Over at BookBlogs there are several forum posts regarding the use of blog tours and PR folks to handle the release of a novel. It was a couple of months ago that I went ahead and signed up for one. I chose a package that provided 15-20 "blog stops" and reviews.
For the most part I feel that I was given what I paid for, but in some ways I'm unimpressed. Although the tour is not yet complete, so far the evidence is that there is no difference in sales to justify the expense. The last time I released a novel I did more work, but was able to tailor the blogs and reviews to blogs that more closely matched my genre, but more importantly there was a bit more rigidity to the schedule.
To the first part, last year I had to investigate and identify different bloggers who might be interested in reading and reviewing my book for their blogs. Many, in fact I would say 50% of them, told me that my novel might not fit their genre and passed on the opportunity. For the most part however, I found about 15 total bloggers over the course of three months and received decent reviews. How much of that translated into new sales, probably not that many. When I look at the types of blogs that have been used for this blog tour, I feel like I've really missed the mark.
Last year there seemed to be more rhyme and reason to the ersatz tour I planned. It was based on reviews. If an interview popped up, which it did at times, then that was found money. This tour has not had that foundation, one of being based on reviews. I have gotten good reviews (here, and here) but I got good reviews last time as well. This has been based on cover, banner and summary. I'd rather have reviews. Secondly, and this might have been the impetus of this post, the most recent stop on the blog tour was just an interview. A short summary to be sure, but mostly interview. Personally, I'd rather have a review that leads to an interview not the other way around.
All in all I think that the old adage, "if you want something done right . . . do it yourself" has been proven out here. One of the aspects of this experiment I didn't like was that I was using two different experimental media . . . ie. two different books. Last years novel was Toe the Line, this years is On the Edge. How would I know if a decrease or increase in sales was or was not directly related to the blog tour. Now that I've come to the end of the blog tour experiment, I think I am going to try last year's approach and measure my success rate there too. Because at the moment my answer to the Bookblogs question of "are blog tours worthwhile" . . . it would be a resounding . . . nope.
UPDATE: 6-29-13 - the original post included a diatribe regarding missed dates on behalf of bloggers on the blog tour. This was not accurate. Sage and her bloggers on this tour have hit each of their dates as scheduled and as promised.
Friday, June 28, 2013
Wednesday, June 26, 2013
Nook Out
See, this is why you gotta keep up with current events and why I read the WSJ.
Here is an article by Jefferey A. Tractenberg entitled Barnes & Noble Throws in Towel on Tablets which covers the fact that the Nook is through. Frankly, I see this is a bit of a non-event in the grand scheme of things, but a major event in the world of e-readers.
The bookseller reported Tuesday that losses at its Nook digital business blew out in the fourth quarter, easily wiping out reduced profits generated at its bookstores. As a result Barnes & Noble said it would stop manufacturing its own color tablets, instead going with co-branded devices made by third-party manufacturers.
I also look at Barnes and Noble in much the same way I see the Post Office. Why wasn't the post office the prevailing user and first adopter of email? I remember in 1996 first using email in college. Clunky, orange on black text, an ability to only send to other users in the same community. Why didn't the USPS take that sucker and run with it. Instead of dot com every address should end with dot USPS. For the first few years the only thing we did with the internet was send mail.
I remember when Prodigy (I think that was the name) was introduced it provided local weather and some news as well. It wasn't till email became en vogue that the internet gained legs. Email . . . mail . . . where was the Post Office? They could have been sitting in the fabled cat bird seat had they leveraged that idea sooner.
Why didn't Barnes and Noble jump on the e-publishing band wagon sooner. Why did Amazon, which prior to Kindle was all about shipping goods to people, become the preeminent e-book publisher on the web? Where was Border's? Where was Barnes and Noble? They focused on their core business that's where they were and they weren't nimble enough to change. I see the same thing in my industry. Do we focus on our core? Do we dance with them who brung us? Yep and yep. But we also are expanding into new areas. 50% of our business comes from new or other than core business lines.
