to make sure. You hit your car and drive home and wonder about all those people you talked too. Will Printers Row go on? Will books survive? It doesn't matter. For now people are reading your book. It doesn't get any better.
www.williamhazelgrove.com
The Pitcher
And you smash into the people and let them know about your book. And they buy. These people are looking for a book and they don't haggle on price. If it is something they want to buy they buy it. Ebooks do not exist here. This is the land of pulp and lets face it this is Chicago where people push things and work hard and you cannot push bits and bytes.
And you eat every horrible thing under the sun to keep going. Eight hours you are there And you don't want to miss a minute. Talking with your readers is a great lift for any author. So eat the donuts and drink the coffee and inhale the hotdogs and cook and freeze and then before you know it it is time to pack up.
You count up the books you sold and count your money five times to make sure. You hit your car and drive home and wonder about all those people you talked too. Will Printers Row go on? Will books survive? It doesn't matter. For now people are reading your book. It doesn't get any better.
www.williamhazelgrove.com
The Pitcher
