Blog tour? What the bloggy blog is a blog tour? Help!

Towards the end of last year I entered a competition on Facebook. Social media often gets a bad name but, mostly, in my experience it’s been a positive thing. I often enter competitions on Facebook and Twitter because, quite frankly, it takes minimal effort! I’ve won things too – it’s worth doing.

This time I won a book blog tour with Brook Cottage Books. I was delighted as fellow writers have waxed lyrical about the benefits of a blog tour and, more specifically, one organised by Brook Cottage Books.

I have to admit to feeling a little confused. I’ve been writing for ten years and for the last seven professionally. I’m no stranger to Facebook, Twitter, forums and other delights that the internet offers – but – I had no idea what a blog tour actually involved!

The lovely Debbie, who runs Brook Cottage Books, pinged me an email so I ‘fessed up. She explained five bloggers (keen readers and reviewers and often writers themselves) would host contributions from me over the course of a week. Sounded great!

I was asked if I wanted Q&As, reviews, blogging opportunities or a mixture. I opted for the latter. Over the next few weeks Debbie got in touch with requests for answers to questions the hosts had asked (and there were some really interesting ones) or the odd blog piece. She also needed the buying links to the book I wanted to promote, a brief biography and one or two other bits and pieces. As a writer you get used to having these to hand so it was a straightforward task to email them over.

The week was scheduled for the end of January. I was looking forward to seeing what the bloggers had done with the information I’d given them and, of course, the reviews.

In my naivety, I’d expected one blog post on Twitter a day. And this is what happened. However, it added up to so much more too.

The host blogger posted the link to her site which I dutifully retweeted. To my frustration, I wasn’t able to get on Twitter very much that week but, in any case, I don’t think I could have kept up with the sheer volume of ‘twittering’ that was going on.

I hadn’t realised that the blogging community is:

a) huge

b) very supportive of each other and of writers and

c) prolific users of social media.

Each tweet was shared and re-shared countless times during the day. Added to the tweets that Brook Cottage Books themselves were putting out, I was all over the internet like a rash. I’d hoped to contact and thank every individual who tweeted and retweeted but it just wasn’t possible. I had to content myself with putting out a brief but sincere general message, thanking everyone, at the end of each frenetic day.

The thing was a monster! But a nice cuddly fluffy one.

The book I was promoting had been out for some time so I wasn’t expecting sales to rocket. However they did. I also gained fifty or more new followers on Twitter. But – of most benefit was getting in touch with some really lovely, enthusiastic book bloggers. I met one of them in person at a recent booky event and she was even more delightful in person. (You know who you are Linda Hill). It was truly heartening meeting these wonderfully enthusiastic readers who spend considerable time sharing their book love. They do a fantastic job.

Final praise must go to Debbie and Brook Cottage Books. The event was seamlessly well organised and went without a hitch, even though she was dealing with a blog tour virgin like me!

Would I do it again? Like a shot!

If you have a book coming out, and are looking to promote it then I have absolutely no hesitation in recommending Brook Cottage Books. Here’s their link:

http://brookcottagebooks.blogspot.co.uk/

Still confused about what a blogger does? Have a look at the sites here:

http://jaffareadstoo.blogspot.co.uk/

http://beingannereading.blogspot.co.uk/

http://lindasbookbag.com/

These are just a small selection of book bloggers. If you love books and are always looking for something new to read, they’re well worth checking out. And, if you’re interested in finding out about who they are and why they do it, look out for Wendy Jones’ regular Monday blog:

http://wendyloujones.weebly.com/blog

Wendy is featuring a different blogger each week at the moment.

Happy reading!

Love,

Georgia x