Easter's Lilly

Saturday, July 23, 2011

To tour or not to tour...



I have done the research! I just finished a book tour and I must admit that some bloggers are not very delicate with their opinions.  I did not feel that my demographic had been tapped and even some of my good reviews were a little mean. One girl who actually called me a name while reviewing me, decided to mention me on twitter just to show me that she was posting my review everywhere. Although it was a four star review, I would never show anyone her review on purpose. Another girl, who I am not even convinced read the book at all, simply said that it was not her genre and had a give away. So the question is… was it worth it?

While the tour was going on, my sales skyrocketed. The truth of the matter is that not everyone will love your book and even if you do hit your demographic, every time, there will still be a few people who will simply not enjoy the read. So I would say that even though some of the reviews were less than marketable, these young ladies certainly had “interesting” things to say. While some were obviously trying to say something mean, they just accentuated parts of the book that people who enjoy a soapy kind of series would love.  And despite some of the negative reviews, my star rating didn’t suffer much at all. Other people, whom I do not know, saved the day with something nice to say about one or both books.

After much consideration, I have decided to tour book two. The sales are not nearly as high as the first book and I think it’s because I haven’t toured it yet. I found someone who I think has a handle on it and am looking forward to another round of holding my breath in anticipation. I think, all in all, a good product will sell itself (as an author friend of mine said to me after I got my first poor review) and if it’s a good book, it will sell, plain and simple. Getting the word out is of course, the challenge. I have found myself running a little low on steam as far as enthusiasm goes for marketing. But…I have turned over a new leaf. If I want the same results with Brother Number Three as I got with Easter’s Lilly, I’d better get moving. So yes, it was worth it, it is worth it; the virtual tour is the way to go. Find someone you trust, look for references and spread your wings a little. Book three is coming out in January, so I’d better jump over the cliff now, if I want to swim later.

“The person who risks nothing, does nothing, has nothing, is nothing, and becomes nothing. He may avoid suffering and sorrow, but he simply cannot learn and feel and change and grow and love and live.” – Leo F. Buscaglia 

10 comments:

  1. I would love to offer my blog as a place where the author gets to speak, and books usually sell--the bestselling guest sold 9 copies from his appearance!

    I think that posting on blogs is certainly a great way to get to know more people--I have to admit that I hadn't thought of a tour specifically. Please keep me updated with links to where you are!

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  2. Thank you, Jenny. I think I should take you up on that offer. I will keep you updated. The tour really helped get the book out there and judging from the Amazon and B&N numbers, it appeared to stimulate sales. I won't be able to tour book two for a while yet, but when I do I will let you know. Thanks so much for your comment.

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  3. You hit the nail on the head regarding the subjective nature of reading. Any writer putting their words and heart out for public consumption must gird themselves with the very knowledge you profess here.

    It is one thing to be constructive, and I heartily welcome that approach. By the same token, while we all love glowing reviews if everyone praised our words where would we ever find the strength or need to grow and mature.

    I have toured as well, and found the mix of viewpoints and opinions to be fair; naturally, that won't always be the experience every author has.

    Very nice post!

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  4. I'm really sorry that you had a negative experience! I love books and I like to find the positive in them! I know that someone out there will enjoy this book and I want to connect them. So I look for all the positives I can find and stress those! But, that's just me. I know all book bloggers are different.

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  5. Thank you avomnia and lifeinreviewblog for your comments. Actually, my experience wasn't terribly negative. I did find a few people who said nice things and one very kind reviewer even reviewed my second book of the series. I was very happy about that. Also, negative reviews and all, my sales skyrocketed. However, I too will not say terribly negative things about a fellow author but I was surprised at how the negative comments got posted in more places than the positive ones. It was almost as though they wanted everyone in the world to know how much they didn’t like the book. But that's okay. I believe in my work and hope that the positive will outshine the negative. I think the next time I tour it will be way more positive. I didn't feel that I got a fair shake with some of the reviewers but I did learn something. I will NEVER insult the author when I review a book. And if I hate it enough, I simply won’t review it at all. Always remember that authors have feelings, just like a blogger wouldn’t want someone to beat down their blog. Always be courteous and respectful. I think as human beings, we need to adhere to that principle.

    Michelle, if you are who I think you are, I am very impressed by your blog. I appreciate how you think about the good points. Blessings to you!

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  6. Hi,
    I love doing virtual book tours & always wondered how much impact they had on publicity & sales. Now I know that they do. Thank you for letting me know! Currently, I can only do VBT's on my children's blog but have been asked by an author of books written for adults to interview him. So, I'm thinking of changing the name of my review blog to include this or maybe I'll start a third blog?

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  7. Hi, Judy, I'm a member of PUYB and found your site through their message board.

    Getting discouraging words, rejections, and bad reviews can come with the writing territory. As an author and reviewer, I would never write anything damaging, mean, or hurtful of an author's book. I guess everyone has their own standards.

    Brushing it off and moving forward is just the thing to do.

    BTW, I love your website design!

    Karen Cioffi Writing and Marketing

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  8. Hi Deb and Karen, thank you so much for stopping by and taking the time to comment. I have done a few reviews and am very careful not to hurt anyone's feelings. Not to say that you shouldn't be honest but I would certainly make sure I keep it as professional as possible. And yes, Karen, I have learned to let most of it roll off my back. At first I would get very upset but you simply must develop a thicker skin. I think it is just a matter of practice. I used to be a singer and never took criticism too much to heart because I was very confident. Not quite that confident yet with the writing but I am sure I will get there with time.

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  9. Negativity is the nature of the internet. People react negatively a lot more than they do positively. At my old job, we had a saying that it took 100 "good jobs" to get one noticed but every "bad job" got noticed.

    I would like to know how long your blog tour took, how many guest blogs you posted, how many comments you responded to and what type of % gain in sales you saw from before the tour compared after.

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  10. Thank you SB for joining in the conversation. I can tell you that the tour lasted about a month and a half but the rest of it would take some research. I totally agree with you, though. Bad news certainly travels faster than good news. But as authors we need to take it all in stride.

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