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The Author's On-Line Presence
Every author knows that book reviews are an important part of author success
How do you find someone to review your book? Have you exhausted your personal contacts & want to explore the online world of voracious readers & reviewers?
You have found the right book!
Award winning The Author’s Guide to Working with Book Bloggers explores the world of Book Reviewers and Book Bloggers. Based on survey answers from over 700 bloggers, this book contains down to earth, basic information that will help every author understand the book blogger world. Although there are many sources of book reviews, this book will focus specifically on the benefits the online reader world can bring to you and your book.
In this book you’ll learn about who book bloggers are and where to find them as well as learn all about these essential promotional tools:
- The Query
- The Review
- The Giveaway
- The Guest Post
- The Book Blurb/Cover Graphic Feature
- The Cover Reveal
…and so much more!
Discover how to move comfortably in the blogging world, putting your best foot forward. Learn to introduce yourself to coveted reviewers to obtain valuable reviews and promotion of your book.
Whether you are a new author or have many titles under your belt, let the award-winning The Author’s Guide to Working with Book Bloggers demystify the promotion of your book.
Pick up a copy today!
How do you find someone to review your book? Have you exhausted your personal contacts & want to explore the online world of voracious readers & reviewers?
You have found the right book!
Award winning The Author’s Guide to Working with Book Bloggers explores the world of Book Reviewers and Book Bloggers. Based on survey answers from over 700 bloggers, this book contains down to earth, basic information that will help every author understand the book blogger world. Although there are many sources of book reviews, this book will focus specifically on the benefits the online reader world can bring to you and your book.
In this book you’ll learn about who book bloggers are and where to find them as well as learn all about these essential promotional tools:
- The Query
- The Review
- The Giveaway
- The Guest Post
- The Book Blurb/Cover Graphic Feature
- The Cover Reveal
…and so much more!
Discover how to move comfortably in the blogging world, putting your best foot forward. Learn to introduce yourself to coveted reviewers to obtain valuable reviews and promotion of your book.
Whether you are a new author or have many titles under your belt, let the award-winning The Author’s Guide to Working with Book Bloggers demystify the promotion of your book.
Pick up a copy today!
121 pages, Kindle Edition
First published September 21, 2013
About the author
Barb Drozdowich
58 books302 followersBarb can teach anyone to use WordPress. She is a voracious reader of Regency Romance, taxi driver, gourmet chef in training, and slave to a cute puppy.
Barb has taught in colleges, universities and in the banking industry. More recently, she brings her years of teaching experience and a deep love of books to help authors develop the social media platform needed to succeed in today’s fast evolving publishing world. She owns Bakerview Consulting and manages the popular blog, Sugarbeat’s Books. She is also the creator and curator of The Book Blogger List
She is the author of more than 15 books 38 YouTube videos, a beginner WordPress course, a Goodreads course and lives in the mountains of British Columbia with her family.
Barb has taught in colleges, universities and in the banking industry. More recently, she brings her years of teaching experience and a deep love of books to help authors develop the social media platform needed to succeed in today’s fast evolving publishing world. She owns Bakerview Consulting and manages the popular blog, Sugarbeat’s Books. She is also the creator and curator of The Book Blogger List
She is the author of more than 15 books 38 YouTube videos, a beginner WordPress course, a Goodreads course and lives in the mountains of British Columbia with her family.
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Displaying 1 - 29 of 29 reviews
August 11, 2015
As an author I fully appreciate what Barb is saying in this book. Take anyone famous – pop star, actor, author, anyone - and what do they all have in common – a platform, a foundation upon which to build their chosen career. Our audience, readers in our case, are drawn to writers they have heard of, people who have been recommended, reviewed, and written about in the media. Apart from close family if you are lucky, the chances of anyone picking up your book – on-line or off line – is very slim, almost negligible, unless you have a “platform,” a presence in the media, where you appear on Google, exist on Amazon, and are researchable on Goodreads. With the shift to self-publishing the writing world is very crowded; you need visibility to be found. All the tools and techniques discussed by Barb in this book are the essential/minimal required to lift you off the floor of invisibility and project you towards the light of discoverability.
Barb writes from the heart and from hard won experience – ride on her back, and get started on your journey towards success. Every contemporary author has gone through/is going through, this same process. Barb’s succinct book is a great place to start; a must read for new and aspiring writers looking for commercial success in this digital age.
