Book Touring

Summer Travels

2010-07-11T22:18:00.000-05:00

The Book Touring blog is primarily for blog book tour hosts and readers who are interested in discovering great new books and authors, and having a fun time following their literary exploits online.

To help kick off the Summer Travels, here are some book tours (virtual and face-to-face) to check out:

TLC Book Tours TOUR STOPS for July 12th – July 16th

Let's Talk Virtual Book Tours

Book Tours

Know of any more you'd like to see listed here? Let me know!

A Village Shattered Blog Tour Starts Dec. 1st by Jean Henry Mead

2008-11-23T11:04:00.005-06:00

Please stop by my My Blog Book Tour page and sign my virtual guestbook. Three signed copies of my mystery/suspense novel, A Village Shattered, will be given away from among those who leave a comment at any of my guest tour hosts' blog sites between Dec. 1 and Dec. 15.

A Village Shattered is a Logan & Cafferty senior sleuth suspense novel featuring two feisty widows who discover their friends and club members are being murdered alphabetically. Dana Logan, a mystery novel buff, and Sarah Cafferty, a private investigator's widow, team up to learn the serial killer's identity when they realize their own names are on his list. The newly elected sheriff bungles the investigation as the killer hides in the San Joaquin Valley fog, ready to strike again. Dana's beautiful daughter Kerrie is in danger of being killed in the process.

A Village Shattered is currently available in multi-format at: >A Village Shattered and the print edition will be available at Amazon.com during the first week in December.

Tomorrow's start of Virtual Book Tours by Vivian Zabel

2008-11-14T03:17:00.006-06:00

Want to discover books to read? Maybe visit the multiple blogs where authors and their books are being hosted starting Saturday.

On Brain Cells & Bubble Wrap, I'll host Suzanne Lieurance, giving a different post on Saturday, Monday, Wednesday, and Friday. Part of the information will be about her book The Locket.

Anna Prezio will host me. I'm not sure what all she will have or how often she'll add to her blog this coming week. However, her blog already has information posted about Prairie Dog Cowboy and Midnight Hours.

I don't have a full schedule with all the URLs, but here are the ones I do have:

Kenneth Kahn will host Dianne Sagan

Linda Ballou will host Kathy Stemke

Patricia Crandall will host Matt Cory

Lanaia Lee will host Janet Ann Collins

Dr. John F. Murray will host Deborah Ramos

Rosemary Chaulk will host Nancy Famolari

Lillian Cauldwell will host Joy Delgado

Each blog will have information about a book or books, as well as about authors and characters.

Book Tours are a fun way to discover books and authors, and everyone can enjoy the trip.

Vivian Zabel
Brain Cells & Bubble Wrap
Vivian's Mysteries
Vivian's Site

Make mine fun - blog tour that is by Vivian Zabel

2008-11-06T23:44:00.004-06:00

Authors have access to information about virtual tours: how to, when to, why to, etc. Now, here, readers will have some insight into blog tours and a chance to join the fun. Schedules for ongoing tours will be available, or a link to find schedules. Opportunities will be offered for bloggers to join tours as hosts.

What a great way to learn about and become acquainted with authors and maybe illustrators. This blog offers a way to learn about new books that are on tour.

Want a mystery? Last week a blog tour followed the book Midnight Hours and the villain Midnight over cyber space. A couple of weeks ago a lovable little monster captured hearts of children of all ages as Trockle visited various blogs. His author, Holly Jahangiri, and illustrator, Jordan M. Vinyard, traveled with him. So did his mom and his new best friend Stephen. (The schedules are archived on 4RV Archived Schedules)

We'll do our best to help readers find something they can and will enjoy as different virtual tours come through and stop from time to time. Following blog tours and participating as readers is just fun.

Perhaps some readers who have blogs would enjoy becoming part of a blog tour, or two or three or ... *laugh* You get the idea.

Bookmark this blog. I'm going to post occasionally, so remember to come visit me and the other guest posters.

The States Start Traveling by Vivian Zabel

2008-11-06T15:13:00.003-06:00

As the president of 4RV Publishing, I'm involved in helping with book tours.

