What I Learned on My Virtual Book Tour by Barry Eva (Storyheart)

YOUR BOOK IS PUBLISHED:

So now what?

EXPOSURE!!!!!

Twitter it, blog it, join groups, check Amazon, Barnes and Noble, etc, get your name and that of your book OUT THERE!

Try checking your book on something like http://www.fetchbook.info/ where you can put in your ISBN number and see all the locations online that are selling your book and the cost.

Another GREAT way to spread the word is a “VIRTUAL BOOK TOUR”.

Normal book tours where you might go to a book shop, sit there all day and have four people come up to you, two to take a free book mark and perhaps one to purchase a copy of your book (unless you're a big-name author who can bring in a big crowd and sell an impressive number of books). Virtual tours allow you to visit locations all over the world without leaving your desk. Normal tours, once your visit is over it’s over, virtual tours can go on promoting your book for months even years after your event. Unlike the few people in the book store, virtual tours allow you to reach thousand with each interview, each review and each stop along your tour.

I did a VBT back in February; it was a few days after coming out of hospital where I'd had major back surgery. Yet for the whole month I was on my virtual tour, I visited places all around the world while still in my sick bed.

Just think, you do a tour to a book store, you have to cart all your books and supplies along with you, perhaps even donate a few to the book shop itself. Unless you’re some huge star, if you're lucky during the whole day you might manage to get ten people to stop and chat. Three to ask questions, three to ask for directions and four to help themselves to the free bookmarks or whatever you might have to give away. Once your day is finished it’s over and you’re forgotten. On a virtual tour, you can reach sites, blogs and even newspapers that might have hundreds of thousands of visitors a month, and your interview/review does not disappear; it’s there afterwards for people to continue to read.

There are many offerings for virtual book tours. I have been quoted up to three thousand for some tours; others I have seen offering seven days tour for $149.

However the best one I have found and one I highly recommend is PUMP UP YOUR BOOK PROMOTION.

They offer three different packages starting at $249 and they will set you up with a full month's tour, blogs, interviews even radio show stops. As well as information about each stop along the way being shared at several major sites. These are a great group of people I completed my tour with and have stayed friends with ever since.

THINGS TO REMEMBER ON A VIRTUAL BOOK TOUR:

* These tours take a month or two to plan so book ahead of time.

* Be prepared to be part of the tour. Visit your guest stops, reply to comments, and be prepared to send out book copies for reviewers.

* Don’t just leave everything to your tour organizer look for some stops of your own.

* Link these stops/reviews/visits in your blog and on your web site. You MUST have a web site.

* Don’t supply the same dull answers to interviews or post the same guests posts. Be creative, you're meant to be a writer, try and add some humor.

* Like many other things with a virtual tour… What you put in you take out.
Put in nothing and you’ll get nothing.

* You never know where one of your interviews might turn up. During my month I appeared in the Chicago Sunday Times and even the Wall Street Journal.

One thing I will state again is…

Marketing and PR doesn’t sell books - it gets you exposure!

There are always those who expect every stop along the way to mean they will sell another hundred books. Don’t forget the formula -

Publicity=exposure
Exposure=name recognition
Name recognition MAY equal book sales


Born in Barnet, Hertfordshire, Barry Eva, also known as “Storyheart”, left his beloved England in 2000, moving to the USA to be with the woman he'd met and fallen in love with on the Internet.

Better known for his short romance stories on the net and in his book Stories from the Heart, Barry is popular for narrating his stories on local TV or as a guest on other media stations,where his whit, oratory, and old-fashioned English charm make him a popular interviewee. His latest release is the teen romance novel Across the Pond.

At present, Barry is living in Connecticut, with his wife and two children.

You can find Barry online at http://across-t-pond.com/index.htm or his blog at http://acrossthepond-storyheart.blogspot.com/ where he has been sharing a series of articles on book promotion on a budget. And don't miss his entertaining show on Blog Talk Radio.

