Whenever I bring out a new book, people always ask two questions. First, what’s next? It’s a crazy question, really. I’ve just spent four years on this project. Couldn’t we enjoy the moment?

Second question is: How’s it doing? I’m delighted to report that in its second week of availability my book seems to be doing very well. The Globe and Mail today says “BlackBerry” is #2 on the business best-seller list, right behind “Who Moved My Cheese?” which has been off and on the lists since it was first published in 1998.

On Amazon.ca “BlackBerry” is ranked #54, not bad when you consider they have hundreds of thousands of books in the warehouse, ready to ship. Click on the link above, buy the book, and keep it moving up.

And, as soon as I know what’s next, you’ll read about it right here.

Time was when an author’s publicity tour was a national campaign. In the 1980s, I’d spend two days in Toronto, a day elsewhere in Southern Ontario, then head out to do a day in each of Halifax, Montreal, Ottawa, Winnipeg, Calgary, Edmonton, Vancouver and Victoria.

In each city a local publicist hired by the publisher would ferry me around to six-or-eight media interviews she’d arranged, drop me back at the airport and on I’d go to the next city and repeat the process. It could be a bit of a blur. There would come a point during interviews when I’d ask myself, “I know I’ve told this anecdote already today, but have I told it in this interview?”

Some authors grumbled about the punishing pace. Not me. I stayed in good hotels, ate well and saw the country … just like a holiday. But as the years passed, and costs escalated, publishers cut back. In the 1990s Halifax and Victoria were dropped, then Edmonton and Ottawa. Now I don’t travel anywhere, I do all publicity interviews in Toronto or by phone in the comfort of my own home.

That doesn’t mean reduced work. In the last week, in addition to numerous print and television sessions, I’ve done more than two dozen radio interviews (called phoners) in seven provinces plus the Northwest Territories. Radio is a wonderful way to tell stories. People who have worked in television and then move to radio sometimes have trouble adjusting. TV is all about audience. There could be scores of people watching a program on the big screen in a bar. Radio is much more intimate, one-on-one, and you have to be more revealing about yourself to make a connection with each listener on an individual basis.

I find it all rather reassuring. In the face so much technological change, amid so many new methods of delivering information, radio – which has been around for almost a century – is still going strong.

Authors enjoy reading reviews of their books, even slightly misguided ones like the review that appeared in yesterday’s Montreal Gazette. Reviewer Roberto Rocha is unhappy because I didn’t write more about work burnout, carpal tunnel syndrome or Tech Neck, a malady caused by spending too much time hunched in the BlackBerry prayer position.

It’s an odd point of view, really, because what Rocha seems to be saying is he’d rather read about things he already knows. Not a very adventuresome view, is it? Prior to beginning my research, I knew all about those topics, too, but I decided to write about something else. After all, if you’re going to spend four years on a project, you want to unearth new information or it would be a boring process. That’s why I chose to do a history of the company, Research In Motion, and how it took twenty-five years to become an overnight success.

Rocha claims I sound like “the best man delivering a wedding speech.” That’s a great line, I love it. He also declares that the book is “a pretty good account of the rise of the world’s most popular smartphone.” Apparently he must have enjoyed the ceremony and the party after. I thought I saw him there, dancing up a storm, his BlackBerry safely stowed so it couldn’t cause any harm.

When you appear on daytime television, you never know who else will be on the same show. In the past, I’ve shared studios with magicians, chefs and animal acts. Yesterday, on Canada AM, was the first time I’ve ever been the lead-in to a skeleton. Here’s the link to my interview.

The bones were among the props used by a physiotherapist whose message was don’t carry too much in your purse or laptop satchel because excess weight can be hard on your back. In addition to the skeleton she was lugging four heavy bags of stuff, an irony not lost on her. At one point a leg from the skeleton went missing thus setting off an excited search for the lost limb.

Among the other interviews I did were half-hour shows with Howard Green on Business News Network as well as John Tory, who, among other roles, is now hosting a three-hour daily show on CFRB. The former leader of the Progressive Conservative Party of Ontario is enjoying his radio job. He admitted he was nervous at first but after five months is such a professional that he sounds like he’s been in the broadcasting business all his adult life. Watch the full half-hour interview on BNN here.

