Virtual Book Tours--an interview with Jo Linsdell

Today's guest is Jo Linsdell and she has a book out on a topic that many of our readers are curious about: virtual book tours. The title of the book is Virtual Book Tours: Effective Online Book Promotion From the Comfort of Your Own Home. Ms. Linsdell has a great deal of experience in the promotion arena and we are pleased to have an interview with her today. Welcome Jo!-- Mary Ann

Tell us a bit about your latest book Virtual Book Tours: Effective Online Book Promotion From the Comfort of Your Own Home.

Virtual Book Tours are a great way to create a buzz for a new release or to put life back into an older publication. In this book I take you through everything you need to know to be able to set up and carry out a successful virtual book tour.  The book is divided into 4 main sections for easy navigation: 1) What is a Virtual Book Tour? 2) How to organise your own tour 3) Promoting a tour 4) Useful resources. You'll find it packed with links, tips, and advice to help make your tour a hit.

Why do authors need your book?

Marketing is part of being a writer. Regardless of how you're published (traditionally or self-published), you will, at some point, need to do some marketing. Virtual book tours are one of the most effective methods of creating a buzz about your book and have numerous benefits. In this book I cover everything you need to know to organise and carry out a virtual book tour. Even if you decide not to do a virtual book tour, you'll still find this book useful as it's packed full of marketing ideas and links to resources.

Why did you decide to write a book about virtual book tours?

I've done several successful virtual book tours for my own books and have worked with book tour companies and authors for years hosting them on my sites. Over the years I've therefore gained a lot of experience in doing virtual book tour both from the author and host point of view. As I often get asked for advice about doing them from other authors I decided to put all the information together and created Virtual Book Tours: Effective Online Book Promotion From the Comfort of Your Own Home.

What is the first thing you recommend authors do when they decide to organise a virtual book tour?

Put together a media kit. In creating a media kit you have all the information regarding your book, you as an author, and your virtual book tour, all in the one place. This makes it a useful reference tool for you, but also a valuable tool you can use during preparations for your tour. It looks professional and creates a good impression. I also makes life easier for your hosts as they have all the information they might need for your post all in the one place.

You created the cover art for the book yourself. What was your inspiration for the design?

I wanted a cover that was thumbnail friendly as, more often than not, it gets seen online in that format. That meant the text needed to be easy to read and the whole look needed to be clutter free. Too many details or fancy fonts don't look good in thumbnails. I also wanted an image that quickly portrayed what the book was about. I choose the theme "sending your book around the world" and played around with some ideas based on this idea. I'm really pleased with how the cover came out.

Why did you choose to self publish using Amazon's KDP program?

I've always been very pro self publishing. For me, it's always been my plan A. I choose Amazon because it's the leader in its field. Everyone knows Amazon. Using the site is super easy and through KDP your book can be available to the public in just 12 hours from hitting the publish button. 

I like that through KDP setting up a free day is easy. It's a great way to spread the word about your book and get readers to take notice. I like that you can update your book information as and when you please and have full control over pricing. They also have one of the best customer services I've come across. If that's not enough, they bought Goodreads earlier this year (one of the top sites for book lovers).

You're best know for your best selling children's picture books. Why the change in genre?

For me, it's not about thinking outside the box. The box simply doesn't exist. I like to experiment with my writing and although I've had most success as an author and illustrator of children's picture books, I'm always trying out new genres. When I get an idea that gets me excited, like this book about virtual book tours, I go with it. 

You're a mum to a 5 year old and a 2 year old. How do you find the time for writing and marketing?

My kids definitely keep me busy but I've learnt to make the most of the time I get. I do most of my writing in the evenings once they've gone to bed. Sometimes my husband will take the kids out for the morning to give me a break and give me a few hours to work on bigger projects. 

During the day I hop on and off my social media pages to network. I have the apps installed on my phone so I can visit and engage with my contacts even when I'm not near my computer.

