Jonathan Eig pens own iPhone app to promote new book

Some authors write books, some have turned to writing apps. But never before -- at least to our knowledge -- has one person done both at the same time, hoping to create a little synergy and publicity.

Acclaimed Chicago author Jonathan Eig this week released his smart phone app "Chicago Gangland Tour" (Sutro Media, $2.99), which takes users on an encyclopedic tour of the Windy City's mobster haunts, from the Biograph Theatre (where John Dillinger was shot) to the site of the Valentine's Day Massacre. The goal, in large part, is for the app to promote Eig's new book, due out April 27: "Get Capone: The Secret Plot that Captured America's Most Wanted Gangster" (Simon & Schuster, $27).

WalletPop spoke to Eig, a former Wall Street Journal reporter, about the 21st Century reality authors face: To make a living, you've got to be willing to try new things to promote your literary efforts.