Your "Platform" is key to your success - grab a short-cut to building yours …
Barb writes from the heart and from hard won experience – ride on her back, and get started on your journey towards success. Every contemporary author has gone through/is going through, this same process. Barb’s succinct book is a great place to start; a must read for new and aspiring writers looking for commercial success in this digital age.
Your "Platform" is key to your success - grab a short-cut to building yours …
April 20, 2014
Originally posted at DJ's Book Corner and the Masquerade Crew.
First thing, for newbie authors, this is a good resource. For the more experienced author, you may find bits and pieces of this book helpful, but I think you will already know most of what you read. I'm in the latter category, and as an author, host, AND tour organizer, I agreed with parts, disagreed with others.
I liked how the book was set up. It sort of took you through the different steps of a tour, from beginning to end. It talked about REALISTIC EXPECTATIONS, which is something I'm always trying to drive into authors' heads. TOURS DON'T SELL BOOKS. THEY SPARK INTEREST. So I really appreciated that. I thought the suggestions regarding giveaways, doing proper research of tour companies, and setting goals for your tours were all really great pieces of advice.
My favorite bit was about how giftcards and big prizes like Kindles are kind of like bribes and don't really pull in readers. A lot of people simply enter to try and win the prize. They don't have any interest in the book(s). That really got me to thinking and helped bring about the change I recently made for Masquerade Tours' giveaways.
Like I said, there were a few things that I disagreed with. Like commenting on blogs during your tour. I'm firmly against it, but this book promotes it. I understand why. Because you want to engage readers and network with bloggers. I agree that authors should do this, just not during the tour and certainly not with comments on the actual blog post. There are other ways to network (Twitter, Facebook, Email), and I feel that the comment section should be left alone and free for interested readers to discuss the book being promoted.
I also had an issue with the accountability issue discussed in the later part of the book. It says that tour organizers should have a back up plan in place for hosts that do not post. That's all awesome in theory, but what use is a back up blogger? The only thing you will get out of a back up blogger is a promo post, and they probably won't get around to that until the next day, if that. I just don't see the use of back up bloggers and authors should go into tours expecting bloggers to "flake". Happens ALL THE TIME.
Overall, this was a short, concise guide to book tours. Besides the few things that I would change, it is a good beginners' source to the book touring business with a bunch of great advice and ideas. Definitely a book worth reading!
First thing, for newbie authors, this is a good resource. For the more experienced author, you may find bits and pieces of this book helpful, but I think you will already know most of what you read. I'm in the latter category, and as an author, host, AND tour organizer, I agreed with parts, disagreed with others.
I liked how the book was set up. It sort of took you through the different steps of a tour, from beginning to end. It talked about REALISTIC EXPECTATIONS, which is something I'm always trying to drive into authors' heads. TOURS DON'T SELL BOOKS. THEY SPARK INTEREST. So I really appreciated that. I thought the suggestions regarding giveaways, doing proper research of tour companies, and setting goals for your tours were all really great pieces of advice.
My favorite bit was about how giftcards and big prizes like Kindles are kind of like bribes and don't really pull in readers. A lot of people simply enter to try and win the prize. They don't have any interest in the book(s). That really got me to thinking and helped bring about the change I recently made for Masquerade Tours' giveaways.
Like I said, there were a few things that I disagreed with. Like commenting on blogs during your tour. I'm firmly against it, but this book promotes it. I understand why. Because you want to engage readers and network with bloggers. I agree that authors should do this, just not during the tour and certainly not with comments on the actual blog post. There are other ways to network (Twitter, Facebook, Email), and I feel that the comment section should be left alone and free for interested readers to discuss the book being promoted.
I also had an issue with the accountability issue discussed in the later part of the book. It says that tour organizers should have a back up plan in place for hosts that do not post. That's all awesome in theory, but what use is a back up blogger? The only thing you will get out of a back up blogger is a promo post, and they probably won't get around to that until the next day, if that. I just don't see the use of back up bloggers and authors should go into tours expecting bloggers to "flake". Happens ALL THE TIME.
Overall, this was a short, concise guide to book tours. Besides the few things that I would change, it is a good beginners' source to the book touring business with a bunch of great advice and ideas. Definitely a book worth reading!
February 29, 2016
I received a copy in exchange for an honest review
As a blog tour organizer and blogger myself this non-fiction book caught my attention. I don't read a lot of non-fiction books, but this sounded like one I wanted to read. Book Blog Tours - An Essential Marketing Tool for Authors gives a basic and simple explained overview of what a blog tour is about, a bit about finding bloggers, how to gauge their reach, getting reviews for your book and how to handle negative reviews, booking a blog tour, what you can do as a author before, during and after the tour and organizing your own blog tour. I did think the book stayed a bit on the surface, although that's also because a lot of this depends on how you want to run your tour or which tour organizer you book. There's a lot of basic knowledge and it gives you a good understanding of the basic concepts.