It's a miss in my book that Barnes and Noble and Border's aren't still in the book selling business. I imagine kiosks at bookstores that provide a discount on hard cover if you buy the e-book too. I see a store where you can go look at the book in hard cover then buy it on your Nook after you've decided to give it a try. I think about a store where e-publishing takes up as much or more of their core, conventional selling business.
Sadly what do you actually see when you look at Barnes and Noble? You see Cactus.
Here is an article by Jefferey A. Tractenberg entitled Barnes & Noble Throws in Towel on Tablets which covers the fact that the Nook is through. Frankly, I see this is a bit of a non-event in the grand scheme of things, but a major event in the world of e-readers.
The bookseller reported Tuesday that losses at its Nook digital business blew out in the fourth quarter, easily wiping out reduced profits generated at its bookstores. As a result Barnes & Noble said it would stop manufacturing its own color tablets, instead going with co-branded devices made by third-party manufacturers.
I also look at Barnes and Noble in much the same way I see the Post Office. Why wasn't the post office the prevailing user and first adopter of email? I remember in 1996 first using email in college. Clunky, orange on black text, an ability to only send to other users in the same community. Why didn't the USPS take that sucker and run with it. Instead of dot com every address should end with dot USPS. For the first few years the only thing we did with the internet was send mail.
I remember when Prodigy (I think that was the name) was introduced it provided local weather and some news as well. It wasn't till email became en vogue that the internet gained legs. Email . . . mail . . . where was the Post Office? They could have been sitting in the fabled cat bird seat had they leveraged that idea sooner.
Why didn't Barnes and Noble jump on the e-publishing band wagon sooner. Why did Amazon, which prior to Kindle was all about shipping goods to people, become the preeminent e-book publisher on the web? Where was Border's? Where was Barnes and Noble? They focused on their core business that's where they were and they weren't nimble enough to change. I see the same thing in my industry. Do we focus on our core? Do we dance with them who brung us? Yep and yep. But we also are expanding into new areas. 50% of our business comes from new or other than core business lines.
It's a miss in my book that Barnes and Noble and Border's aren't still in the book selling business. I imagine kiosks at bookstores that provide a discount on hard cover if you buy the e-book too. I see a store where you can go look at the book in hard cover then buy it on your Nook after you've decided to give it a try. I think about a store where e-publishing takes up as much or more of their core, conventional selling business.
Sadly what do you actually see when you look at Barnes and Noble? You see Cactus.
Tuesday, June 25, 2013
I Repost Cause I Must
I never intend to repost items from other blogs, but when I run across a post that just screams at me that this is something I must remember, something I must tell others about, . . . well then I must repost.
I seem to repost a lot from The Kill Zone, and there is a distinct and clear reason why . . . they write some good stuff over on that site. Today P.J. Parrish has a terrific little article called Are Rules Made to Be Broken on breaking rules and following rules. When is it okay to break rules, when should one follow rules. The article is terribly insightful . . . who knew that Picasso had painted the first painting? (go read the article to find out what that means).
That being said, she winds up the column with a numbered list of rules from Emma Coats a storyboard artist with Pixar. There are 22 rules, I liked the following three the most:
Come up with your ending before you figure out your middle. Seriously. Endings are hard, get yours working up front.
I have yet to do this with the novel I'm presently writing. I'm glad I read this. Immediately I'm going to start chewing on and digesting the ending so that I know where I'm going.
What are the stakes? Give us reason to root for the character. What happens if they don't succeed? Stack the odds against them.
This harkens back to the post I wrote the other day on challenges and hurdles for a protagonist to overcome that play such a big part in writing (here). I like the idea of "stakes" much more than just "hurdles" or "challenges." Stakes inherently imply that there are challenges right? I think so.
Here's an exercise: take the building blocks of a movie you dislike. How would you rearrange them into what you DO like.
Why have I never heard of this exercise? What a terrific idea! I was recently asked as a part of the blog tour I'm currently in about what movie have I seen that is better than the book. I skipped the question. I couldn't immediately think of one. I would have much rather been confronted with a question of "How would you have changed the worst movie you've ever seen into something better?" I can't wait to try this and I bet I reference the Insultingly Stupid Movie Physics website when I do so.
