I've set up my first blog tour, or virtual book tour, because someone I know did one and suggested it. She didn't end up feeling she gained a lot from it. So why am I doing it? For one thing, I write fantasy fiction. An article on blog tours by Penguin Random House about blog tours says "genre fiction receives the best responses."
You can find a lot of instructions on setting up your own blog tour. I decided to have someone else do it. My process for choosing a provider was to find ones that emphasize “fantasy”, first of all. Lots do. Then I looked at, well, price. But since a lot of prices were similar, I found myself drawn to friendlier layouts, sites that gave a general feel of transparency. I chose Goddess Fish. Well, heck, the graphic is fun! I booked for ten weeks from now since they said a longer lead time gives the hosts the most chance to do the best for me.
Now that I’ve booked one, I’m reading more about them. What is it? Instead of going on a physical book tour, an established book blog hosts your book on a certain date. Some blog hosts review your book. Since their followers trust their reviews, it has impact, hopefully connecting the author with new followers who might go to your website, sign up for your newsletter, and read your books. I’ll need to provide writing for the bloggers to post, do an interview, and/or answer reader questions. I’m curious what it’ll be like. I’ll try to do a follow up post on it! (The graphic is just a sample, not my blog tour!)
Instagram pics:
Marie Judson 