I didn't really learn much new from this book, but then again I am a blog tour organizer myself, so I didn't expect to learn much if anything new, but wanted to get a feel for how valuable this book is for authors. Overall I would say it's a good book for new authors, who don't know much about bloggers and blog tours yet. Most of this information can be found online or through experience, so I am not sure if it's really worth it, but if your a newbie author who wants to have everything simply in one place this book is a good place to start.
I really liked some parts and agreed with the author, but also disagreed on some small points. I really liked how the author emphasized that blog tours don't sell books. This is such a big misconception and I think that many authors might be disappointed with a tour because they expect that. I always say a blog tour brings you exposure and yes contact as this author mentions and that's the true value. I also liked her advice about negative reviews and how to handle those as an author and also illuminates how negative reviews aren't always a bad thing. I felt like Barb had a good understanding of blog tours, bloggers and the whole blogging business and that showed in this book. All the information was spot on, although there was also some subjective information.
I did disagree with a few small points, like how she advices to make a word document instead of a pdf media kit. Yes I do agree that a word document media kit is a good idea, but if you really want to make things easy for a blogger make a premade html media kit, if you know how to do that, as copy and pasting from word often still leads to formatting problems. And I don't think having only one blogger a day during a tour is ideal. I think multiple bloggers a day works just as well and I think that's more a personal preference and I sometimes mention that to authors when they book. A longer tour often has more spread out stops and less bloggers a day while a shorter tour or a cover reveal of one day has all those stops in less time. Whether that's good or bad? I don't know, I think it depends on what the author prefers.
The book was easy to read and formatted nicely with list and clear and concrete topics. It read easily, but I did think it was pretty short. Like I mentioned before I think this book is great for new authors, but if you already have done a tour and know about the topic you might not find much new here. I liked how the author gave some tips for how authors can promote a tour themselves by sharing and commenting on the post and went into detail about how to handle those things. It might sound obvious, but it's something authors sometimes forget and I think it can be valuable for authors to help promote their tour that way. Also some tips and advice might be more applicable to some authors or specific situations, not everything is applicable to everyone.
The commenting on blog posts thing is something I think you should decide as author whether you want to do that or not. Not all bloggers are comfortable with it and besides a thanks you I am not sure if commenting is always a good thing, it depends. It's also more written from an author/ blogger than blog tour company point of view and you notice that in a few details. Like the having a back-up plan for when a blogger doesn't post, my advice on this topic is to expect as an author that not everyone will post, that's normal and realistic for blog tours. And no matter how much a blog tour organizer does their best, this is unavoidable and there's a limit to what you can do about it.
To summarize: this book was well written and easy to understand. I finished the book quickly and while I didn't learn much new, I do think this book could be valuable for new authors who know very little about bloggers and blog tours. There are some great pieces of advice and I liked how the author emphasized that blog tours don't necessary have as goal to sell books as that is so true, they mostly helps for exposure. The book was written in a clear and simple manner, it might stay a bit on the surface and not offer much value to authors who know their way around the online community already, but it still was a nice read. It's obvious the author knows enough about the blogging, writing community and about blog tours. She shares some valuable pieces of advice, although I did disagree with her on a few small things. It's a nice basic read for when you want a clear and basic guide to blog tours and get an idea of what to expects, how blog tours generally work and what you can do as an author. It is written from an author/ blogger their point of view and you notice that in a few small things. All in all this book is a nice start for new authors and gives you some basic information for when you consider booking of a blog tour.
As a blog tour organizer and blogger myself this non-fiction book caught my attention. I don't read a lot of non-fiction books, but this sounded like one I wanted to read. Book Blog Tours - An Essential Marketing Tool for Authors gives a basic and simple explained overview of what a blog tour is about, a bit about finding bloggers, how to gauge their reach, getting reviews for your book and how to handle negative reviews, booking a blog tour, what you can do as a author before, during and after the tour and organizing your own blog tour. I did think the book stayed a bit on the surface, although that's also because a lot of this depends on how you want to run your tour or which tour organizer you book. There's a lot of basic knowledge and it gives you a good understanding of the basic concepts.
