There have been a few emails lately making the rounds to bloggers asking for participation in a variety of blog tours. I've taken them with a grain of salt but when Roger had one blindly sent to him and then responded with a hysterical post, I thought maybe it was time to address what the problem is here: most authors don't have a clue how to connect with the lit blogosphere.
First, I'm not addressing authors who have had blogs or LJs set up for years and interact on a regular basis via thoughtful and engaging posts. I'm talking to authors who either have no web site at all or have a static site with just basic info. Then they have a new book come out and the marketing dept at their publisher tells them to get out there and sell books on the blogosphere. The rash of recent discussions on blog tours seems to have convinced folks that all they have to do is sign up with a company that will organize one for them or send out a couple of dozen emails to various bloggers they don't even know (and based on the emails I've gotten they clearly don't know who they're contacting) and popularity will ensue. Basically, if they let random bloggers know they are ready to tour on certain days then many bloggers will sign up for the privilege. (And why on earth you would want to interview with a blog you've never heard of, I'll never understand.)
I know why authors are thinking this is a good idea - everyone says blog tours are just virtual bookstore tours and with bookstores your publicist contacted the stores, let them know when you would be in town and scheduled a signing. Easy. But here's the thing - bookstores did that because they made sales from your signing. Bookstores want authors to stop by and read and sign because it makes them money so bookstores were/are very accommodating. But in the blogosphere the only reward for a blogger - who has to conduct the interview, transcribe it, add graphics, etc., is the ever elusive promise of more readers. The book tour organizer will get paid, the author will get exposure and the blogger will get maybe something or maybe nothing. And that is why a lot of bloggers (myself included) do not participate in conventional blog tours.
To be blunt, it's just not worth our time.
So what is an author to do? You want to sell your book and we get that. But listen to me - participating in a tour with 20 or 30 blogs all of whom will invariably ask you the same questions thus rendering many of their interviews dull and pointless (both for you to answer and for anyone to read) will get you a minimal return at best. Is it better than nothing? Sure - any exposure is good. But don't think this is the only way or the best way to tackle the lit blogosphere. Unfortunately it is the fastest and easiest way however and that is why I think a lot of authors are opting for it.
If you really want to promote your books most effectively then you have to become part of the blogosphere, plain and simple. You have to spend the time to cultivate a readership which means regular posts on interesting topics. You can write about writing which many authors successfully do (Caitlin Kiernan, Cherie Priest) or you can write about all kinds of other things you are interested inl (Beth Kephart, John Scalzi, Neil Gaiman, Justine Larbalestier, etc.) You can reach out directly to your readership (especially if you are a YA writer) like John Green has so brilliantly done or you can just reach out in a general sense to whoever might be reading. You need to post and you need to comment sometimes on other blogs. You need sit down, google "literary review blog" or "YA review blog" or Science fiction review blog" or "kidlit blog" - whatever your genre is and then click on some of what shows up and from that starting point follow the links on their sidebars to other similar sites.
Basically you have to invest some serious time - like several days at least - into wrapping your head around what goes on out here. You need to find blogs that resonate with you; find bloggers who write about books you like in ways that you respect and you need to become part of those conversations.
As painful as it sounds, you need to try to understand this place before just sending out mass emails asking us to help you sell your book. Because frankly, the bloggers you are going to get on those mass emails likely won't help your sales much and the ones who are insulted by them (can you believe someone sent Roger this kind of email???) are going to delete it in seconds.
In the end, the slow steady way has a huge payoff. Folks do hear about you and your books. I've been reading Cherie Priest's LJ for years because she's funny and smart and I like her style. Based on writing and research posts I've gotten excited about each of her new titles and read them and then written about them to let others know as well. By taking the time to engage with her readers Cherie has made her fans even bigger fans and we have spread the love about her books which is exactly what an author hopes for. The same is true of Beth Kephart and Sara Zarr and many many others. (Heck John Scalzi has a whole army at his site.) You can certainly throw money at marketing your book and it will get you some response but if you are in for the long haul then you have to spend time and establish a blog that you regularly post to and engages your readers. It is the number one thing I would recommend to ever author out there. You can spend less than half an hour a day, 4-5 days a week on this and really, you'd be spending that time on pr and marketing anyway so why not do it right?
In so many ways it is a great time to be a writer because you can positively affect the sales of your book. But you have to put in the time to do it right and inviting me to join your blog tour when you don't even know my name is not the way to do it. And please - just take Roger off your mass mail list, okay?
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September 16
2009
02:52 PM
Oh amen. I felt really nervous when I put up my 'I am not interested in your offers of books and tours random publishers' post because I thought it would piss a lot of people off, but lately I see lots of other bloggers are also not keen on tours and offers of free books because of the lack of real connection and etiquette in the publicists proposal.
I've taken two free books so far and participated in one tour. The two books I took were from authors who'd read my blog and picked up on my comments at other places. The tour stop was for a fellow blogger, who I'd say is a good blogging acquaintance now. I was happy to devote some time to these people because not only were their books interesting, but I could feel the connection that comes from talking to another human being.
I have enough genuine stuff to keep myself and my typing fingers involved, I do not need to clog my schedule with parenting books, self help manuals and memoirs when a publisher can not even begin an email with my name, let alone decide what pitches I am most likely to respond to. It's shoddy marketing and it lacks courtesy, connection, all the things that help to make your business stand out from the others.