Blog Tour

A decade ago I had a friend who was starting out as a writer, and she shared her dreams of a book tour. She’d travel around the world—at her publisher’s expense, of course—and hit the major bookstores, where she’d do readings and signings for standing-room-only audiences. Then reality hit. She never found a publisher and no one would be sending her anywhere. If she was going to do a book tour, it would be out of her own pocket.      

Just because you write it, doesn’t mean they will come. Her signings were hardly a case of sitting in a comfy chair, sipping herbal tea while her eager fans lined up. She stood for hours, hawking her books, schmoozing with customers, and chatting with the booksellers. On a good day, she sold 3 books. On another day, no books at all.


Out with the glitz and glam, and in with the independent book tour. Getting signings in bookstores wasn’t easy. The chains were reluctant to host them for her. She had more luck with local indie bookstores… but not much. One store might treat her like a rock star and be a pleasure to work with; others, less so.

Happily, it’s easier than ever these days to skip the indie tour since they are fading fast and you can do your own blog tour. 

Setting it up basically goes like this:

1.You plan months in advance

2.You research a lot of relevant blogs; creating a top-tier and second-tier list of blogs

3.You contact the bloggers and pitch yourself and your book

4.You follow up

5.You book dates

6.You come up with a giveaway. This is very helpful: it’s added incentive for people to read your guest posts and/or interviews, and it can stir up excitement, depending on what you give away. That’s right; you have to give something in order to get something back.  So be creative.

Remember when you’re setting up your blog tour to be professional. It’s easy to think that just because you’re emailing someone who isn’t a New York Times book reviewer, you can slack off with your inquiry, be disorganized, forgetful or even rude. Bloggers who agree to host or tour you are doing you a favor, one that will cost you your time and effort, as opposed to hundreds, even thousands, of dollars on promotion and advertising. So be prepared, keep your word, and do your best!