Book yourself: The making of Holly Stars' epic summer book tour

Holly Stars doesn't wait by the phone. When she has something to share, she gets busy knocking on doors, handing out flyers, pulling up at markets and hosting her own shows.

She's done that for years as a comedian and as a drag performer and now, she's doing it as an author. Holly released her second book, Missing in Soho (a drag queen detective novel) in February. It was published by Penguin, but having their support didn't stop her from putting together a slate of epic events to promote the latest adventure in her series. All year, Holly's been touring around the United Kingdom meeting readers face to face at markets, at book stores, and at her own cabarets. I heard about the Missing in Soho book tour earlier this summer from her friend Lucy Werner and wanted to know more about how this came together. Holly shares Lucy's Hype Yourself mindset. If you don't get out there and tell people what you're up to and why they should care, no one else will do that for you.

I appreciate Holly's go get 'em spirit, but there's more to this story than a plucky attitude. Behind the scenes of this tour, Holly used a set of reusable techniques all authors can borrow to get their book in the hands of more readers.

Gathering your people for the launch

Holly's book takes place in a cabaret club in Soho (London) so when looking for a place for the launch party, she immediately thought of the Phoenix Arts Club, where she got her start performing. She already had a relationship with the venue so she contacted them about hosting the launch.

Then, she called in some friends to join the stage alongside her. Drag king Richard Energy and comedian Karen McLeod, who plays a character called Barbara Brownskirt, rounded out the lineup. The launch party opened with a Q&A, followed by a stand-up show, and a book signing complete with a step and repeat so readers could grab a photo with Holly and their new books.

Holly set aside budget to produce this event and she sells tickets to help cover costs, but she doesn't expect to make a profit. It's more about celebrating the release and getting the book in the hands of readers.

Not all of us are drag performers or comics, but what Holly did here was look to the relationships and skills she already had to produce an event that made sense for the theme of her book. The choice of venue, event flow and partners might look completely different for your book party, but the premise is the same: gather the people you already know to help you pull off your launch.

Taking the books to the people at Pride

Post-party, Holly wanted to keep the momentum going so she hit up her friends at Gayberystwyth Books, an independent queer bookshop in seaside Wales. She had done a couple events with them before so they knew her and her books. Holly pitched them the idea of taking their books on the road to Pride events across the country. Gayberystwyth would have half the table for their inventory and she would use the other half to sell her Misty Divine series. They loved the idea and together, they teamed up at five Prides around the UK and at the Draggies Awards Show in London.

Holly prepped the usual setup for her market booth: big pop-up banners, a bright tablecloth, table signs with quotes from the book and QR codes (one for Instagram and one for the newsletter) but it was her interactive elements that made her table a destination at these events.

Holly ordered a spinning wheel à la "Wheel of Fortune" off Amazon and branded it with her book colors. Anytime a reader bought a book, they got to spin the wheel and win a biscuit (or cookies for us Americans). If they won the big prize, they got the whole pack of 'em. Holly told me this created a lot of buzz around her booth because readers would cheer when they won a biscuit and it would draw more people over to see what was going on. She even got the Mayor of Aberystwyth to spin it, which made for great Instagram content. This wasn't possible at every event but Holly brought the wheel along whenever she could.

"Do not sit behind the table. That is death. If you sit and wait for them to come to you, it's going to be a longer day for everyone," Holly told me. She's always in front engaging passersby and, if no one's near, she goes into the crowd to find people to chat up. She brought along a big roll of Pride stickers and, whenever there was a lull, she'd offer people stickers and use it as a conversation starter about why she was there selling her book. A friend was always nearby with a couple copies of the books and they'd invite interested folks back to their table.

As someone who has bombed at a few markets, I find Holly's advice eyeopening. Of course you need something for people to do! That makes so much sense. A spinning wheel, some cookies and a pack of stickers was all it took to drive more people to the book booth. Next time, Holly says she'll also expand her inventory to include tote bags and other types of merch people can buy beyond the books.

I asked Holly how she promoted these markets and she said Instagram, TikTok and her email list, but that most people aren't coming to these events to see her. They're coming for the event itself. She's winning them over with her charm and turning them into new readers and fast fans in minutes.

Paying attention to what kind of reader you're talking to

Holly admits she has a "visual advantage" being in full drag at a Pride event, but she says it's not about putting on a show, it's about getting to know your readers and making a lasting connection with them.

"While the world is certainly getting more digital, I think that people appreciate more of an in-person connection with an author," Holly said. She recommends having two to three elevator pitches you can use with different types of readers. For some people, she leans into the police bias storyline. For others, the fact that Missing in Soho was a RuPaul's Book Club pick. Some people like the camp drag side of the series and others care about the political queer culture.

She's testing these pitches with readers at markets and she's able to hear their immediate feedback. She took note of these reader sentiments and demographics and, after the summer tour, she brought back a big reader intel report to her publisher. They're going to use it to develop the next book in the series.

Beyond which pitch works, it's about having a moment of connection your new reader can remember. A conversation with you. A photo together. A book signing. A game. You haven't just gained a reader. You've gained a fan.

Using in-person to grow online

The summer book tour quadrupled Holly's monthly views and engagement on Instagram and there's a few pieces she put in place to make that possible.

She ran a big giveaway when the paperback for Missing in Soho was released in July. The giveaway included not just copies of both series books, but an entire West End weekend, complete with a three-night stay in South Kensington provided by Quintess and theatre tickets from Theatre Tokens. To enter, you had to follow Holly on Instagram and tag two friends in the comments. She brought flyers for the giveaway to all the markets and made sure every attendee knew they could win. That bought in about 1,500-2,000 new followers.

Beyond the giveaway, new fans also shared photos of themselves with Holly and the book on Instagram, which helped grow her audience too. Holly says whenever someone takes a photo, she asks to be tagged and she has her Instagram handle QR code on the table, but other than that it's pretty organic that people ask for photos and post them.

Don't wait by the phone. Book yourself.

I asked Holly how much she thinks it matters that she has a publishing house behind her. She said it's hard to know because she hasn't self-published before and that her publisher has been a big supporter of her event planning. Regardless, she offered us the same advice she gives new drag performers:

"Whatever your situation, just go for it. Don't wait for someone else to pick up the phone and call. If you're sitting at home waiting, that's time when you could be ringing up a venue and booking in your own cabaret, putting the tickets online and designing a shit poster on Canva or whatever. You just have to be your own advocate always for selling your book, for making your business happen. I think you have to be brazen."

Holly's not afraid to ask a book store to put up a poster or to walk up to a likely reader and sell them on the spot. Being a comedian definitely helps with rejection, but Holly's also leveraging relationships she's established with bookstores, with venues, with event organizers and with other performers. You might be your own best promoter but you don't have to promote alone. Figure out who else might be willing to join your campaign and hit the streets together.

Tell us about a time you've been your own booker and you've gotten yourself a gig to promote your work. Share your experience in the comments.