New Video for Across the Pond by Storyheart

Someone recently drew my attention to a promotional video for Across the Pond by Storyheart. Across the Pond is a teen romance between Fred, a boy visiting the United States from England, and Brittany, whose parents are entrusted with Fred's care while he is in the States.

We reviewed this title here.

One of the things that can be most challenging about book promotion is to find a unique angle. Barry Eva, the writer known as Storyheart, did just that when he created this silent movie video trailer to promote Across the Pond. It looks like he got some help from his family.

Check it out!

Special NaBloPoMo Feature - Giving Up by Storyheart

Continuing with our March Special Feature about the topic of giving up, today we welcome Barry Eva, also known as, Storyheart.



In the Church of England like the Catholic church we have Lent. It starts after Shrove Tuesday or Pancake Day when we eat pancakes. English pancakes are more like crepes, thinner than the every day American pancakes, and bigger. We normally have them with sugar and lemon juice. The idea is that you clear your larder of any tempting stuff before Lent .

So for Lent this year I have given up my morning egg and bacon roll, and believe me that is some hard thing to give up as it's the fuel that starts my day. Thank goodness I still manage my pint of tea. To give that part up would leave one cranky bear.

Storyheart



Barry Eva (Storyheart)
Author of Across the Pond
Book Site: http://across-t-pond.com
Blog: http://acrossthepond-storyheart.blogspot.com/

The author Storyheart shows his obvious background as a writer of romance stories and does a masterful job of adapting the genre to a juvenile audience. However, despite the target age group, I believe that readers of all ages will be drawn to the characters in this book and the strength that they show through a wide range of emotional situations.

The compelling story created by the author will quickly separate across the pond from the pack.

Amazon and Reviews: http://www.amazon.com/Across-Pond-Storyheart/dp/1436371767/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&s=books&qid=1226497516&sr=1-1

You'll find out review of Across the Pond here.

Across the Pond by Storyheart--Book Review

A charming and entertaining story of a boy from England who falls in love with a girl from the United States.

Across the Pond by Storyheart is the story of Fred, a boy from England who is sent to stay with his parents' friends in the United States while they are away, and Brittany, the girl who wins his heart.

While Fred struggles to understand American culture and the meaning behind many popular expressions, he finds himself drawn to Brittany, the daughter of his parents' best friends. What he doesn't know, is that Brittany has a secret--a secret so troubling that she hasn't even been able to share it with her parents. And once Brit trusts Fred with her secret, his life is turned upside down.

Having managed to avoid an incident with Steve Harris, the town bully, Fred suddenly finds himself the subject of much attention, when he catches a baseball that is worth a small fortune.

As Brittany and Fred's relationship deepens into love, Fred realizes he must protect Brit from the secret she has shared with him; but how can he do that once he returns to England?

There is so much to enjoy in Across the Pond. Following the developing relationship between Fred and Brittany, Fred's struggles in understanding how the same word he knows from home can mean something very different in America, Fred's desire to protect Brittany, and even Fred's relationship with Brit's parents, Phil and Julie, all make this a wonderful story for young adults. Some fun and exciting moments come when Fred and Brit are chased through the mall by an unknown man and watching things unravel with the famous baseball is a blast.

Steve Harris, acts the part of the perfect antagonist. He's always on Fred's and Brittany's minds because he is sure to make his presence known, and he travels with his goons, Rick and Eddie, who help him keep his fights uneven.

One of the things that seems to be missing in this story is the descriptions of scenery. While you don't want to get bogged down in details, Fred is new to the country, and would therefore, be more aware of his surroundings, perhaps even capturing some of what he saw in his notebook that he brought along for a school project about his trip to America. I wanted more of a picture painted than was there on the page.

The other challenge for me is that Fred, Brittany and their friends use a party in his honor to get back at a couple of people, and I just felt it sent the wrong message to the reader.

Overall, I have to say that I enjoyed Across the Pond. A strong cast of characters, an interesting plot, some great baseball, and a deep secret all come together for an engaging and fun read.


Title: Across the Pond
Author: Storyheart
Publisher: Xlibris
ISBN: 978-1-4363-7176-6
SRP: $19.99 (U.S.)