Going the Distance

How far would you go to support a small business owner?

One local publisher is really going the distance—7,000 miles to be exact.

Tracy Ruckman is going from small business to small business, mostly bookstores, to promote their role in upcoming authors’ lives.

owns Write Integrity and Pix-n-Pens Publishing Houses in and will be visiting bookstores in the hometowns of her authors.

“Small businesses are the life-blood of this country,” Ruckman said. “I just heard someone say this morning that if every small business in this country were able to put one person to work, we would not have unemployment - there are that many small businesses in this country.”

But how will going to bookstores help boost their business? She won’t just be shopping for fun finds, Ruckman will be blogging about her experiences on Holly Springs-Hickory Flat Patch, soliciting advice on tourist attractions and local treasures, connecting with Patches in cities that have a site and hosting marketing events at the bookstores.

Jennifer Fromke, author for Write Integrity, said the idea behind a small publisher keeping true to her mission to support rising authors was unusual at best.

“Individual book tours are very expensive, and only the hottest novelists even bother anymore,” Fromke said. “This idea is like an upside down book tour--the publisher travels on behalf of the authors. What a fantastic idea. I'm looking forward to all the fun ahead of us this summer, and I'm especially excited to meet some of the other authors participating in the tour.”

By using Kickstarter.com, Ruckman will try to raise the $23,000 needed to drive cross-country for the tour. With 17 days to go, she has only raised a fraction, $1,313 of the proceeded needed for the trip. Those who pledge any amount will get a Hope Tour sticker. Those who pledge $5 or more will get a post card from her trip. Those who pledge $10 or more will get a free e-book from Write Integrity. Prizes increase with the size of the donation and include a 30-minute Skype session with authors and the chance to get your bookstore added to the tour.

Melissa Foster, founder of the World Literary Cafe, said the marketing side of small bookstore owners and authors has fallen to the wayside in this tough economy.

“What Tracy Ruckman is doing with the Hope Tour is unheard of in today's publishing realm,” Foster said. “I interact with publishing professionals on many different levels, and this type of grassroots marketing went out of style long before the economy tanked. I can only imagine that Tracy's excitement will be contagious during the tour, and that readers who come in contact with the tour will then be curious enough to pick up the titles she represents

Ruckman’s trip, dubbed the “Hope Tour 2012,” will take her through 14 states and 31 cities.

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