Why not publicize his blog? He publicizes everything else he does, starting with his Tony Bennett Concert for the Mitch Albom Fund for the Homeless, featuring a suck-up (and unethical) appearance by Joe Dumars (Hey Joe, if you come to my book party, I'll blow you for another five seasons).
And there was this very strange story today that appeared under his byline... First couple grafs were in the first person to tout his new book, saying that its printing 2.2 million so there should be plenty of copies for everyone. Then it shifted so it read like someone else wrote it, talking about "Albom wrote" and such....
EDIT: They had screwed up the byline earlier today and ran his instead of the staff writer... let the fellatio begin: Mitch has a new book coming out today...
And with this busy schedule, where will he get the time to cover the Tigers and Lions?
Mitch Albom's latest novel, "For One More Day," hits the bookstores today. You can catch the Free Press sports columnist on a TV set near you:
"Good Morning America," ABC (Channel 7 in Detroit), 7-9 a.m. (Mitch should be on about 8:05.)
"American Morning," CNN, 6-10 a.m. (Mitch should be on about 9:45.)
"Late Late Show," CBS (Channel 62 in Detroit), 12:35-1:35 a.m.
BY MARTA SALIJ
FREE PRESS STAFF WRITER
The line is so obvious I won't fight it: No more days to wait before Mitch Albom's second novel, "For One More Day," hits stores.
According to Hyperion, the publisher, 2.2 million copies of Albom's tale of a suicidal ex-ballplayer and a visitation from his dead mother will be fanned out over the country today.
That's the largest one-day release for a fiction title this fall, though not the largest for any book. That distinction belongs to John Grisham. "The Innocent Man," the true story of an ex-ballplayer wrongly convicted of murder, will be published Oct. 10 with a first printing of 2.8 million.
These are nice numbers for a year in publishing without a Harry Potter installment. Last year's "Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince" had a first print run of 10.8 million copies in the United States alone.
And in a marketing blitz befitting such numbers, Albom is embarking on a 63-city, 10-week tour that brings him to Detroit on Wednesday. He'll launch the book at a 7:30 p.m. charity event with Tony Bennett, Hank Azaria and Joe Dumars.
Then there will be the Q&A in this week's Time magazine, launch-day appearances on "Good Morning America" at 8:05 a.m. and CNN's "American Morning" a little later, the blog on Albom's Web site, www.foronemoreday.com, and the sale of the book in Starbucks stores starting Oct. 3.
What would Morrie, from Albom's first mega-seller, "Tuesdays With Morrie," say to a tour like that? Didn't Morrie tell him to slow down?
Albom laughs and protests that his schedule can't be judged by the hectic weeks of a tour, even if it does have him continuing to write for the Free Press, where he is a sports and Sunday columnist.
"I really like meeting readers," he says.
Bettie Fraser of Essex, Canada, recalls meeting Albom a few years ago. The Jersey girl asked Albom if he, too, wasn't from the Garden State.
"I guess you can tell by my wonderful accent," he replied.
"What a pleasant guy!" Fraser says. She's already got tickets for Wednesday's event.
Short and sweet
A book such as Albom's can be a great help to a publisher this year, because year-to-date sales of adult hardcover books are down 9.9% compared to 2005, according to the Association of American Publishers.
Little wonder that when Albom mentioned the book to his publisher early this year -- and told them it was three-quarters done -- they wanted it immediately for their fall offerings.
Albom's sales record is impressive: "The Five People You Meet in Heaven," his first novel, published in September 2003, has sold 6.6 million copies in hardcover in the United States.
The size and inspirational subject of "For One More Day" ($21.95) make it seem like a perfect holiday gift.
Like "Five People," it's smaller than most hardcovers -- call it stocking-sized. At 208 pages, it can be read in one sitting; Albom read it for an audio CD that runs 3.5 hours.
What's it about? Former baseball player Chick Benetto bumps along after his career ends and his mother dies. But he's a failure at his sales career and a failure at his marriage. Soon he abandons his family and takes to drinking.
When his estranged daughter doesn't invite him to her wedding, Benetto takes a leap off a water tower. He lives -- and then looks up to see his mother, standing on a ballfield.
A ghost? A miracle? Maybe.
Publishers Weekly's review was largely positive: "Albom foregrounds family sanctity, maternal self-sacrifice and the destructive power of personal ambition and male self-involvement. He wields pathos as if it were a Louisville Slugger ... but Albom often strikes a nerve on his way to the heart