I use sites like Social Oomph to program some content to post at scheduled times. I do the same for some posts to my Facebook pages. This gives me a constant online presence without needing to actually be online all the time. I also program my blogs ahead of time. When you have young kids anything can happen and so you need to prepare for the unexpected. By having some content programmed in advance I give myself a safety net and so don't need to stress about keeping up with things as much.

What's next?

I'm currently working on another children picture story book The Bedtime Book, a series of non-fiction books for writers and authors about using social media, and some new collaborations as an illustrator. I like to keep myself busy ;)

Where can people find out more about you and your books?
On my website www.JoLinsdell.com

Anything else you'd like to add?

Virtual Book Tours: Effective Online Book Promotion From the Comfort of Your Own Home is available to buy at the discounted price of $2.99 for the whole month of September to celebrate its release (normal price $4.99) http://bit.ly/VBTKindle

Ready for more? Here is the best way to get in touch with Jo Linsdell and get a copy of her book!

Full Name: 

Jo Linsdell

Bio:  

Jo Linsdell is a best selling author and illustrator and internationally recognized marketing expert. She is also the founder and organizer of the annual online event "Promo Day" (www.PromoDay.info) and the Writers and Authors Blog (http://WritersAndAuthors.blogspot.com). To find out more about Jo and her projects visit her website www.JoLinsdell.com.

Links to twitter, facebook, blog, and website 

Facebook

Twitter

http://JoLinsdell.blogspot.com

http://www.JoLinsdell.com 

Title: 

Virtual Book Tours: Effective Online Book Promotion From the Comfort of Your Own Home

About the book: 

Virtual Book Tours are a great way to create a buzz for a new release or to put life back into an older publication. In this book I'll take you through everything you need to know to be able to set up and carry out a successful virtual book tour. 

The book is divided into 4 main sections for easy navigation:

1) What is a Virtual Book Tour?
2) How to organize your own tour
3) Promoting a tour
4) Useful resources

You'll find it packed with links, tips, and advice to help make your tour a hit.

 

Product Details:

File Size: 384 KB

Print Length: 83 pages

Simultaneous Device Usage: Unlimited

Sold by: Amazon Digital Services, Inc.

Language: English

ASIN: B00ELNAQ92

Text-to-Speech: Enabled

 

Purchasing links:

 

http://www.amazon.com/dp/B00ELNAQ92 (Kindle)

 

http://www.amazon.co.uk/Virtual-Book-Tours-Effective-ebook/dp/B00ELNAQ92 (Kindle)

 

http://www.amazon.ca/Virtual-Book-Tours-Effective-ebook/dp/B00ELNAQ92 (Kindle)

 

Goodreads link: http://www.goodreads.com/book/show/18340947-virtual-book-tours

Andy Gavin Stops by All Things Writing for an Interview!

Today I have the pleasure of welcoming Andy Gavin to All Things Writing. I read his book, The Darkening Dream, as part of his Innovative Online Book Tour, and jumped at the chance to ask him questions about it and his second novel, Untimed.
Check out his bio!


Andy Gavin is a serial creative, polymath, novelist, entrepreneur, computer programmer, author, foodie, and video game creator. He co-founded video game developer Naughty Dog and co-created Crash Bandicoot and Jak & Daxter. He started numerous companies, has been lead programmer on video games that have sold more than forty million copies, and has written two novels including The Darkening Dream, a dark historical fantasy that puts the bite back in vampires.

Mary Ann: Welcome, Andy! Thanks for joining us today!

Tell us a little about yourself. I see that you are the creator of a well-known video game series, but how long have you been writing novels?

Andy: I’m a lifelong creator and explorer of worlds. As far back as first grade I remember spending most of the school day in one day dream or another. I had a huge notebook stuffed with drawings, story bits, and concepts for an elaborate Sci-Fi/Fantasy world I cobbled together from bits of Star Wars, Narnia, and Battlestar Galactica. By fourth or fifth grade not only was I loosing myself in every fantasy or Sci-Fi novel I could, but I was building Dungeons & Dragons castles and caverns on paper. Then from 1980 on the computer.

