Your blog book tour is in full swing, and you're wondering why your daily stops aren't getting more comments. Even the sign-ups for drawings seem weak. Here's a tip for you: post your host's permalink for that day everywhere you ordinarily go to do your social networking. Don't expect your fans to check your tour schedule to connect. Everyone is busy, and you must remind them. Do not act bashful! Promote at least three times a day during a tour. Updates on Facebook and Twitter disappear very quickly, so repeat performances are a must.
Don't be shy when promoting your new book!
Selasa, 14 Juni 2011
Rabu, 01 Juni 2011
Little Mountain with Bob Sanchez
Today we're happy to help kick off a blog book tour for Bob Sanchez's novel, Little Mountain.
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And we’re off!
Thanks for hosting the kickoff of my Little Mountain tour, Dani, and for all you do encouraging others on their tours.
As much as I love to write humor, some books leave no place for it. Little Mountain has no humor and barely even has a mountain. It does have a Cambodian who becomes an American homicide cop and has to solve a crime that brings back haunting memories.
I used to live near the scene of the crime: Lowell, Massachusetts, where thousands of Cambodian refugees settled beginning in late 1979. My wife and I sponsored such a family and became well acquainted with some of the issues they and their host city faced. My first-ever and never-to-be-published novel, Freedom Country, was about a young Cambodian girl surviving the Khmer Rouge horrors and coming to the United States. I did all the research I knew how to do, short of traveling to Cambodia myself. Not having seen the country and my being a tyro at writing fiction pretty well sunk that ship. But what came out of Freedom Country was a better understanding of Cambodians’ plight and much-improved writing skills, thanks to many workshops and critique groups.
Little Mountain was the next novel I wrote, although it’s the third I’ve published. Humorous, wise-guy fiction exerts a strong pull on me as well, hence When Pigs Fly and Getting Lucky. The owner of Fjord Press phoned me one Saturday with glowing comments about Little Mountain and saying that he wanted to publish it. He even provided me with some free line edits, which were excellent.
Then he went out of business, and Little Mountain languished on my hard drive while I pursued other projects. Recently I decided to bring it to life, so I found one more great critiquer, hired an artist to design a cover, fixed nits in the writing until I thought my eyes would fall out, and published it.
I sent one of the first copies to my brother Steve. He soon called me and asked if Sam (the hero) could also change water into wine, which puzzled me. Then he explained that Sam gets a cup of tea in one paragraph and finishes his coffee in the next. (Nice trick, huh?) Well, say what you will about self-publishing, I was able to upload a correction in just a few minutes. Try doing that at Random House!
I hope you’ll visit all the fine blogs on my tour. Please post a comment for a chance to win an ebook or signed paperback copy of one of my novels. And thanks for visiting!
Bob’s tour schedule
Bob’s Blog
More background on Little Mountain
Purchase Little Mountain
~~~~~~~~
Thanks for hosting the kickoff of my Little Mountain tour, Dani, and for all you do encouraging others on their tours.
As much as I love to write humor, some books leave no place for it. Little Mountain has no humor and barely even has a mountain. It does have a Cambodian who becomes an American homicide cop and has to solve a crime that brings back haunting memories.
I used to live near the scene of the crime: Lowell, Massachusetts, where thousands of Cambodian refugees settled beginning in late 1979. My wife and I sponsored such a family and became well acquainted with some of the issues they and their host city faced. My first-ever and never-to-be-published novel, Freedom Country, was about a young Cambodian girl surviving the Khmer Rouge horrors and coming to the United States. I did all the research I knew how to do, short of traveling to Cambodia myself. Not having seen the country and my being a tyro at writing fiction pretty well sunk that ship. But what came out of Freedom Country was a better understanding of Cambodians’ plight and much-improved writing skills, thanks to many workshops and critique groups.
Little Mountain was the next novel I wrote, although it’s the third I’ve published. Humorous, wise-guy fiction exerts a strong pull on me as well, hence When Pigs Fly and Getting Lucky. The owner of Fjord Press phoned me one Saturday with glowing comments about Little Mountain and saying that he wanted to publish it. He even provided me with some free line edits, which were excellent.
Then he went out of business, and Little Mountain languished on my hard drive while I pursued other projects. Recently I decided to bring it to life, so I found one more great critiquer, hired an artist to design a cover, fixed nits in the writing until I thought my eyes would fall out, and published it.
I sent one of the first copies to my brother Steve. He soon called me and asked if Sam (the hero) could also change water into wine, which puzzled me. Then he explained that Sam gets a cup of tea in one paragraph and finishes his coffee in the next. (Nice trick, huh?) Well, say what you will about self-publishing, I was able to upload a correction in just a few minutes. Try doing that at Random House!
Bob’s tour schedule
Bob’s Blog
More background on Little Mountain
Purchase Little Mountain
Kamis, 21 April 2011
R is for Rules
Going right along with the Quiet Rule, is the Golden Rule - do unto others as you would have them do onto you. The following embellishes a bit. From a children's store called Recess, where the owner and Mom has this list of rules sitting by the cash register:
Rule #1: Never give up.
I love this rule. I say this to my daughter all of the time. If we are feeling like the world is getting us down and things are getting difficult we can think about this simple rule. Don’t give up! Just keep reaching. Life is not easy.
Rule #2: Be nice to one another.