I didn't really learn much new from this book, but then again I am a blog tour organizer myself, so I didn't expect to learn much if anything new, but wanted to get a feel for how valuable this book is for authors. Overall I would say it's a good book for new authors, who don't know much about bloggers and blog tours yet. Most of this information can be found online or through experience, so I am not sure if it's really worth it, but if your a newbie author who wants to have everything simply in one place this book is a good place to start.
I really liked some parts and agreed with the author, but also disagreed on some small points. I really liked how the author emphasized that blog tours don't sell books. This is such a big misconception and I think that many authors might be disappointed with a tour because they expect that. I always say a blog tour brings you exposure and yes contact as this author mentions and that's the true value. I also liked her advice about negative reviews and how to handle those as an author and also illuminates how negative reviews aren't always a bad thing. I felt like Barb had a good understanding of blog tours, bloggers and the whole blogging business and that showed in this book. All the information was spot on, although there was also some subjective information.
I did disagree with a few small points, like how she advices to make a word document instead of a pdf media kit. Yes I do agree that a word document media kit is a good idea, but if you really want to make things easy for a blogger make a premade html media kit, if you know how to do that, as copy and pasting from word often still leads to formatting problems. And I don't think having only one blogger a day during a tour is ideal. I think multiple bloggers a day works just as well and I think that's more a personal preference and I sometimes mention that to authors when they book. A longer tour often has more spread out stops and less bloggers a day while a shorter tour or a cover reveal of one day has all those stops in less time. Whether that's good or bad? I don't know, I think it depends on what the author prefers.
The book was easy to read and formatted nicely with list and clear and concrete topics. It read easily, but I did think it was pretty short. Like I mentioned before I think this book is great for new authors, but if you already have done a tour and know about the topic you might not find much new here. I liked how the author gave some tips for how authors can promote a tour themselves by sharing and commenting on the post and went into detail about how to handle those things. It might sound obvious, but it's something authors sometimes forget and I think it can be valuable for authors to help promote their tour that way. Also some tips and advice might be more applicable to some authors or specific situations, not everything is applicable to everyone.
The commenting on blog posts thing is something I think you should decide as author whether you want to do that or not. Not all bloggers are comfortable with it and besides a thanks you I am not sure if commenting is always a good thing, it depends. It's also more written from an author/ blogger than blog tour company point of view and you notice that in a few details. Like the having a back-up plan for when a blogger doesn't post, my advice on this topic is to expect as an author that not everyone will post, that's normal and realistic for blog tours. And no matter how much a blog tour organizer does their best, this is unavoidable and there's a limit to what you can do about it.
To summarize: this book was well written and easy to understand. I finished the book quickly and while I didn't learn much new, I do think this book could be valuable for new authors who know very little about bloggers and blog tours. There are some great pieces of advice and I liked how the author emphasized that blog tours don't necessary have as goal to sell books as that is so true, they mostly helps for exposure. The book was written in a clear and simple manner, it might stay a bit on the surface and not offer much value to authors who know their way around the online community already, but it still was a nice read. It's obvious the author knows enough about the blogging, writing community and about blog tours. She shares some valuable pieces of advice, although I did disagree with her on a few small things. It's a nice basic read for when you want a clear and basic guide to blog tours and get an idea of what to expects, how blog tours generally work and what you can do as an author. It is written from an author/ blogger their point of view and you notice that in a few small things. All in all this book is a nice start for new authors and gives you some basic information for when you consider booking of a blog tour.
December 20, 2019
I received this book from the author for an honest Review.
From an author's point of view this is an excellent book for authors to understand the world of virtual blog tours.
From a bloggers point of view an excellent explanation of the inner-workings of a blog, its hosts and how it works.
A short and simplified book that will help you asking the correct questions when approaching a touring company for your book. Where to find a touring host and what to look for when selecting a host. The biggest thing is to set a goal or goals from the start so that disappointment will not follow at the end.
Virtual blog tours are part of the marketing process where you introduce yourself and your book to readers. Yes it can generate sales up to a point, but blogging is more about interaction and connection with the reader making fans and friends on your way. That produce the sales needed for the book.
Well written it gives you a great overview of the world of blogging and what to expect.
From an author's point of view this is an excellent book for authors to understand the world of virtual blog tours.
From a bloggers point of view an excellent explanation of the inner-workings of a blog, its hosts and how it works.
A short and simplified book that will help you asking the correct questions when approaching a touring company for your book. Where to find a touring host and what to look for when selecting a host. The biggest thing is to set a goal or goals from the start so that disappointment will not follow at the end.