Over the following decades I wrote dozens of stories and created and published over a dozen video games all set in alternative universes. And as an avid reader (over 10,000 novels and who knows how many non-fiction volumes) it was no surprise that I eventually decided to write some books of my own.

 

Your novel, The Darkening Dream, is listed on Amazon as dark fantasy. How did you come up with this storyline and is this your typical genre to write in?

 

There are two answers to that, the visceral and the cerebral. The visceral part was this image I had – and some might consider me disturbed – of a dead tree silhouetted against an orange sky, a naked body bound to it, disemboweled, and bleeding out. The sound of a colossal horn or gong blares. The blood glistens black in the sunset light. Bats circle the sky and wolves bay in the distance.

But sacrifice isn’t just about killing. It’s a contract. Someone is bargaining with the gods.

And on the cerebral side, I’ve been obsessed with vampires for decades. Not because they are romantic, but because they are undead – and I really mean undead – and because older ones are creatures that have stretched across the centuries. But it always bugs me in stories full of supernatural where they touch on the historical roots of superstitions but don’t bother to do the research. I always felt that, as they say, “truth is stranger than fiction” – if, like me, you count myth as truth – and so I wanted to write a fast paced supernatural action story where the spooky stuff is all based on real spooky stuff. And truly, the real deal is much more creepy.

 

Who is your publisher? How did you make that connection with them?

 

I own the publishing company, Mascherato. With both of my novels I used top flight professionals for the entire process. This started with the editor, and continued with cover artist, illustrators, and book designers. Untimed, for example, has a lavish production including a cover by award winning fantasy artist Cliff Nielsen and twenty-one gorgeous interior illustrations by Dave Phillips.

 

  Is it easier or harder to make the transition to writing from the world of gaming?

 

As a serial creator (having made over a dozen major video games) it was interesting how similar the process was to any other complex creative project. Video games and novel writing are both very iterative and detail oriented. They use a lot of the same mental muscles.

 

 What's your take on getting an agent? Do you currently have one?

 

I have a really terrific agent, Eddie Schneider of Jabberwocky Literary. They represent Charlaine Harris and Brandon Sanderson among others. I can’t say the process of getting one was a whole lot of fun, although it was pretty smooth with Eddie in particular. I sent him a query for Untimed, he asked for the book a couple weeks later, a couple weeks after that he called and offered to represent me. Before that, I had the usual frustration that included at least 100 query letters and a dozen MS submissions. But getting an agent is just one hurdle. After that you still have to get an editor to offer, and an offer I’d want to take at that.

Some of the typical “features” of traditional publishing offers, like low e-book royalties, non-competes, and most painfully, 18-24 month publishing schedules, are pretty hard to stomach.

 

What do you think the best promotional tool is for an author?

 

I wish I knew. I do a bit of everything. Sending your book out exhaustively for review helps. Some promotions help, but not most. Advertising is mostly a bust, and I’ve tried a lot of it. Publicity in high traffic web sites REALLY helps, but is hard to come by. I have a very active website and social presence, about a million views a year and over 40,000 Twitter followers. Still, it’s hard to get conversion from reading a blog to purchases. Only a tiny percentage of the thousand or so visitors a day to my blog actually buy the book (at least then and there). Visibility on Amazon itself is huge, but also hard to come by.

 

Your book The Darkening Dream is a dark fantasy, vampire novel. Untimed sounds very different since it deals with time travel. As a writer, do you have trouble switching back and forth between genres?

 

I have fairly broad interest within the wider genre of speculative fiction (fantasy, science fiction, horror etc) and really consider these all to be close cousins. That being said, different books have different moods, and even more specifically different voices. It’s this last thing that can be a little tricky to switch hit on. The Darkening Dream was written in a number of different third person points of view, and with Untimed I wanted a more immediate, more focused, voice. I went with a very tight first person present. It can be a bit of a brain flip to toggle between past and present tenses in rapid order.

 

How long does it take you to complete a novel? How many drafts do you have to go through before you feel that it's ready to show a reader or editor?

