Update on a great book marketing trip

Time to let you know what I’m up to.

We’re (my wife and I) visiting family in Salt Lake City as part of a book marketing trip that started on Easter Sunday. That afternoon, we drove our motor home from Billings to Bozeman for an author event focused on my Dave McNally biography at the Country Bookshelf bookstore.

Probably because it was the evening of a holiday, there wasn’t a large turnout for the event. Those in attendance, however, were fully engaged. We sold a modest quantity of books, and the good folks at the bookstore told me that people have come in and asked for the book.

So, before I left, I signed about 10 copies of the book, so that buyers get those desirable author-signed books.

Then, we headed to Salt Lake City. A day after arriving, I caught a plane flight from there to Baltimore, THE place to market a book about a star Orioles pitcher. I spent about six days there, and what a great time it was!

My author event at the Babe Ruth Museum took place last Saturday (April 11), and a couple days before that, I grabbed an Uber ride to the museum and Camden Yards (across the street from the house where Ruth was born and spent the early years of his life).

To get lunch that day, I strolled across the street from the ballpark and dined at the premiere park for Orioles fans, Pickels. I was told it’s a crowded zoo just before a game; fortunately, this was a weekday noon on a travel day for the Birds. And before I knew it, I struck up a conversation with a super-Orioles fan named Tim Callender. Tim learned of my interest in seeing the house in suburban Lutherville where Dave and his young family lived for about a decade while he was building his resume: 181 wins for the Orioles, four straight 20-win seasons, and being part of the 1971 Orioles rotation of four 20-game winners, considered the greatest in modern major league baseball history.

Tim quickly found the address of the McNally house, which came in handy a day later. That’s when I finally met a retired Baltimore Oriole Sun sportswriter, John Eisenberg, also an author with whom I previouly had just an email relationship. John picked me up, took me to lunch, and then we found the McNally’s house, a typical suburban rancher still in good shape 50 years after Dave retired from baseball and brought his family back to Billings.

That night (April 10), I wranged a ticket to the Orioles-Giants game and added Camden Yards to the list of big-league parks I’ve visited. Unfortunately, the Orioles lost, but they rebounded to win the next two games against the Giants and then beat the Arizona Diamondbacks to pull into a tie for first place in their division with the Yankees.

Finally came the time I had been waiting for: the author event at the Babe Ruth Museum, under the auspices of SABR (Society for American Baseball Research), an organization to which I belong. Thanks, again, Peter Coolbaugh, of SABR, for making this possible.

I had worked with a fine independent bookstore in Baltimore, The Ivy, to have books on hand. Maggie Jones from The Ivy delivered the books, and the fun began!

There probably were 12-15 people on hand for the outdoor event in a courtyard adjacent to the museum on a glorious early spring day. And they all seemed to be super Orioles fans who soaked up the story about McNally’s record-setting grand slam home run against Cincinnati in the 1970 World Series.

Almost everyone bought at least one copy of the book. And in marketing circles, these were influencers, the kind of folks who will tout the book to friends and acquaintances, bringing more sales. Word of mouth is still the premiere way to sell lots of products, including books.

What made the day especially worthwhile was, first meeting a man named Vann Durham, whose father, Joe, was the first Black position player for the Orioles in 1954--the team’s first season in Baltimore after the hapless St. Louis Browns packed up and came to the Atlantic Coast city.

Then, another man came up and introduced himself. This was Arley Scott, from Littlestown, Pennsylvania. Arley is such a fan of Dave McNally that he bought the book from Amazon soon after it came out last fall. He brought his copy, which I gladly signed. And we’ve been Facebook friends since about when he became one of my early readers.

And before I knew it, the trip was over. Not before, however, I took an Uber ride to Fort McHenry and laid eyes on the history place near where Francis Scott Key composed the words to the Star Spangled Banner during the War of 1812. I’ve got pictures and more information about that place and will share later.