Initiatives to Go Green Prompt Authors to Try Virtual Book Tours

Photo Courtesy: Mary R. Vogt

Industry insiders are calling it a sign of the times: More and more publishers are encouraging authors to promote their books online in what is being called a virtual book tour.

The way it works is simple, and the benefits are huge. Authors who decide to go on a virtual book tour work with a public relations firm that specializes in online promotions. The agency works with websites and instructs the author to answer questions online, write blog posts on approved websites and send books to online reviewers one month prior to the tour. Diligent authors who post information on the websites per the instructions of the agency can appear on more than 20 blogs in a one month period. The benefits of a virtual book tour to authors are immense; authors are able to work from home without the costly travel expenses. The results are remarkable: Authors who participate in virtual book tours are reporting higher sales and significant savings in promotion. Are virtual book tours a quick trend in a green-age of publishing, or the wave of the future?

With all the benefits, there remains the added concern for publishers that the author will post inappropriate or damaging comments on websites and blogs that will hurt sales, in addition to the reputation of both the author and the publisher. Since the author typically works from home during a virtual book tour and a publicist is rarely sitting at home with the author, it’s important for the author to know what to say and how to say it online. As bloggers know, everything that is said online is permanent.

Virtual book tours are easy to find and even easier to execute. Social media outlets like Twitter, MySpace, Facebook, Digg, Yelp, Gawker and LinkedIn all have pages for virtual book tours; numerous websites, including www.pumpupyourbookpromotion.com are also dedicated to developing virtual book tours for authors.

Dorothy Thompson works for Pump Up Your Book Promotion, a full service public relations agency specializing in online book promotion. “In my company alone, I see approximately 12 - 15 authors each month wanting to go on a virtual book tour,” says Thompson. According to the website, virtual book tours are designed to take authors around the world with a tremendous amount of exposure. Thompson explains, “Frankly, what's to lose? The authors and publishers get world-wide exposure, and the websites receive more hits. It’s a win-win situation for everyone.”

Critics of virtual book tours bring some legitimate concerns to the table. According to a BusinessWeek article by Sarah Lacy, there’s nothing like face-to-face interaction when promoting anything. Authors should not give up on traditional book tours; by doing so, according to Lacy, publishers are throwing away “a powerful tool.” Thompson sees the virtual book tour quite differently, saying “What is truly so spectacular is that every day there are more and more venues online opening up to market your book. In ten years, I predict that there will be so many more venues…it will boggle your mind. I say the future looks very, very bright for virtual book tours.”

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Whether or not blog tours are the wave of the future or just a hot trend in a green market is up for debate. Let us know what you think. Email editor@writersnewsweekly.com and voice your opinion today.