Tuesday, June 19, 2012

Beating the Blog Tour Blahs - A Few Ideas For Authors and Tour Hosts



After an abbreviated discussion with author Toby Neal about her post Is the Blog Tour Dead , I thought I'd do a little post on the subject as well. (I'm typing with 2 fingers, so it'll be short). No, I don't think the tour is dead - it's still a great way to get the word out on a new book release. I do think, however, that with the number of authors and book releases, that saturation is a problem as well as (sometimes) a lack of imagination. There are some great bloggers and reviewers out there, but let's face it; after reading a half dozen interviews with the same author, often with similar post titles, one's eyes can begin to film over.

Here are some ideas I think might jazz things up a bit.

Interviewing the Author:

The usual subjects include childhood, favorite books, influences, creative process. How about including a few personal recipes, cocktails, personal DIY hints, etc.  What kind of car do they drive? What would they do if they won the lottery? Interviews don't HAVE to be serious...

About the Book:

Remember Midnight In the Garden of Good and Evil? An entire industry grew up around that book, including various tours of landmarks, restaurants and cemeteries. You can do the same thing with a novel.

1.Interview one of the characters. Make it fun - create a talk show similar to Oprah, Dr. Phil - or Jerry Springer. For Alex Cavanugh's CassaFire tour, I created a fictional aviation magazine and interviewed his character Byron, who is a Cosbolt pilot. You could use a fashion magazine, professional journal, etc. as a vehicle to reveal more about a particular character and their background. heck, you could even do a resume or criminal record! (No, they are not always the same.)

2.Does the novel take place in a fictional town? Write up a Destination Guide for it. Is the action centered on a bed and breakfast? Do a fictional review of it.

3.Use the novel's setting and include interesting information and little-known facts about the location. (Because of its many bays and waterways, Louisiana has the longest coastline of any American state: 15,000 miles. There are no tooth fairies in Spain, but there is a tooth mouse named Ratoncito Pérez.)

4.Newspapers are a great source of ideas. Does a character die? Write an obituary. Murder, adultery, suicide? Fodder for a fake tabloid headline. Has the author created a space vehicle? Design a For Sale ad or a repair advice column.

5.Don't forget that culture/time period is also a great resource. For example, if the book is set in Victorian England, include a few facts about the era, or statistics. (In 1851, a boy born in inner Liverpool had a life expectancy of about 26 years. Much of the food consumed by the working-class family was adulterated by foreign substances, contaminated by chemicals, or fouled by animal and human excrement.)

6.Finally, try different sorts of promotional contests. Challenge readers to post pictures of your book in unusual locales (if it's hard copy), create artwork inspired by the story, or an acrostic based on the book title. Use your imagination and make it fun!

Remember, boredom is an insidious enemy so try and make your blog tour stand out in some way. If you're hosting a fellow author, promoting their book is not just a great way to be a supportive member of the writing community - it's also an opportunity to showcase your own skills and creativity. It's a win/win situation for everyone.




So, that's my 2 cents for the week. While I'm happy to promote via Twitter, Google +, Triberr and a featured authors page, I don't generally participate in blog tours because the focus of this blog remains flash fiction stories. 

My hand is better, but not greatly so. Staying away from typing has been a help, so I hope to ease back into blogging over the next few weeks. I've missed it! Hope all of you are well and keeping (mostly) out of trouble. :-)

30 comments:

  1. We've missed you! Don't overuse the hand.
    Those are some great ideas. Yes, interviews all sound alike after a while. I think I only did one for my last tour. All others were guest posts on a variety of topics.

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    1. Thanks Alex. I'm trying to limit activity for now - anything to avoid seeing a specialist! :-)

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  2. Great ideas...blog tours get repetitive after a while and sometimes many fall on the same day or particular week and the attention wavers.
    Take care and hope to see you in August, when you come back in July I'll be on a blog break... attempting the JulNowrimo to finish some short stories and a novella.

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    1. Hi Rek! best of luck with the novella and stories :-)

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  3. You're so right - blog tours get repetitive and (looks around to make sure no-one's looking) I tend to jump over reading them - that said I'm taking part in one right now!!! Excellent suggestions - I've already done a character interview and that went so well. Thank you for posting this. It's a keeper.

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    1. Thanks Susan. Yeah, I tend to skip a few myself sometimes, unless something grabs me right away.

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  4. I'm thinking about doing for my latest book and I've been thinking about it for the longest time, so this comes in very handy. Thanks. Hope your hand continues to make good progress.

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    1. Thank you, and hope you can use an idea or two :-)

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    2. Thanks for dropping by my blog. I printed this out and read it through again and I'm trying to formulate some concrete thoughts around these ideas.

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  5. Wow, love some of these ideas. Sharing them with friends. Thanks!

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    1. Glad you're sharing and thanks for dropping by :-)

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  6. Great suggestions, Li. TMI about the food (#5), but.. ;)

    Glad the hand is better. Might need some gentle massages!!

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    1. Well, you know, gross details tend to hang around in one's memory...and a hand massage sounds pretty good. maybe I'll spring for a manicure as well :-)

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  7. Great blog tour advice. :)

    I hope your hand continues to get better.

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    1. Thanks G.E.! I'm trying to remain optimistic - I've already had to give up painting for a while, don't want to give up writing. I was diagnosed with Dupuytren's contracture in my left hand last year, so I'm worried it might be affecting the right as well. If so, not much to be done, at least for now. Thanks for the wishes :-)

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  8. Really great ideas, Lisa!! I may use some of them for my blog posts since my next book is set in an unusual location, the tropical paradise of Kaua`i. I like the geography and history ideas.
    Thanks for the mention, too!
    ALoha
    Toby

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    1. Aloha Toby, and thanks for the blog post idea :-)

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  9. Food for thought indeed. Many thanks for sharing this.

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    1. You're welcome, Catherine, hope it's of some use!

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  10. Great ideas, Li. Hope your hands heal up quick. I can empathize. Summer is tough on mine, too.

    I came up with Spacedock 19 on my blog to promote others. We sit and chat about something pertinent to the book.

    I think guest posts still have value, too.

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    1. Hi Mary. Yes, the Spacedock idea is great (and so's the name!) Thx for the good wishes.

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  11. Those are some great ideas! I'm always trying to figure out ways to be different. :-)

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    1. You do have some great ideas as well. I enjoy reading blogs that are mix it up somehow, have differing viewpoints, are informative or a even a little weird.

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  12. These sound like fun! You're right, there are a lot of similar posts out at the same time

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    1. I don't expect every post to be something really earth shattering or fabulous...just not "boilerplate".

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  13. These are great ideas. I will copy and paste them in word so that I can review them from time to time.. Thanks!

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  14. I hit the publish button before I realised - my mistake. sincere apologies..

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  15. No problem :-))) Thanks for dropping by, nice to meet you!

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  16. These are awesome ideas! Thanks for sharing them. Hope your hand heals soon :)

    Happy Weekend!
    Nutschell
    www.thewritingnut.com

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  17. great ideas!

    Marissa
    www.marissadeluna.com

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