Some vacationers will trek to the seashore to bake in the sun and ride the waves, some will seek the coolness of the majestic mountains to play in tranquil fresh water lakes, more senior folks will seek the pampering comforts of a five-star luxury resort hotel, and others will visit places of historic interest; and a few folks will travel abroad to see the sights and experience different cultures overseas. Regardless of where you journey away to as a destination to celebrate your vacation, there's one true and certain fact-you're going to meet other folks vacationing too.
Vacations have a way of turning introverts into extroverts when they begin engaging in conversations with complete strangers. After you've exhausted the typical topics of where you're from, talking about the kids and grandchildren, and then the inevitable inquiry comes up about your work-what do you do when you aren't on vacation???
Now this is the moment of truth, you could get into briefly explaining what your job is with some of the less boring details, or you could boldly respond with the fact that you're a published author-which many folks will agree is more interesting to talk about than their day job. Many regular folks have a bit of wonderment about how authors have the creative ability to spin stories into an entertaining compelling read or logically and effectively explain the complex aspects of a nonfiction topic.
Eventually in the course of discussing your book the question will arise how they can get a copy of your book. Naturally you just happen to have a few copies with you that are available for purchase at a special vacation discount price. Indeed knock a few bucks off the cover price, and be sure to autograph it with a special reference to meeting them while on vacation. When they return home, they'll be able to brag about how they happened to meet a famous author during their vacation. This is book marketing at it's best!
- John Harnish