 

I tend to do two drafts before sending it to my editor. By the time you get to the end of the first draft there is always a pile of stuff you need to do, and if you know you need to do it, you should do it before showing the work to anyone serious. I’ll get notes back and do a big revision based on the notes, then a minor cleanup pass. With The Darkening Dream I ended up doing a lot of revision, nine major drafts in total. Untimed was only four. The thing with TDD was that I knew in my heart that certain big changes had to be made, but I resisted. I believe in revision. For me it would be impossible to have a first draft with excellent characterization, until you get the plot all the way to the end it’s hard to know what the character is totally going through.

 

Time travel is a fascinating subject! How do you keep your time lines straight? Does your MIT background assist with that?

 

First of all, I had to come up with a unique new system that allowed multiple visits to the same time period, but wasn’t too overpowered. If your characters are too powerful, there is no jeopardy. So I had to invent all the restrictions and deal with the issues of paradox (and I think I have a crafty new solution there). Then I had to figure out how to make returning to the SAME action actually interesting for the reader. That was even harder.

 

What is your favorite time travel movie or story?

 

Back to the Future is certainly one. It’s not the most realistic, but it is one hell of a fun ride and one hell of a well crafted screenplay. Robert Zemekis and Bob Gale did some serious revision too because I’ve read an old draft of it that was hugely different. No DaLorean!

 

Who would you say influenced you the most as a writer when you were a kid? Would you still consider them an influence as an adult?

 

As an early teen, some of my favorite authors were Piers Anthony, Jack Chalker, and Orson Scott Card. I’ve outgrown most of these (possibly not Card) as I no longer prefer pure adventure stories where character is secondary. Now I like characters put in really dramatic circumstances! These days I’m more influenced by the likes of George R. R. Martin and Tim Powers. But I read a lot, at least 10,000 novels, so I have a lot of influences.

 

 

What advice would you give for a young writer who is just starting out?

 

Read, read, write, write, edit, edit, edit. And hire good professional help too. Friends and family can give you a sense of how the book reads, but they can't usually tell you how to fix anything serious. I've read a lot of half-decent Indie books on my Kindle that are at their core good, but just need some serious tightening and polish. Hell, I've read plenty of big-six bestsellers you can say this about.

 

 

Monty Python or Seth MacFarlane? Which type of humor floats your boat more?

 

Monty Python any day. ‘Tis just a flesh wound! Come back here and take what's coming to ya! I'll bite your legs off!

 

What's next for you?

Right now, I’m writing two more novels and adapting Untimed into a screenplay. The new books are the Untimed sequel and a totally separate short novel that involves old school fairies and iambic pentameter.

Thanks again for joining us today at All Things Writing!

To learn more about Andy Gavin check out his links:

website: http://all-things-andy-gavin.com
 FB: https://www.facebook.com/andygavin
 Twitter: https://www.facebook.com/andygavin
 GR: http://www.goodreads.com/asgavin
 Pinterest: http://pinterest.com/andrewgavin/
 Wikipedia: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Andy_Gavin

Covenant by CD Harper

As part of Innovative Online Book Tours, we are featuring CD Harper, a historical fiction writer with a long career as a writer. He also has a background in theatre which warms my soul! Learn more about this unique writer and read an excerpt from Covenant!

Author, CD Harper is pleased to announce his book, Covenant. This work is a historical fiction novel set during slavery and the Civil War and looks at the relationship of the slave master and his slave love. The story also delves into the impact of slavery, the war and the human impulse to love on lives of everyone on Covenant Plantation.  Covenant is told from the perspective of a slave. 

The Civil War provides a smoky background for this debut novel that delves into the uncomfortable friction that exists between the waning power of the Southern plantation culture and the emerging identities that lie beneath. The naive Seth Hunter Jr., whose existence has been mapped out for him by domineering patriarchs, finds himself forced to confront his life as pressures from the past and future force him from his pedestal. The divine nature of the American ideal of Manifest Destiny led earlier generations of Hunters from humble Northern beginnings to a precipice of Southern power embodied in Covenant Plantation, Seth Jr.'s inheritance. As the Civil War unseats the stability of the South, Seth's own life unravels. The estate, the lifestyle and the woman he was given all become harder to hang on to as he struggles to fulfill his destiny.

