Do I recommend a virtual book tour - you bet!

I’m so pleased to have had six hosts for my virtual book tour this month. It has been a wonderful challenge to create the content and interact with other book bloggers generously willing to promote my memoir, Leaving the Hall Light On.

When my Dream of Things publisher, Mike O’Mary and I, created the tour to coincide with the release of the paperback and eBook editions, we offered tour hosts three options:

1.  Post a review of the book on your blog 

2.  Post a Q & A with me using up to six of the twelve   questions we provided

3.  Post a description of my book and conduct a contest to give away a free copy to one of the host’s followers.

We also suggested the hosts pick any tour date between October 1 and December 31 of this year.

I’m very pleased that during my virtual book tour stops my tour hosts have selected various versions of the options, including asking me to write blog posts to meet their own requirements.

Stop One: Angela Felsted’s My Poetry Place. Angela posted her book review along with my book trailer, synopsis, and purchase information. Angela is a writer, musician, and poet whom I first “met” through the Facebook page Poetry Pact. She has published several books of poetry and co-edited our Poetry Pact Volume 1 collection. Thank you, Angela, for your generous support of my book.

Stop Two: Linda Hoye’s A Slice of Life Writing. Linda asked me to answer four questions, and she posted information about my book. She has also added me on her list of Life Writers and hosted me during my first blog tour in June 2011. Linda is the author of Two Hearts: An Adoptee’s Journey Through Grief to Gratitude. I feel so fortunate to have Linda’s support.  

Stop Three: Jessica Bell's The Alliterative Allomorph. Jessica reposted her wonderful 5-star review of my book. Jessica, a writer, musician, and poet, is the author of the novel, String Bridge, and two books of poetry: Fabric and Twisted Velvet Chains. She also co-edits the quarterly Vine Leaves Literary Journal. Thank you Jessica. I am honored to be in your company.

Stop Four: Kathleen Pooler’s Memoir Writer’s Journey blog. Kathy chose to post a Q & A and a 5-star book review on Amazon and Goodreads, and she held a giveaway – the winner just announced this week. Kathy also tweeted endlessly about the post, creating lots of traffic and great comments. Kathy is a retired family nurse practitioner and now a writer working on her own memoir. I find her a non-stop public relations representative for all of her writing friends – a list I'm grateful to be on.  I cannot thank you enough, Kathy.  

Stop Five: Sharon Lippincott’s The Heart and Craft of Life Writing. Sharon asked me to write a post about poetry’s role in the creation of my memoir. She has generously posted a 5-star review of my memoir on Amazon, Goodreads, and the Story Circle Network. Sharon is a writing coach, author of The Heart and Craft of Lifestory Writing, and on the advisory board of NAMW, the site for today’s tour stop. Thank you, Sharon, for your support of my book. It is most valuable since you teach about the craft of lifewriting.

Stop Six: Linda Joy Myers’ National Association of Memoir Writers (NAMW). I’ve had a year-long association with Linda Joy since my first book tour. I was a guest on two NAMW roundtables – one with Eleanor Vincent about writing to heal and the other with my publisher, Mike O’Mary, about finding a publisher after my first one quit and the no-cost/low-cost ways to promote a book. For today’s post, Linda Joy chose a Q & A. Linda Joy regularly holds workshops and roundtables, and she offers memoir coaching, editing, and manuscript evaluation. She is the author of The Power Of Memoir: How to Write Your Healing Story. I’m thrilled that Linda Joy and NAMW have championed my memoir.

I recommend a virtual book tour (blog tour) to all my writer friends. It provides more exposure for your books, it helps blog owners gain more traffic for their blogs, and it’s a great way to connect authors with new books. And hopefully, when all is said and done, you’ll find your book is selling at a much more rapid pace than ever before.

Stay tuned for more virtual book tour news in November.