We're planning a book tour for Bubba & Giganto: Odds Against Us hopefully after the first of the year.

Anyone want to host a blog tour stop for a middle grade novel? Even if you're older than middle school, if you have readers in your home or life in that age group, you'll have fun learning about this book.

Then we'll have a tour for Angeline Jellybean, a children's picture book about a little girl who wanted to eat only jellybeans.

Anyone want to host a blog tour stop for a children's picture book? Even if you don't read picture books for yourself, maybe you have children in your family or life that would like to read or have you read this book.

Come join the fun.

Promoting Your Book Online

2008-11-06T12:34:00.006-06:00

by Jean Henry Mead

When the price of gasoline reached such astronomical heights that I could no longer afford to travel the state for signing parties, I turned to the internet, where there are plenty of promotional sites. Most of them are free.

I tried MySpace, Facebook, Grouply, Goodreads and any number of online sites, which can be frustrating for someone electronically challenged. I then discovered Twitter, a worldwide communication center where writers can really shine. Although you‘re limited to 140 characters per message, or 20-25 words, it’s good training in brevity. You can advertise your latest book, complain about politics, tell everyone what a great day you’ve had or grouse about the weather.

It helps to have at least one blog site in addition to your website to advertise your work. Then, by pasting your site URL into your Twitter message, you can entice people to visit your blog site. Your messages will look something like one of my recent “tweets”:

Why did they hang “Cattle Kate?” http://awhh.blogspot.com/

Anyone currently on Twitter, and the least bit curious about Cattle Kate, clicked on my URL, which accessed my site. I’ve had as many as 85 hits in one day. Not too bad for a new blog site. My fellow “tweeter” then hopefully read my article and browsed the rest of my blog, taking notice of my latest book. Your site should contain not only your latest releases, but your brief bio, ordering information, etc. Long URLs may be shortened by accessing Tinyurl.com, which will reduce your blog address to a minimum.

The best thing about Twitter is that you can reach readers around the world. Last week I received a message from someone in Sydney, Australia, asking about my historical novel, Escape. He wondered whether it was a true story. I tweeted him back saying yes, it was based on actual events. He said he would order the book.

Twitter is also a way to meet other writers, editors, publishers, librarians and agents. Maybe even Joe the Plumber. When you notice someone on Twitter that you’d like to know, click on their site and the “follow” button. They will then receive a message that you want them on your list. They can either accept or reject the invitation. Others will do the same with you. And for that you earn Twitter grades, which lets you know how well you’re connecting with other people and potential customers.

I joined Twitter in May of this year and started out at zero, like everyone else. I’ve since worked my way up to 93 out of 100 by inviting people to follow me and by tweeting (sending) some 3-5 quick messages daily about my books, articles and blog sites. The process sounds silly but it works. And my book sales have increased because my name is out in the worldwide public eye along with my work.

An added source of keeping track of your contacts is to install a site meter that tells you not only how many people visit your site, but where they’re from and how long they stayed. It’s an invaluable tool to gauge how your Twitter messages are succeeding as well as who’s interested in your work.

Blog tours are also a great way to promote your books. Those who own blogs host you for a day or two with interviews, reviews and articles you’ve written about your work. I have two-week tour coming up in early December to promote my latest novel, A Village Shattered. By providing some of your blog hosts with articles about your book and genre, and others with interviews and reviews, you can gain a larger audience and new regular blog followers. Along the way, you also gain new readers. It’s a lot work but well worth the effort.

The best think about online promoting, in my opinion, is that you can conduct it in your pajamas in the middle of the night. If you’re a people person and enjoy meeting your readers, by all means supplement your online promotions in person. For a shy writer like me, online tweeting and blogging is the way to go.

About the author: Jean Henry Mead began her writing career in California as a news reporter and has since served as a photojournalist, magazine editor and small press editor. Her eleventh book will be published in December, and her magazine articles have been published domestically as well as abroad.

My website: JeanHenryMead.com

Blog sites include:

A Western Historical Happening: http://awhh.blogspot.com/
Write On! (Writing advice): http://advicefromeditors.blogspot.com/
My Blog Tour schedule: http://myblogtour.blogspot.com/