Many of you will remember that Helen visited here with her favorite pirate Jesamiah Acorne back in July. I've asked her to come back and talk a bit about how her blog tour went.
I have a vague suspicion that writing a book is the easy part. Getting
sales is much harder work, especially if you are a self published author.
You have produced a well written, entertaining novel and you are
now glowing with pride as you see it appear on Amazon. Next comes the waiting
patiently for Amazon to alter the pre-order
here box to add to basket. This
may take a while, a lot of finger-drumming, several rude words and a couple of
e-mails to Amazon (if you are lucky you might even get a reply!)
The big mainstream publishers do not seem to have this problem; I
suppose they have the weight and power of numbers of books in print behind
them, but for the small time author we are akin to a loan voice crying up the
Amazon without a Paddle.
What was particularly frustrating for me, my UK publisher had
closed in March and I had already planned a summer Blog Tour for my Sea Witch books. A little matter of not
having a publisher, however, was not going to stop me!
I terminated my contract, asked for my files back, and signed up
to a reliable assisted publishing house in Bristol UK, SilverWood Books. My
intention: to get back in print as soon as possible and to go ahead with the
Tour.
The files were never returned, so my old unedited copies had to be
re-edited, typeset and prepared – thanks to the heroic efforts of Helen Hart
and her team at SilverWood, and my wonderful graphics designer, Cathy Helms of
Avalon Graphics, we made it. The Sea
Witch books were in print by July 1 and a month long Blog Tour
started with a bang (a broadside of cannons I suppose, seeing as the Sea Witch novels are based around
pirates and nautical adventure.) On July 2 I appeared on Jessica
Hasting’s Laugh, Love, Write,
followed by the delightful Amy Bruno’s Passages
to the Past – and then this fabulous blog of Carolyn’s I was off, hitting
the ground running.
For almost every day (except weekends) somewhere on the Internet
my books were being reviewed, discussed, advertised – and marketed. I had the
task of visiting each Tour Post, responding to comments and doing my bit by
linking to Facebook and Twitter. It is great fun but hard, hard work.
I had completed several previous Blog Tours with my historical
fiction books which are published in the US by Sourcebooks Inc – but even knowing
(sort of) what I was doing, this Tour was nothing like I had expected. For one
thing, the organisation involved is very demanding. You have to keep in touch
with the bloggers, ensure the posts are made, follow up any comments with your
own – answering questions, saying thank you. Post links, be generally present
etc.
I was lucky enough to have one of the ex-members of staff from my
defunct gone-bust publisher willing to initially help me. Samantha had
organised the setting up of the tour in February, neither of us aware that the
company was about to go belly-up, that she was to lose her job and I was to be
without a UK publisher. Sam had all the details backed up on her own computer,
so I followed her initial enquiries with an explanation of what had happened
and asked whether anyone would be interested in carrying on now I had decided
to re-publish the Sea Witch Voyages
myself.
The enthusiasm, support and eagerness I received was overwhelming.
I have an advantage over most self published authors in that I am
already well known. My Historical Fiction books have received attention on the
review blogs – I even made it on to the USA
Today Bestseller List with Forever
Queen (US edition of A Hollow Crown)
and I have quite a readership following. The Sea Witch Voyages were a different matter, however. They are a
series of nautical adventures with a touch of supernatural fantasy, based
around the pirate Jesamiah Acorne and his girlfriend (later his wife) the white
witch, Tiola Oldstagh. By the spring of 2011, thanks to the not very impressive
track record of my collapsed UK publisher, the books were on the verge of
hitting the rocks and sinking without trace, as was my writing confidence.
This Tour was to be the make or break (sink or float?) for my
pirate and his adventures – and my career. If the result was not encouraging I
was prepared to wind my writing up as a lost cause. Self confidence is a
difficult thing to maintain.
Some of the review blogs were keen to have an interview in the
form of questions and answers, a couple wanted articles about myself or my
books, all of which took time to compose. Other blogs posted a simple review –
and the books had to be sent out in the first place. I had a few copies from
the previous publisher, but postage – considering many of these review blogs
are in the US and I am UK, was expensive. Quite a few bloggers accept PDF
electronic copies now, which is a much easier way of sending novels for review
purposes – but self published authors take note – many bloggers want to see the
quality of the book itself, its design, layout, the general “feel” of it. Plus,
several blogs offer giveaway copies as prizes, which the author is often
expected to provide. In all, I reckon I have notched up at least £200 in
expenses.
Will I gain this back via sales? I have no way of knowing until
the next round of royalty statements. I will need to ensure that I follow up
the Tour with getting on with the next WIP (a fourth Sea Witch Novel), leave comments on the blogs where I was a welcome
guest and maintain contact on various sites, including Facebook and Twitter. To
sell books you have to market books, and Social Networking is an art in itself,
one I find enjoyable – but it eats time like a hungry Hour Monster.
So was my month long Virtual Book Tour worth the cost and effort?
Put it like this – there is now quite a buzz on the ‘Net about a
certain pirate called Jesamiah Acorne; I have a ship load of new followers and
fans, and as the saying goes, ‘From little acorns mighty oak trees grow.’
All I have to do now is be vigilant, tend the seedling, and
nurture the sapling…. Watch this space. For the full blog tour http://acorne.blogspot.com/p/july-2011-blog-tour.html
My website
site: www.helenhollick.net
SilverWood Books www.silverwoodbooks.co.uk Avalon Graphics http://www.avalongraphics.org |
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