Road to Publication #20: Setting up the Blog Tours

Posted on October 15, 2012 | 26 Comments

OMIGOSH, my head is spinning.  Seriously, it is.

I started a few weeks ago, setting up my own dates for the blog tour for the “Make Believe” Anthology.  Then, after the Arcs went out, all of the sudden requests started coming in from people who contacted J.Taylor Publishing asking for interviews.

I’m really glad that I took someone’s advice and found the calendar feature in my email program.  I started making appointments for the different days in December… but December is filling up pretty quickly.

I also have to wiggle in a blog tour for Connect the Dots, coming out from Still Moments Publishing in their “For the Love of Christmas” Anthology the day after the “Make Believe” Anthology releases.

It looks like I’m going to have to double book dates – talking about Connect the Dots on one Web Site, and Last Winter Red on another.

Now, I’m starting to pull my hair out because I have a list of people who I “Cyber know” who I wanted to ask to host the blog tour, and all these dates are filling up fast.

I know, I know, just smack me.  These are good problems.

I am starting to feel what I’ve heard other authors talk about in the past…  Marketing is a full time job, and detracts from your writing.

I had all these lofty goals for when I would finish and submit Fire in the Woods, but they are falling by the wayside.

It’s true what you hear… this really is hard work.

What do you think… Do you hear about books on blogs?  Have you / would you buy a book after hearing about it on a blog?  What would make you interested in buying an anthology?

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26 responses to “Road to Publication #20: Setting up the Blog Tours”

  1. M. Ziegler | October 24, 2012 at 11:45 am |

    Being that I am just starting to figure out “blog tours,” I would say that in the past they have not been my soul inspiration to buy. Amazon on the other hand was. But that being said, if I enjoy a blog I will usually take the advice and buy the book. I love the idea of anthologies because there are multiple quick reads in one book. I love to read lots of the same genre or theme but always find it taxing to look up other others “like so and so.” Hence why an anthology is appealing to me.

  2. mywithershins | October 17, 2012 at 10:49 am |

    It looks like you’ll be getting lots of publicity. Hope this blog tour helps with sales. 🙂

  3. gilbertspeaks | October 16, 2012 at 7:08 pm |

    Jen, I’ll help. Do you want me to be part of the blog tour and promote you?

  4. Widdershins | October 15, 2012 at 4:25 pm |

    Just about every aspect of this writing gig is a full-time job in itself!

    Do you hear about books on blogs? … I do.

    Have you / would you buy a book after hearing about it on a blog? … It would depend on how the author ‘sold’ it, and if they came across as a genuine person.

    What would make you interested in buying an anthology? … A (short) synopsis of each story, or a majority of them.

  5. jmmcdowell | October 15, 2012 at 3:49 pm |

    A book on a blog tour by someone I’ve never heard of might be a hard sell, although I’m open to the idea. But if I’m familiar with the writer, such as through blogging, chances are I’ll be more inclined to purchase the book if it sounds like something I’m interested in.

    So you have a foot in the door already with this “potential buyer.” 🙂

    I’ve read lots of anthologies, and I’m certainly open to future ones!

  6. jamieayres | October 15, 2012 at 2:11 pm |

    Pretty much all my book purchases are word of mouth from blogs!! And I don’t buy anthologies usually, unless it has a lot of authors I like in it, like this one:-) Good luck trying to find the time for everything–it’s a struggle we all seem to have.

  7. Pete Denton | October 15, 2012 at 1:12 pm |

    It sounds like a hectic, but fun time.

    I’ve bought books from bloggers or recommended by bloggers. If the story sounds intriguing enough I’m prepared to take that chance.

    Good luck with balancing the time. 🙂

  8. Carrie Rubin | October 15, 2012 at 10:20 am |

    Welcome to the world of marketing! I haven’t seen my WIP for a while. 🙂

  9. Joan Y. Edwards | October 15, 2012 at 8:52 am |

    Dear Jennifer, Congratulations again. You will get it all sorted and interviews scheduled. You are well-organized. Have fun.

  10. Emma | October 15, 2012 at 8:41 am |

    I do buy books after finding them on blogs, or at the very least, if I find something that sounds interesting, I add it on Goodreads to my TBR List.

  11. Brinda Berry (@Brinda_Berry) | October 15, 2012 at 7:30 am |

    I read survey results published by RWA that said readers read blogs for the #1 way to get recommendations. I need to find that again to tell you the exact stats. Feel any better?

  12. Vanessa Chapman | October 15, 2012 at 6:16 am |

    It all sounds like crazy fun! Just remember not to lose the fun part!

    I must say though, that it’s only since I’ve started following you and other author bloggers that I realised the authors had to do so much of this marketing stuff themselves (I’m sure I’m not alone in that!).

  13. laurastanfill | October 15, 2012 at 5:15 am |

    I’m curious to hear what everyone says, having just released a multi-author writing craft book on Monday. I don’t get royalty reports until next month so I can’t pinpoint what online marketing worked vs. local newspaper coverage, or authors’ Facebook posts. I do know that buyers’ resistance seems high; there’s a big gap between “sounds interesting” and “I will spend the money.” My book is print only and retails for $14. I set the price as low as I could, for a 200-page book with 42 writers involved, while allowing a tiny margin for bookstore commissions. I thought price would have a lot to do with who buys it, but it doesn’t seem like that’s the case.

    I’d buy an anthology if it has a strong theme that relates to what I’m interested in or what I’m writing. Or if it has people I know in it! I’ve found (again, just a week into this) that most of my sales have come from people who know the authors. So capitalize on that! And send press releases to each person’s local newspapers–from the non-blog/online side. Their friends and neighbors will be excited to see people they know in a new book.

  14. Tasha Turner | October 15, 2012 at 1:55 am |

    I’m not sure a blog tour would make me want to buy your book or not but it might make me check out your blog and down the road by a book and your backlist… Blog tours may or may not sell your books but they do give you an excuse to visit other blogs and get new traffic to your own blog…

  15. kford2007 | October 15, 2012 at 1:15 am |

    I hear you, kiddo. I have only one blog tour to plan for and it’s making me crazy. The marketing does take away from the writing and I’m still finding I have so much more to learn about how to do a successful blog tour. I pick the winner of my ARC of Make Believe on Tuesday. I wish I’d had more of a response and participation. Perhaps you can give some pointers. 🙂