On 3.25.09 I was to be part of a book tour for a wonderful eBook, “Family Folktales, Write Your Own Family Stories“, and didn’t have an internet connection for most of the day because they are doing work on Cable along our street, which then turned into not really being related to the work being done on the street at all. We had more issues, and had the cable service come out and fix things for us, so everything is working great…now as promised, let me tell you a bit about this wonderful book.
This book was particularly captivating to me, because I would like to write about some of the things that my grandfather shared with us about his life…he loved to tell stories from his life, in fact he spent hours when he was in his early 90’s sharing on video story after story…I treasure these tapes.
It has been hard for me to know where to begin, and reading Karen’s book has helped me sort through some of my concerns…including how historically accurate I want to make the book, Karen suggests that it doesn’t need to read like history, it can be from my perspective, the way that I remember the story being told. I felt “freed” by these words, and the thoughts began to flow! You’ll find this happens often as you read the book.
Here are a few of chapter titles from this writing instructor’s new book:
What Is a Folktale?
What Do You Do with Folktales?
Folktales Are for Everyone
Let’s Get Started - People; Places and Events; Things; The Process
Warming Up Your Writing Muscles
and there’s more!
Below you’ll find order and other info, and since this is a tour, please stop by and visit the following for more reviews: On 3.24.09 Carolyn Howard-Johnson provided an ebook review, then on 3.26.09 the blog tour continued with Julie McLaws.
Title: Family Folktales: What Are Yours Author: Karen Pierce Gonzalez Website: This, and other books available at http://www.folkheartpress Price: Under $8.00
I was looking at my favorite article site (mine :-)) and came across an article done by someone I refer to a lot in the blog because of her newsletter for authors and writers. I hope you’ll enjoy the article, and the helpful information of how to do a book tour or author tour. As you can see in earlier posts, I’ve taken part in a few blog tours.
Here’s the article, by Penny Sansevieri.
After years of working with authors on Internet tours, talking about blogging, podcasting, social networking, and all other assorted online promotional tools, the basic questions still remain: How the heck do I promote myself on the Internet? Broken down in simple steps, this article is designed to give you a good starting point to kick your Internet promotion into high gear. It s not difficult but you have to start somewhere. Let s start with your web site.
Web site: Why would someone visit it? Why would anyone care? Before you start marketing yourself online, ask these basic questions. You can get anyone to a web site once, but getting them back a second, or third time is where authors often lose momentum. Studies have shown that less than 14 of web site visitors will buy the first time they visit. It s only on the second or third visit that they decide to make a purchase. Anyone can drive traffic to your site, it s getting them back that counts.
The point of your tour: getting incoming links
Here s the thing: anyone can get incoming links, the point is, you want GOOD and quality incoming links from sites that can actually send you traffic and readers that will buy your book. We get numerous calls from authors who have bought into inexpensive programs that do nothing more than drive unqualified, tire kicking traffic to their web site. This kind of traffic is not going to do you any good; in fact, if you re not careful, getting a bunch of errant links from sites that Google doesn’t feel are right for your topic or market can get you downgraded online instead of a better ranking. So how do you beat this?
First, you’ll want to download the Google toolbar. This toolbar comes with a Page Ranking piece (in some cases you may have to download this separately). This Page Rank is important because it s an indicator of how important Google thinks a particular site is. Ideally sites you target will have a Page Rank of 4 or above. We like to target sites that have a ranking between 4-6. Then look at the nature of the sites you re pitching. Are they related to your topic? Do the sites have lots of great content? Would they consider reviewing your book, maybe interviewing you or excerpting your book? Regardless of what they re willing to do, the idea is to use these sites to help spread the message about your book and give them great content. All sites are looking for great content and if you can offer it to them, it s a win win. Here s what not to do: don’t just link swap with your friends. I know writers who belong to writer s groups and just swap links with other writers. This isn’t good for a variety of reasons, not the least of which is that the site you might be linking to (or getting a link from) has nothing to do with your topic.