Again, so much going on that is good over at The Kill Zone and so much worthwhile in that article. Well worth the three or five minutes it takes to read it.
I seem to repost a lot from The Kill Zone, and there is a distinct and clear reason why . . . they write some good stuff over on that site. Today P.J. Parrish has a terrific little article called Are Rules Made to Be Broken on breaking rules and following rules. When is it okay to break rules, when should one follow rules. The article is terribly insightful . . . who knew that Picasso had painted the first painting? (go read the article to find out what that means).
That being said, she winds up the column with a numbered list of rules from Emma Coats a storyboard artist with Pixar. There are 22 rules, I liked the following three the most:
Come up with your ending before you figure out your middle. Seriously. Endings are hard, get yours working up front.
I have yet to do this with the novel I'm presently writing. I'm glad I read this. Immediately I'm going to start chewing on and digesting the ending so that I know where I'm going.
What are the stakes? Give us reason to root for the character. What happens if they don't succeed? Stack the odds against them.
This harkens back to the post I wrote the other day on challenges and hurdles for a protagonist to overcome that play such a big part in writing (here). I like the idea of "stakes" much more than just "hurdles" or "challenges." Stakes inherently imply that there are challenges right? I think so.
Here's an exercise: take the building blocks of a movie you dislike. How would you rearrange them into what you DO like.
Why have I never heard of this exercise? What a terrific idea! I was recently asked as a part of the blog tour I'm currently in about what movie have I seen that is better than the book. I skipped the question. I couldn't immediately think of one. I would have much rather been confronted with a question of "How would you have changed the worst movie you've ever seen into something better?" I can't wait to try this and I bet I reference the Insultingly Stupid Movie Physics website when I do so.
Again, so much going on that is good over at The Kill Zone and so much worthwhile in that article. Well worth the three or five minutes it takes to read it.
Monday, June 24, 2013
Couple More
So far the reviews from non-friends and family are positive. I received two more reviews from the blog tour. One from "ai love books" the other from "a book and a lattee.
The first, from ai love books said:
On The Edge by Dick Hannah is definitely a good mystery/crime novel. I like how the mystery starts right away in the first few chapters. The writing was smooth. I can’t stop reading to learn about the murder – why? And who did it? I can’t stop guessing until the end. The author did a really good job with the mystery and thriller. I love the bits on family and drama within the story. I wanted to know what will happen to Joe and his father’s relationship. Overall, On the Edge was a good mystery/thriller read laced with family drama and a little bit of romance.
I'm particularly happy with the phrase, "The writing was smooth." I'll take that.
The second review, this one from a book and a lattee said:
In Dick Hannah’s On The Edge is an extremely fantastic novel in which I absolutely loved every part of it. It wasn’t just one novel but became multiple novels all in one – a little romance, thriller, inspirational, and family drama all packed into one. I’m really hoping that Dick Hannah has a sequel to On The Edge just because I’m so intrigued by Joe’s story.
My take away . . . "It wasn’t just one novel but became multiple novels all in one."
So far none of this has resulted in any new sales, at least none that I've seen, but if nothing else this blog tour results in providing me much needed confidence boosts each week!
The first, from ai love books said:
On The Edge by Dick Hannah is definitely a good mystery/crime novel. I like how the mystery starts right away in the first few chapters. The writing was smooth. I can’t stop reading to learn about the murder – why? And who did it? I can’t stop guessing until the end. The author did a really good job with the mystery and thriller. I love the bits on family and drama within the story. I wanted to know what will happen to Joe and his father’s relationship. Overall, On the Edge was a good mystery/thriller read laced with family drama and a little bit of romance.
I'm particularly happy with the phrase, "The writing was smooth." I'll take that.
The second review, this one from a book and a lattee said:
In Dick Hannah’s On The Edge is an extremely fantastic novel in which I absolutely loved every part of it. It wasn’t just one novel but became multiple novels all in one – a little romance, thriller, inspirational, and family drama all packed into one. I’m really hoping that Dick Hannah has a sequel to On The Edge just because I’m so intrigued by Joe’s story.
