Virtual Book Tours

You may think that once you’ve written your book and it’s been published, all of your work is done. Wrong.

Your work is only beginning. In the United States, well over 150,000 books are published each year. That’s a high number of books to compete for consumers’ attention. Of course, we’re well aware of the breakout novels like, Harry Potter and Twilight, but what about all of the other books published each year?

Though it may seem daunting, you can increase the visibility of your book within your target market. One way to do so is to schedule a virtual book tour. In years past, publishers sent authors on book tours around the country to promote their books. Not all authors merited a book tour, only those whom the publisher felt could return money on their investment. With the creation of the internet, those boundaries have been eliminated, and any author that can access the internet can set up a virtual book tour.

Basically, a virtual book tour is having readers post their reviews of your book on their websites or blogs on an appointed day.

This is how it works:

1. You contact your publisher and ask how many review copies are available. Generally, publishers set aside a number of books to send out free-of-charge to reviewers.

2. Once you know the number of books you have to work with, you will then need to contact reviewers/bloggers who might be willing to participate. They receive a free book in exchange for posting a review. You can ask for volunteers on email lists you’re on, forums you frequent, or on blogs you regularly visit.

3. Collect the physical addresses of those willing to participate and have your publisher mail out the review copies.

4. Give the reviewers time to read your book—usually a month is sufficient to compensate for delivery time and reading time, depending on the page count of your book.

5. Determine the time frame for your book tour and allow participants to choose a day to post their review. Keep track of the web/blog addresses and dates. Post this information in the sidebar of your blog so readers can follow your tour.

The purpose of a virtual book tour is to create buzz on the internet. The more people who post reviews, the more Google, Yahoo, and other search engines will pick up information about your book. Be sure to visit the blogs/websites and leave comments.

6. When the virtual book tour concludes, be sure to thank all of those who participated.

Virtual book tours are the future for authors wishing to promote their books.