Kim Harrison's Mystery City Contest

In January, Kim releases her newest title Ever After! (happy dance) She is doing a book tour (schedule here), but couldn't visit every city that wanted her. So she teamed up with HaperCollins to try a fan-sourced approach to her book tour.

Kim hosted a survey on her blog to give readers a chance to get her to come to their city. The biggest responses came from Atlanta and Minneapolis.

Working with Togather, Kim has set up a contest to see which city/bookstore she will visit. Readers vote for the city they want by pre-ordering her book from the participating book store:

Uncle Hugo's book store in Minneapolis

Bring my EVER AFTER tour to Minneapolis, MN!

or

Eagle Eye Books in Decatur

Bring my EVER AFTER tour to Atlanta, GA!

The first store to reach 150 pre-orders will win!

The competition is on! Check out Kim's blog post for current rankings and more details on how readers can participate. 

*The cover cost of the book also includes tax and shipping costs so you will have it right on release day. (Note: If your store/city wins, you’ll get a signed copy of my book that can be personalized at the event! See the event page for your city for further details on pick-up and shipping options).

*If a store does not ‘win’ an event (less than 150 pre-orders), your credit card will not be charged. Orders are only placed if the bookstore in your hometown wins the Mystery City contest. If not, then no money is exchanged.

About Togather and a new way to connect authors and readers

This new book tour model empowers online fans and helps authors and small bookstores collect pre-sales before a book’s launch date. By partnering with Kim on this initiative, HarperCollins continues to embrace new ways to connect with readers both on- and offline, further cementing their status as an innovator in the world of publishing. 

If you are ever interested in planning your own event with Kim or any author, you can propose an event through Togather, which is a new site that makes it easier to host author events. 

What does the Flock think?

Sharon: I can see the logic behind this type of promotion. The author will be visiting packed singing events, which means more sales for the local stores and the author. But I kind of enjoy going to small events because it is a more personal experience. Using Togather can help readers bring authors that might not otherwise visit their city.

What do you think about this type of promotion? Do you like the idea of reader's pre-orders determining an author's tour dates? Do you think this benefits the author more than the readers?