My take away . . . "It wasn’t just one novel but became multiple novels all in one."
So far none of this has resulted in any new sales, at least none that I've seen, but if nothing else this blog tour results in providing me much needed confidence boosts each week!
Friday, June 21, 2013
Entirely Apropos
Over at The Kill Zone they are asking their readers to provide some ideas for a collective noun for a group of writers.
Writers, I have found, love to use these "collective nouns" in much the same way I'm sure a woodworker would enjoy trying to build an intricate jewelry box, or a artist might like to try a new medium with which to work. Samples that most everyone can remember include:
The list could go on and on. What I think is so apropos about this is that I just highlighted a terrific, and I think completely original example in Les Miserables.
above the chimney piece hung a crucifix of copper, with the silver worn off, fixed on a background of threadbare velvet in a wooden frame from which the gilding had fallen; near the glass door a large table with an inkstand, laded with a confusion of papers and with huge volumes
I like that, "confusion of papers." First time I'd run across it.
Writers, I have found, love to use these "collective nouns" in much the same way I'm sure a woodworker would enjoy trying to build an intricate jewelry box, or a artist might like to try a new medium with which to work. Samples that most everyone can remember include:
- Murder of Crows
- Colony of Ants
- Coffle of Asses
- Troop of Baboons
The list could go on and on. What I think is so apropos about this is that I just highlighted a terrific, and I think completely original example in Les Miserables.
above the chimney piece hung a crucifix of copper, with the silver worn off, fixed on a background of threadbare velvet in a wooden frame from which the gilding had fallen; near the glass door a large table with an inkstand, laded with a confusion of papers and with huge volumes
I like that, "confusion of papers." First time I'd run across it.
Wednesday, June 19, 2013
Always Good to Get Glowing Reviews
It's always good to get a glowing review, even from a "Devoted Mommy of 3."
The blog DevotedMommyof3 is written by "a housewife and mother of 3 boys (19,16, 10) writes on daily life, rural living, and being the only girl in a house full of boys."
This is one of the blogs that was identified for the Blog Tour that Sage Adderly put together. She writes today in her blog:
Dick Hannah has created one fantastic novel. Simply put- I love it. There were a lot of plates spinning & he didn’t drop any. What I’d thought would be a simple mystery novel became multiple novels in one: family drama, thriller, a little romance, inspirational- you name it! Fingers are crossed for a sequel. Five stars straight through- brilliant!
I'll take the praise and hope it transfers into further sales.
The blog DevotedMommyof3 is written by "a housewife and mother of 3 boys (19,16, 10) writes on daily life, rural living, and being the only girl in a house full of boys."
This is one of the blogs that was identified for the Blog Tour that Sage Adderly put together. She writes today in her blog:
Dick Hannah has created one fantastic novel. Simply put- I love it. There were a lot of plates spinning & he didn’t drop any. What I’d thought would be a simple mystery novel became multiple novels in one: family drama, thriller, a little romance, inspirational- you name it! Fingers are crossed for a sequel. Five stars straight through- brilliant!
I'll take the praise and hope it transfers into further sales.
Tuesday, June 18, 2013
Not Punchy
I don't think I'm punchy enough for Twitter, but that being said, I do Tweet.
My Twitter handle is "Novelogism" . . . a combination of Neologism and Novelling. When I combine the definitions I get:
A new book that may be in the process of entering common use.
This morning I tweeted a passage from Les Miserables. Generally I tweet passages or words that strike my fancy. This one hit my fancy pretty hard. This passage occurs right as Fantine is on Death's door and Jean Valjean is about to be confronted by Javert.
The branch trembles when a hand approaches it to pluck a flower, and seems to both withdraw and to offer itself at one and the same time. The human body has something of this tremor when the instant arrives in which the mysterious fingers of Death are about to pluck the soul.
I think that's some amazing stuff. There is alot of writing in Les Miserables that would never make the cut these days. We are far too focused on getting to the heart of the matter. What Hugo takes three chapters to say would be written in a couple of sentences now days. But, there are those passages that can be separated from the rest, like this one, that really make the whole magilla so much better than the rest.