Website:   http://cdharperbooks.com

Facebook: http://www.facebook.com/CovenantBook

Facebook: http://www.facebook.com/AuthorCDHarper

Enjoy these two excerpts from Covenant:

Seth Junior at his father's death bed...

He strained to hear Seth Senior. His daddy's voice once had boomed with presence and authority. That's the voice he wanted to hear and imitate, and the wisdom, strength and will power he needed.

"I ain't never had to think about nothing like that before, Daddy."

"Why not? Did I make it so easy? Was I so sure that Providence would always be there? Was I? My daddy, he never worried about me. He knew I was ready! Don't you mess with His stuff, you hear me, Seth Junior? Huh?" The old man's breath smelled of age, an indescribably dry odor, one that Seth Junior knew he would never smell again.

There was a long pause before he spoke again, opening and closing his eyes at a slow and deliberate rate breathing deeply, his chest heaving with each effort.  " You have to carry on stand in my place." 

Seth Junior breaks the news to Sandy...

Her response was so sudden, so quick that it startled both horses. Her horse bolted like a runaway, leaving Seth Junior standing in shock, trying to control his horse and holding the side of his face where Sandy had struck him with her riding crop. It took only a moment before he reined in his horse and felt the pain. Only then did he realize that in that brief moment, she had disappeared.

His first thought was to go after her, but her horse was as fast as his, perhaps faster. In an instant, he realized that maybe this was the best solution, her running off, and his allowing her to run off. Yet at the same moment came the realization that he couldn't bear the thought of being without her. If she left the plantation, his land, she would be just another nigger slave gal, beautiful and desirable and available. He gasped when he felt the words in his mind: another nigger slave gal. He had never thought of her in that way, and it disturbed him that he could with such ease.

Author Bio:

Dr. Clifford D. Harper is a respected theatrical executive producer and playwright. His written works include Curse and Neva's Tale. Neva's Tale was produced by Theresa Larkin, directed by Ted Lange, and earned actor Larry Gammell Jr. an NAACP Award and another from L.A. Weekly in 1993 for his supporting role.

A retired Professor of Theatre Arts and Dance at California State University, Los Angeles, Clif served as the Chair of the Department of Theatre Arts where he established the "Theatre of the Twenty-First Century" and revived the Dance Kaleidoscope program in the LA community. During his tenure, he became the founding Executive Director of the Harriet and Charles Luckman Fine Arts Complex, where he developed the world-renowned Luckman Jazz Orchestra. Dr. Harper's commitment to the arts was instrumental in facilitating the art retrospective: "African American Artists in Los Angeles, A Survey, Exhibition, 1945-2003."

 Prior to moving to Los Angeles, Clif taught for a year at Sangamon State University before moving on to Southern Illinois University in Carbondale, where he served as Chair of the Black Studies Program and Dean of General Academic Programs. Dr. Harper received an undergraduate degree from the University of Illinois, a Master's in Theatre and Speech and became one of the first African Americans to earn a PhD. in English from St. Louis University

 Born and raised in a segregated neighborhood of East St. Louis, Illinois, Dr. Harper graduated and later returned to teach at his high school alma mater, Lincoln High. Dr. Harper found this experience to be significant and rewarding. During this time, he discovered his passion for theater and found inspiration in his students, many of whom went on to have gratifying careers.

Dr. Harper's many accomplishments have included: working with the renowned Katherine Dunham, receiving a Rockefeller Foundation Fellowship Award, earning one of the earliest Certificates in Black Studies from the University of Wisconsin-Madison, and starting a "Forgivable Loan" program for female PhD's at CSULA.

Clif and his lovely wife, Linda, have migrated north to the Oregon Coast, settling in the charming town of Gleneden Beach. Clif continues to write and is working on his next novel.