Friday, January 21, 2011

blog book tours


Fantasy author N.R. Williams has been promoting her new Epic/High Fantasy The Treasures of Carmelidrium. "When a hooded man steps in front of her car, Missie is thrust through a portal into a medieval world where she encounters monsters and mythical creatures. Here, her flute has magical powers to heal and destroy and to empower The Treasures of Carmelidrium. She is romanced by a prince and hunted by the villain. Will she find her way home? Does she want to?"

Additionally, Williams seems to have an impressive grasp of the latest technology. Treasures has been released on kindle and Williams is in the middle of a blog book tour. I think we all know e-books are here to stay. And I've heard virtually (no pun intended) all physical book tours have been replaced by blog book tours.

What steps are involved in a blog book tour?

  1. Create a blog and/or author website. This will be how people can get/keep in touch with you after the tour starts. Include a link or other way to buy your book (when available). Note this step should occur long before your book comes out.
  2. Make virtual/cyber friends. This can be facilitated by visiting other blogs and websites and making helpful/positive comments. Again, start cyber-schmoozing before your book comes out.
  3. Choose/find blog tour hosts. For this step you'll build on the cyber-schmoozing you did earlier.
  4. Prep your blog book tour hosts. Ask if they'd like to interview you the author, interview a character from the book, or if they'd like you to do a guest post. Send the host any relevant info like photos of the author, cover shot, author bio, sales link.
  5. Write blog book tour entries and make sure each blog stop has unique content.
  6. Create excitement on your blog about the tour by announcing the tour and any possible prizes (free copies of your book!), etc. We all love free books.
  7. Post/submit.
  8. Rake in the kudos and sales. :)

Anyone have any blog book tour experiences they'd like to share?
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12 comments:

  1. N. R. WilliamsJanuary 21, 2011 at 1:02 PM

    Thank you Lesley for posting this today. I will tell you here what my process was.

    After following several blog book tours I found that most authors repeat the exact same information about themselves and their books over and over. I didn't want to follow them anymore. Would you?

    So make it more indepth and helpful with a little touch of your story to encourage people to buy it. I created a list of topics, emailed that list to potential bloggers I'd like to have host me and within 2 days I was booked solid. I had originally intended the tour to be two weeks long. But I had such a huge response it is three weeks plus two days, with weekends off and I had to come up with additional ideas for the tour.

    I am an unknown author. It will take patience and a continued online presence for me to achieve success. If you aren't a member of Good Reads, you should become a member. Both readers and other authors are on Good Reads.

    Only time will tell if this is a success. Stay tuned and visit my blog for updates. I plan to share all my experience.
    Nancy
    N. R. Williams, fantasy author

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  2. Morgan MandelJanuary 21, 2011 at 2:01 PM

    My blog book tour was unexpectedly tiring. I'd had all my posts done ahead of time, according to what my hosts liked. What I hadn't counted on was my post staying up more than one day on some of the sites, plus commenters commenting days later. I had to keep going back to my different posts and replying to comments long after the assigned dates, but I felt I owed it to my hosts and those who commented. I'd still do it again!

    Morgan Mandel
    http://morganmandel.blogspot.com

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  3. lesleylsmithJanuary 21, 2011 at 2:39 PM

    Thanks for the comments, Nancy and Morgan! Very helpful and interesting. :)
    -Lesley

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  4. Will BurkeJanuary 22, 2011 at 3:45 AM

    I started Blogging for the Schmoozing, but I found such a wonderful & supportive community that it's been great on it's own Even if I wasn't churning a WiP, I'd still enjoy Blogging.

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  5. Alex J. CavanaughJanuary 22, 2011 at 7:25 AM

    I did my first tour last fall and had some excellent teachers guide me on how to set up it up. I'd add that you have to be available the days of your guest spots so you can respond to comments. (And remember to send a thank you to each host.)

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  6. Michael Di GesuJanuary 22, 2011 at 7:27 AM

    I hopped over from Nancy's blog.

    Great post...I'm a new follower.


    Michael

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  7. Misha GerrickJanuary 22, 2011 at 11:09 AM

    I dropped by from Nancy's blog. Can't wait to see what more you've got for us.

    :-)

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  8. Karen LangeJanuary 22, 2011 at 11:37 AM

    Great tips. I think my favorite is #8. :) Which of course, are made possible by the first seven...
    Have a great weekend,
    Karen

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  9. lesleylsmithJanuary 22, 2011 at 4:58 PM

    Good tip, Alex. Thanks.
    I agree, Karen, the tips build upon one another. :)
    -Lesley

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  10. lesleylsmithJanuary 22, 2011 at 5:00 PM

    Will, Michael, Misha
    Welcome!!
    I'll keep my eye open for you. Feel free to pass along any good links. :)
    -Lesley

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  11. UnknownJanuary 22, 2011 at 5:09 PM

    These will come in really handy when I'm selling my book. Thank you.
    CD

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  12. Misha GerrickJanuary 24, 2011 at 7:33 AM

    Hi, me again!

    Just wanted to say that I have an award for you on my blog, should you want it.

    :-)

    ReplyDelete

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