How profound! This is such an easy rule and so easily forgotten. To simply be nice to someone can truly make their day. Treat others as you would like to be treated and most likely someone will do the same for you.
Rule #3: Think good thoughts.
Another great one. Why waste time being negative? Be positive and feel better all around. Think the best thoughts possible about people and difficult situations. Take a moment and picture yourself doing something you love. It is a great stress reliever.
Rule #4: Try to do better.
A favorite of mine because I am an over-achiever! Do your best and then some. The effort is usually well worth it. Try to improve yourself in small ways and see what the outcome is. Try new things and don’t fear failure. Just do your best!
Rule #5: Say please and thank you.
It brings a smile to my face when I get the chance to interact with a polite child (or adult!) Everyone is in such a rush these days, but take the time for a simple please or thank you. It will be well received.
It’s like I said. This is a simple list with basic concepts. It brings me back to the purity of childhood. Obviously we want to teach our children these simple rules, but what a great reminder to use them daily as adults. Keep these rules in mind during your busy week and see how often it helps you through!
I agree!
Rule #1: Never give up.
I love this rule. I say this to my daughter all of the time. If we are feeling like the world is getting us down and things are getting difficult we can think about this simple rule. Don’t give up! Just keep reaching. Life is not easy.
Rule #2: Be nice to one another.
How profound! This is such an easy rule and so easily forgotten. To simply be nice to someone can truly make their day. Treat others as you would like to be treated and most likely someone will do the same for you.
Rule #3: Think good thoughts.
Another great one. Why waste time being negative? Be positive and feel better all around. Think the best thoughts possible about people and difficult situations. Take a moment and picture yourself doing something you love. It is a great stress reliever.
Rule #4: Try to do better.
A favorite of mine because I am an over-achiever! Do your best and then some. The effort is usually well worth it. Try to improve yourself in small ways and see what the outcome is. Try new things and don’t fear failure. Just do your best!
Rule #5: Say please and thank you.
It brings a smile to my face when I get the chance to interact with a polite child (or adult!) Everyone is in such a rush these days, but take the time for a simple please or thank you. It will be well received.
It’s like I said. This is a simple list with basic concepts. It brings me back to the purity of childhood. Obviously we want to teach our children these simple rules, but what a great reminder to use them daily as adults. Keep these rules in mind during your busy week and see how often it helps you through!
I agree!
Q is for Quiet
I DON'T KNOW WHAT PEOPLE HAVEN'T FIGURED OUT BY NOW THAT TYPING IN ALL CAPS MEANS YOU'RE YELLING!
Be quiet. It applies to life online as well as for real. Don't yell. It's impolite.
Selasa, 19 April 2011
P is for Promotion
Today at the Blood-Red Pencil, Maryann Miller and I discuss how difficult BSP is for authors and how the rest of us can help. It's all about liking each other. Go read what I'm talking about.
Rana DiOrio at Little Pickle Press has another effective tactic for promoting her blog. When LPP writes about other people, they not only include links to mentioned sites, but after the blog publishes, Rana emails the mentionees and asks them to stop by the blog and leave a comment. Here are examples of emails she sent for today's blog post:
Rana DiOrio at Little Pickle Press has another effective tactic for promoting her blog. When LPP writes about other people, they not only include links to mentioned sites, but after the blog publishes, Rana emails the mentionees and asks them to stop by the blog and leave a comment. Here are examples of emails she sent for today's blog post:
Good Morning!We feature you today in our blog post about the Santa Barbara Earth Day Festival:Please stop by and leave a comment!Thank you,Rana
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Good Morning:We just wanted you to know that we have a very favorable mention of your business in our blog today:Please stop by and leave a comment.Thanks so much,Rana
***
It takes only a few moments to send these reminders, but the benefits in the way of traffic and comments to the blog can be great. Don't miss an opportunity to gently encourage someone to read your post about them!Good Morning:Just thought you'd like to know that we extol your organization today in our blog post about the Santa Barbara Earth Day Festival:Please stop by and leave a comment!Thanks so much,Rana
Senin, 18 April 2011
O is for Oops
It's also for, "oh, dang, I don't have a blog post for the A-Z Challenge and I'm out of town."
So here's a picture of an orchid I have in bloom right now.
Talk about pulling something out of an orifice!
So here's a picture of an orchid I have in bloom right now.
Talk about pulling something out of an orifice!
Sabtu, 16 April 2011
N is for News
There are two kinds of news that come to mind: personal news about you, and what’s happening in the world. Both are great things to write about.
If you’re an author or a publisher, the public can’t get enough information about what you’re doing from day-to-day. Readers want to know what your word count is, what other novels your moodling, what conference you’ll be attending next. The same goes for publishers, and recaps of recent events with photos are always a boon to blog traffic. Don’t forget to share information about yourself on your blog!World news works a little differently, because when you write about a current event, not only do you share your opinions but you also tap into a huge and sticky web of similar posts on the Internet. Linking to outside news sources is a great way to increase the notice-ability of your blog. If you’re writing about an earthquake, for example, Google the word and see what news articles are first in your search results. Then mention the keyword and link to that article in your post. Also try to add the keyword to your blog post title and label. When it comes to news and blogging, relevance and timing are important to factor into your scheme, so don’t hesitate mentioning important world events when possible.
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