Slow and steady wins the race: The idea of touring or promoting yourself online is about building traffic, links, and authority status within search engines. I tend to reference Google a lot since most of us default search there. People ask me how long they should promote themselves online, I tell them for as long as they need to. As long as there are sites you can pitch yourself to you can continue promoting. Our web site, Author Marketing Experts, has never been promoting in an aggressive fashion. Yes, we use new promotional techniques and cutting edge Web 2.0 trends but it s never been about a fast push; it s always been about slow and steady growth. Because of this we have great ranking, linking, and placement on Google. I ve never paid for a single ad word placement or fancy traffic program that leverages links only.
Using blogs, podcasts, and article syndication: the Internet is full of tools to use. Blogs are a great way to promote to but consider this: why not comment on blogs in your market that are getting a lot of traffic? You may not be able to get a review but you can always comment and, you ll get a link back to your site in the process.
Podcasting is another great tool, there are a ton of podcasts out there that you can promote yourself to. Check out iTunes and Podcast Alley to find some that might suit your topic and market.
Article syndication: another powerful but often overlooked market. Write a piece between 500 and 2,000 words and send it out into cyberspace via sites like Isnare, Ezine Articles and Article City and watch the links start building to your site.
If the idea of social networking, social bookmarking, video and the like are overwhelming then I recommend that you start simple: begin by pitching yourself online and see what you can grow from there. Most of the time the main reason an author abandons any thought of an online campaign is because they are overwhelmed by their choices. Start small and build from there, this is how we did it and how we grew our market. You can too. Then, when you’ve gotten your sea legs when it comes to Internet promotion, you can branch out into other areas.
Good luck, here’s to your Red Hot success! Author Resource:-> Penny C. Sansevieri, CEO and founder of Author Marketing Experts, Inc., is a book marketing and media relations expert whose company has developed some of the most cutting-edge book marketing campaigns. Visit http://www.amarketingexpert.com.
We have just the book for you to help you plan your trip!
Today it’s my turn on the current blog tour to share a few thoughts on “Girls Getaway Guide to Key West” by Casey Wohl. If you stop by here often, you’ll remember the last blog tour was about a book that teaches writers how to write about travel, well I’d say that Casey Wohl’s book is a great follow-up.
The book is well organized and gets to the point, and very easy reading. It starts out with a bit of history about the area, and then fills your mind with dreams and ideas as she shares how to get there, places to stay, places to visit while you’re there, where to go to get that pampering that you so well deserve, and of course, the best places to eat.
Short on time? Casey share’s her favorite spots to visit.
I liked the book because it shared just enough, and was well organized, including maps, and just for fun, throughout the book you’ll find quotes by famous people.
Here’s the table of contents for you:
Introduction to Key West with maps of Key West and the Duval Street Area
Where to Stay
Where to Shop
Where to Eat
Where to get Pampered
Where to Find Galleries, Museums and Nature Attractions
Where to Find Night Life
Where to Find Sports, Recreation and Outdoor Activities
Where to Go for Side Trips
Annual Area Happenings
Personal Faves
Helpful Resources to Plan Your Trip
Your going to want to visit girlsgetawayguide.net, here’s the information you’ll need to visit the site, purchase the book, and follow the book tour:
Yesterday the blog tour was at Judy Davids blog The Mydols and tomorrow it will continue with Wendy VanHatten at Travels and Escapes.
On 3.25.09 I was to be part of a book tour for a wonderful eBook, “Family Folktales, Write Your Own Family Stories“, and didn’t have an internet connection for most of the day because they are doing work on Cable along our street, which then turned into not really being related to the work being done on the street at all. We had more issues, and had the cable service come out and fix things for us, so everything is working great…now as promised, let me tell you a bit about this wonderful book.
We have just the book for you to help you plan your trip!
