Book Title: Phantom Dreams
Author: T.K. Harris
Release Date: June 7th
Genre: Mystery Thriller
Length: 81,956 words, 273 pages
Publisher: GMTA Publishing LLC
Presented by: As You Wish Tours
Cover Design by: Benjamin Poelman and Tipping Point
A Blog Tour – How-to
Blogs. There are millions of them. Literally. Blogs exist for every passion, every interest. Gaming, cooking, dieting, clubbing, comedy, politics and the list goes on and on. And then there are blogs for reading and writing. Blogs created by people who love reading and like recommending books. Reader blogs that enjoy giving reviews and interviews. Blogs created by writers to promote their own books, many of which will promote books written by other writers. And in those categories are even more detailed blogs. Fantasy only blogs, Sci-Fi, Romance, Mystery, etc. And you would think, with all of these blogs that putting together a blog tour would be easy! Ha!
Let's just say that after a very long time of trying it on my own - with just a few responses - I decided to reach out to Kitty at GMTA Publishing with a loud cry of "PLEASE HELP!" And what a difference! Kitty put together in a matter of hours and days what I couldn't accomplish in months. And along the way, I've learned a few things about what it takes to put together a good blog tour. Here's what I've learned so far:
1) Have a website! There are so many places where you can register for a domain and purchase hosting for a small fee. And many of them have templates to help even those not used to designing a website, put one together. Make sure your website has your book information and "buy" page that includes links to all the places your book can be purchased. You will also want a contact form so people can send you emails. There are many other things you can include, but at least have these!
2) Have a good book cover designed (I used a graphic designer on Elance.com for $50.00) and be ready to supply the cover, a profile pic, bio, synopsis of your book and all your social and buy links.
3) Have a few 200-500 word articles around writing or tips on writing. Mine have covered everything from how I wrote Phantom Dreams to where the idea came from, how I gathered my beta readers and articles like this one.
4) Check the blog's site and try to get a feel for the audience and then reach out to the blog host and ask them what they or their readers would like. Whenever possible, ask them to review your book.
5) If the blog prefers interviews, take the time to answer the questions thoughtfully. Of course, have fun with it too.
6) Ask if the blog host can set up a competition for a free give away of one copy of your book. (Be sure to send it to the winner in a non-editable format - .epub or .mobi should work)
7) Before the event begins, get a Facebook page dedicated to your book and promote it to everyone you know. Leave it open to the public.
8) Put together an Event page in Facebook about the tour and invite people to it.
a. You can Google how to set up pages and events in Facebook
9) If you have a Twitter account and time to do it, start tweeting about the Tour.
10) In all your promotions, ask for page likes or, better yet, likes on your buy sites!
11) The day before each blog stop, promote it on all channels.
12) On the day of, stop by and leave a comment thanking the blog host for having you and encouraging comments on the blog site. This helps numbers for you and the blog host!
A few things to note. Blog Tours will not necessarily increase your sales. Blog Tours do two things. A) Get your name and links out there. The more your book is mentioned the more it will be pulled in by search engines and, hopefully, avid readers and publishers. B) Get you reviews. Ask for this as much as possible, preferably on the sites where your book is sold. However, Amazon and Barnes and Nobles both allow you to add reviews from other sources. If you do this, be sure to include links back to the page of the person who reviewed it.
Lastly, be prepared to be active during the Blog Tour, they can be busy! And, when it's over, celebrate! This significant event can be the beginning of creating the buzz you need to sell, sell, sell!
Good luck!
BLURB
FBI Special Agent Jack Matthews finds himself on yet another serial killer case, having barely recovered from the last disastrous hunt. Still stiff from a gun shot wound in his leg, under investigation for a botched job, and having lost his fiancée when she walked out on him, Jack is beginning to wonder if it isn’t time to move on to something new. But, for Jack, these cases are personal and he can’t say no.
Marketing specialist Kathy Gilliam leads a fairly boring life. If she’s not working or caring for her ailing father, then she is doing whatever it takes to avoid going anywhere near crowds of people. Her few distractions include her friend Margo Longfellow, occasional hiking trips, and her increasingly alarming dreams of women dying.
As her nightmares cause her to begin to doubt her sanity, the media releases news of the “Coast-to-Coast Killer” and Kathy discovers her dreams may be related. In a moment of panic, Kathy does something that places her on the FBI’s “persons of interest” list. Suddenly, her life is set on a collision course with Jack who must decide if Kathy is the killer or destined to become a victim.
Marketing specialist Kathy Gilliam leads a fairly boring life. If she’s not working or caring for her ailing father, then she is doing whatever it takes to avoid going anywhere near crowds of people. Her few distractions include her friend Margo Longfellow, occasional hiking trips, and her increasingly alarming dreams of women dying.
As her nightmares cause her to begin to doubt her sanity, the media releases news of the “Coast-to-Coast Killer” and Kathy discovers her dreams may be related. In a moment of panic, Kathy does something that places her on the FBI’s “persons of interest” list. Suddenly, her life is set on a collision course with Jack who must decide if Kathy is the killer or destined to become a victim.
AUTHOR BIO
T.K. Harris was born in California and lived a gypsy sort of life traveling the world as a military brat. She has been writing since she was a child and as had several short stories published by various magazines, including one in Woman's World. She currently lives and works in Colorado as a Senior Solutions Architect and IT Instructor and has recently had her first novel, Phantom Dreams, published. She is looking forward to her next two books, already outlined and partially written. You can find out more at: http://www.tkharrisonline.com.
AUTHOR LINKS
BOOK LINKS
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