I say phew because it's been a lot of work. For some reason, this blog tour seemed far more arduous than my others.
For those of you who have never done your own blog tour here are the steps.
1. Find people who are willing to host on their blog. Though I do use some of the same ones, I try to add new blogs and blogs that do have people following them.
2. Come up with dates that work for everyone. If possible, don't have two that fall on the same date. (I dd have on the very first date and it did work out okay.)
3. Find a good way to keep track of the dates, the blogs you're going to be on, etc.
4. Come up with a reason for people to follow your tour--contest of some kind. You can see mine near the bottom of the page. It's a good idea not to give away the book that you are promoting because the whole reason for the tour is to get people interested enough to buy the book. Always put a link to where you'll be the next day at the bottom of the post, along with all the other links to your website, blog, and where to buy the book.
5. If the tour host give you a topic or send interview questions, that makes it easier. About 2/3 of the people how are hosting me did this. I came up with the rest of the topics. You shouldn't duplicate topics. If someone asks you to interview you main character and you already did it, interview another character.
6. Be sure to send all the information to the blog host ahead of time. (Do a spell check and red it over carefully--it's embarrassing when you find a typo after it's already posted.This includes your post, a .jpg of your cover and one of you. If you can, send different photos of yourself, and if appropriate other photos that go along with the topic. ( I think next time I do this I'll give a prize to the one who finds the most typos.)
7. When the blog tour begins, post the whole tour on your won blog with links.
8. Everyday check to make sure the post is up on the host's blog. Once in awhile you have to remind them--and it's a good idea to remind them the day before.
9. Visit the blog two or three times the day it's up and reply to people's comments. Keep a list of those who comment if you are drawing names for a prize.
10. Everyday promote the blog where you are appearing on Facebook, Twitter, listserves and any place else where you are a member.
And again, "Phew!"
P.S. And one big problem I came up with this year is the hosts giving me the wrong URL. Sometimes it was the name of their blog which was different from the correct link.
Now a bit about Dangerous Impulses:
An attractive new-hire captivates
Officer Gordon Butler, Officer Felix Zachary’s wife Wendy is befuddled by her
new baby, Ryan and Barbara Strickland receive unsettling news about her
pregnancy, while the bloody murder of a mother and her son and an unidentified
drug that sickens teenaged partiers jolts the Rocky Bluff P.D.
Contest:
The person who comments on the most blog
posts on this tour may have a character named after him or her in the next
Rocky Bluff P.D. crime novel or choose a book from the previous titles in the Rocky
Bluff P.D. series in either paper or for Kindle.
Rocky Bluff P.D. Series:
Though each book in the Rocky Bluff P.D.
series is written as a stand-alone, I know there are people who like to read a
series in order. From the beginning to the end:
Final Respects
Bad Tidings
Fringe Benefits
Smell of Death
No Sanctuary
An Axe to Grind
Angel Lost
No Bells
Dangerous Impulses
F. M. Meredith’s Bio:
F.M. is also known as Marilyn Meredith,
the author of the Deputy Tempe Crabtree series. She first became interested in
writing about law enforcement when she lived in a neighborhood filled with
police officers and their families. The interest was fanned when her daughter
married a police officer and the tradition has continued with a grandson and
grandson-in-law who are deputies. She’s also serves on the board of the Public
Safety Writers Association, and has many friends in different law enforcement
fields. For twenty plus years, she and her husband lived in a small beach
community located in Southern California much like the fictional Rocky Bluff.
She is a member of three chapters of Sisters in Crime, Epic, and Mystery
Writers of America.
And I’m on Facebook and Twitter as
MarilynMeredith
