Virtual Book Tour Coming Soon to Grow Your Writing Business
A virtual book tour is a new spin on the traditional instore author visit. When I owned a bookstore I hosted plenty of author tours for both famous and local authors. I dealt with a lot of publishers and publicity reps and still keep in close touch with the industry.
The Decline of the Instore Author Visit
The word on the street is that because of costs involved, and no guarantee of a return on investment, regular author tours are on the decline. That’s not to say that instore or library author visits don’t have their place, but with virtual book tours, there’s a new game in town. Virtual book tours are a powerful (and free) tool for web promotion. What are the implications and potential for writers? What if you don’t have a book? Does it have any relevance to freelance writers?
What is a Virtual Book Tour?
Virtual book tours are the marrying of initiative and technology. The tour is global from New Zealand to Zanzibar and everywhere in between. Virtual book tours are more than a compromise. They are an inspired innovation. Authors can reach an audience that they couldn’t have traveled to in person. There is no cost involved. It is a collaborative effort.
Glenda Watson Hyatt
Glenda Watson Hyatt, a fellow Gack Ink member, has been very proactive in organizing regular book tours for her book “I’ll Do It Myself.” Glenda is an inspiration, (and has a wicked sense of humor), as you will find if you spend some time reading her blog. In her own words - “Glenda Watson Hyatt shares her experiences living with cerebral palsy to motivate and inspire others to think about how they perceive their own situation and their own world around them. She does all this by typing with only her left thumb!”
The Virtual Tour Finale at Grow Your Writing Business
While there are companies who co-ordinate virtual book tours, Glenda has chosen to go the independent route. She approached me to host her during her August “Summer Soujourn Tour” and I agreed. Keep an eye out for our interview on Friday, August 31st, 2007. It’s the last date of the tour, and as Glenda told me, the “finale for this tour”. Ahh… the pressure… 
There are still a few slots available, if you are interested in hosting Glenda in August. It’s just a matter of sending her a few questions and posting the exchange.
What Do You Think? How Can Freelance Writers Use Virtual Book Tours?
As someone who is keen to develop information products, such as ebooks, I can definitely see potential for the virtual tour concept for “touring” your ebook, whether fiction or non fiction. Have you ever been involved in a virtual book tour, either for your own book or as a host? Take a moment to think about it. How could you harness the potential of this strategy? What uses and potential could a virtual book tour offer your writing business? Are there variations you could use even if you don’t have a book? Is there scope here for freelance writers? Let’s brainstorm some ideas. I’d love to hear what you think about how writers could use the virtual tour concept.
Yvonne, thanks so much for hosting an appearance on my “Summer Sojourn” virtual book tour. These tours can also include Internet radio and video interviews, all without leaving home! The opportunities are endless. For me, with my speech impairment, visiting blogs works best. Blogs are my medium! Looking forward to chatting with you and your readers in a couple of weeks.
Thanks for the input Glenda. Audio and video interviews are a great option to consider as part of a virtual tour. I look forward to chatting soon.
Virtual book tours are becoming very popular. Every day I read several announcements of new tours on writers e-mail groups. Something else that is big is creating book trailers - videos to promote books like movie trailers promote movies.
I must confess after reading a few interviews and watching a few videos, I don’t pay much attention any more unless it’s an author or a topic that really catches my attention. Just like other forms of promotion/advertising, the sheer volume sometimes drowns out the individual messages.
Hi Lillie - The sheer volume is the thing. I guess it’s like any advertising or promotion, your message has to stand out from the crowd, as we all “filter” to battle information overload. The idea of book trailers sounds interesting, and adds yet another dimension.
My publisher Derek Armstrong and his associate Kam Wai Yu are actually the inventors of the book trailer (see Kunati Books at http://www.kunati.com) and I have to admit, I really enjoy them. From an avid reader’s perspective they will often hook me into buying a book, just like movie trailers do for the film industry. From an author’s perspective, they add an interesting feature rather than plain text ads.
I am also currently on a virtual book tour, for all of August. I don’t actually expect everyone to follow me to each stop, but I am hoping they’ll check out some. I give a brief description on my virtual book tour schedule, and decided to give away some of my books along the way. At one of my stops I actually wrote an article all about virtual book tours (VBTs) and how to organize one. VBTs are becoming hugely popular for one main reason–you can reach far more people as long as it’s advertised well.
I invite you to check out my virtual book tour at my website.
Cheryl Kaye Tardif,
author of Whale Song, The River and Divine Intervention
Hi Cheryl - I’ll go check out the book trailers concept. All the best with your book tour.
Thanks, Yvonne.
It’s been an exciting tour so far. 2 more weeks to go on it. Gosh, by the time I’m done, I won’t have any secrets left…hehe
Cheryl
That’s great Cheryl. Sounds like you’re on a roll and loving it.
Aug 22nd, 2007 at 7:32 am
[…] back on Friday, for the grand finale of Glenda Watson-Hyatt’s Virtual Book Tour hosted at Grow Your Writing Business. Glenda is an inspiration. Don’t miss the interview. […]