My Twitter handle is "Novelogism" . . . a combination of Neologism and Novelling. When I combine the definitions I get:
A new book that may be in the process of entering common use.
This morning I tweeted a passage from Les Miserables. Generally I tweet passages or words that strike my fancy. This one hit my fancy pretty hard. This passage occurs right as Fantine is on Death's door and Jean Valjean is about to be confronted by Javert.
The branch trembles when a hand approaches it to pluck a flower, and seems to both withdraw and to offer itself at one and the same time. The human body has something of this tremor when the instant arrives in which the mysterious fingers of Death are about to pluck the soul.
I think that's some amazing stuff. There is alot of writing in Les Miserables that would never make the cut these days. We are far too focused on getting to the heart of the matter. What Hugo takes three chapters to say would be written in a couple of sentences now days. But, there are those passages that can be separated from the rest, like this one, that really make the whole magilla so much better than the rest.
Monday, June 17, 2013
Novel Release
I can't wait to see what happens in the next couple of days. Sage has provided me the list of dates and blogs below and I can't wait to see what the bloggers think of my new novel, On the Edge (prospective readers can buy it either via Amazon for Kindle or through Smashwords for all others).
- Yah Gotta Read This! - June 17
- Raven Reviews - June 18
- Devoted Mommy of 3 - June 19
- Tana Rae Reads - June 20
- abookandalatte - June 21
- ai love books - June 22
- My Cozie Corner - June 23
- A Date With A Book - June 24
- The Reading Addict - June 25
- Perfect Chaos - June 26
- my name is: Sage- June 27
- Liz Loves Books - June 28
- Crafty Mom Zen - June 29
Friday, June 14, 2013
Next Novel
June 17th is fast approaching, and with it the release of my new novel, On the Edge.
As you will know if you've been reading this blog I've been posting about the upcoming "Blog Tour" that starts June 17th. I commissioned Sage Adderly to help me out with this, and so far I've been impressed. I wrote earlier about the upcoming Blog Tour that she is helping me run, and last year I wrote about my self-release and own experiences trying to get reviews in my AAR series. We shall see if Sage makes a significant difference come June 17.
So far Sage has been pretty decent. I've had two different rather lengthy questionnaires regarding my reading and writing life that I will post links to once they are released on June 17th. I've been impressed with the book banner she produced as well.
I think success in this arena will be gauged by whether or not I break even. Anything else will be nice, but at this point I'm hoping to take one small step toward my hobby becoming self-sustaining.
As you will know if you've been reading this blog I've been posting about the upcoming "Blog Tour" that starts June 17th. I commissioned Sage Adderly to help me out with this, and so far I've been impressed. I wrote earlier about the upcoming Blog Tour that she is helping me run, and last year I wrote about my self-release and own experiences trying to get reviews in my AAR series. We shall see if Sage makes a significant difference come June 17.
So far Sage has been pretty decent. I've had two different rather lengthy questionnaires regarding my reading and writing life that I will post links to once they are released on June 17th. I've been impressed with the book banner she produced as well.
I think success in this arena will be gauged by whether or not I break even. Anything else will be nice, but at this point I'm hoping to take one small step toward my hobby becoming self-sustaining.
Wednesday, June 12, 2013
Yet Another Retraction?
So many retractions so little time.
Seriously though, this one is more of a clarification than a retraction. But just yesterday I write this post on how so many writing websites and editors have a paradigm that includes so many silly effects to draw the reader in. Then I run into this post today from The Kill Zone. I read the title, Checklist for Adding Suspense and Intrigue, by Jodie Renner and I immediately think it is going to support what I wrote yesterday.
WRONG!
I wish I could post just the most prescient portions, but if I did I'd be lifting the entire post. It's a terrific checklist, at least the first half. The second half gets back into the typical techniques I alluded to yesterday, piling on the problems, but I suppose that comes with the thriller writing genre.
Still, if you are a writer, this is a great checklist to help get you going. I recommend using it.
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)