Between interviews I did what are called “drop ins” at bookstores to sign books. These are not official signings where announcements are made in advance and you hope eager buyers line up. That only works for celebrities like Larry King or Bill Clinton. Instead, staff at each store have been told by the publisher to expect you. Copies of your book are stacked and ready to sign. I can do about fifty copies in five minutes.

So, if you’re looking for a signed book, they’re available at branches of Indigo at Yonge and Eglinton, Festival Hall on John Street, First Canadian Place, Eaton Centre, Manulife Centre and the World’s Biggest Bookstore on Edward Street.

At one such signing, a man sidled up to me and asked, “Is that the book I read about in the Toronto Star this morning?” It is, I replied. He bought one and was able to have it autographed personally. While such publicity helps sell books, placement in the store trumps all other marketing. If browsers see your book at the front of the store, they’re more likely to buy it even if they haven’t heard about it before. As a result, publishers pay for visibility. With 100,000 new books coming out every year in North America, that’s the only way to get through the clutter.

The day began with breakfast. John Spears from the Toronto Star interviewed me yesterday at Creme de la Creme, a cafe in my neighborhood. His questions about the book were informed and the interview lasted an hour, punctuated by the arrival of a photographer from the newspaper. When the waitress brought my bacon and eggs, she proudly encouraged him to take a picture of the plate “before he messes it up.”

Broadcasters are different from print reporters. I’ve noticed over the years that broadcasters who talk to me about a new book usually have never read the book. That’s OK, as an author you can take charge of the seven minutes alloted. The secret of television is to pay no attention to the question and just give the answers you want.

Evan Solomon, who hosts Power and Politics on CBC-TV, is different. He had read the book and demonstrated his in-depth knowledge by asking specific questions. The outcome taped for his show last night was far better as a result.

Last event in a long day of publicity was the launch, the party to celebrate the completion of the book and its availability in bookstores across Canada. Held at Books for Business at 120 Adelaide Street West in downtown Toronto, the event was a great success. About 50 friends and family attended, nibbled on finger food, drank wine and enjoyed cupcakes decorated with BlackBerrys – the device, not the fruit. We sold lots of books with one attendee buying a record five copies to give as gifts. Turned out he’d had breakfast in the same cafe at the same time when I was interviewed ten hours earlier. Kind of a bookend to the day.

There wasn’t much pre-interview chit-chat as I sat in the CBC-TV studio last evening with Amanda Lang and Kevin O’Leary. They were both busy on their BlackBerrys which I took to be a good sign since I was there to talk about that very product as part of a series of media interviews this week to promote my new book.

I did hear that O’Leary attended the Canada-U.S. hockey game Sunday and left Vancouver on a 6 a.m. flight for Toronto on Monday to be on hand for the inaugural Lang & O’Leary Exchange in prime time. Until this week, the show ran for half an hour at 4:30 p.m.; now it goes for an hour starting at 7 p.m.

The co-hosts were discussing their respective BlackBerrys. Lang prefers the trackball, O’Leary the track pad. As an author, you never know where an interviewer will be coming from. In this case, I felt safe in assuming they were fans of the product!

They asked solid questions about the relationship between Research In Motion co-CEOs Mike Lazaridis and Jim Balsillie, patent battles and the corporate culture of RIM in Waterloo, Ont. The whole thing was over in six minutes and I was quickly scooted out of harm’s way as chairs were shuffled at the see-through desk for the next segment.

I wish them well in their new time slot. Like any business, they’re taking a risk with the change. As Producer Robert Sawatsky told me before the show, “We’ll find out if there’s a business audience at this time of day.” As someone who writes about business, I hope so. The more business stories that are told and heard, the better we all understood the economy. These days, that’s a necessity.

Welcome to my refreshed website on the occasion of the publication of my latest book, BlackBerry: The Inside Story of Research In Motion. This week I’ll be doing interviews with a number of media outlets as part of the launch. First up is The Lang & O’Leary Exchange on CBC-TV tonight during their new prime time slot of 7 p.m. to 8 p.m.