Virtual blog tours are part of the marketing process where you introduce yourself and your book to readers. Yes it can generate sales up to a point, but blogging is more about interaction and connection with the reader making fans and friends on your way. That produce the sales needed for the book.
Well written it gives you a great overview of the world of blogging and what to expect.
July 27, 2015
I thought I was pretty knowledgeable about blogging/social media. Well, I learned a whole new list of basics that will make my online presence pay off with fans and followers. The "secrets" are really a few essential how-to points, like navigability on your blog, all that your Facebook Author Page can do--like link to my Goodreads and Pinterest accounts--and how to leverage Google+ (I'd shied away because I didn't "get" how to use it well or what it could do for me) now I know! I love my new awareness of how all these platforms really link up to build My Author Platform. Understandable points that work = the takeaway from this book.
September 28, 2014
A concise 37 page extended "brochure" written to teach authors about the the "ins and outs" of book blog tours. A must read if ever considering one, as there are excellent ones and not so good ones. Authors will learn about various types of blog tour companies, vetting providers, how to prepare for a blog tour and necessities in follow-up after a blog tour.
October 19, 2017
Many useful tips for any author looking to create his or her online presence, one blog post at a time. The book has useful technical and content-related advice which is valuable especially if you are looking to create a reliable presence on the Internet. Recommended to any writer struggling to find an honorable easy way out of the Internet jungle.
Disclaimer: Book offered by the publisher in exchange for an honest review
Disclaimer: Book offered by the publisher in exchange for an honest review
January 11, 2016
It’s both easy and hard to find book blog tours—easy because there are at least 80 companies in the field, as Drozdowich tells us, and hard because authors need to find just the right fit and that takes time and research. This book to the rescue! We learn all about book blog tours: what do they do, how I can leverage one to benefit my book and my reach, and why bloggers do this sort of thing in the first place.
A lot of author-platform advisers talk about hard work, but Drozdowich spells out just what that work consists of for book blog tours. What a helpful book—the tips from an experienced author and book blogger (Drozdowich!) are eye-opening, precise, and very helpful. She demystifies the whole experience, and even provides links to spreadsheets for record-keeping and a checklist to get organized. I loved her idea of the character interview, too. Reading this was like having a chat over coffee with the author, while wildly taking notes of useful information and hints.
I thought I knew a lot about book blog tours, even though I have never been on nor hosted one. But I sure learned new things—had not known about Triberr, for example, or how important share buttons are, or getting to Stumbleupon. And, having been raised to send thank-you notes, I loved learning what the author can do for the book bloggers hosting their tour stops. Would not have thought of all those things!
Just one little glitch caught me up—with the fast-changing Web, online things can disappear and that’s the case with the link to Google’s blogsearch tool—it’s gone now, so don’t worry when the link just takes you to Google itself. Otherwise, the book is laser-sharp and the resources valuable.
Very highly recommended!
A lot of author-platform advisers talk about hard work, but Drozdowich spells out just what that work consists of for book blog tours. What a helpful book—the tips from an experienced author and book blogger (Drozdowich!) are eye-opening, precise, and very helpful. She demystifies the whole experience, and even provides links to spreadsheets for record-keeping and a checklist to get organized. I loved her idea of the character interview, too. Reading this was like having a chat over coffee with the author, while wildly taking notes of useful information and hints.
I thought I knew a lot about book blog tours, even though I have never been on nor hosted one. But I sure learned new things—had not known about Triberr, for example, or how important share buttons are, or getting to Stumbleupon. And, having been raised to send thank-you notes, I loved learning what the author can do for the book bloggers hosting their tour stops. Would not have thought of all those things!
Just one little glitch caught me up—with the fast-changing Web, online things can disappear and that’s the case with the link to Google’s blogsearch tool—it’s gone now, so don’t worry when the link just takes you to Google itself. Otherwise, the book is laser-sharp and the resources valuable.
Very highly recommended!
September 13, 2015
This is a good guide for authors into starting up your social presence. As a blogger and not a author I learned a lot about what goes into the decisions of whether a author should do a website or blog, the social media arena and what is good and bad about it all. I also learned about the restrictions of sites.
My area that I learned the most was the website vs. Blog. Here you learn the differences and also different sites to use. You learn about Blog and Wordpress. Tumblr and Weebly. You learn the pros and cons of them all and about the terms of service they have. In social media, Barb looks at the popular sites and even mentions the ones one normally wouldn’t consider like Pinterest. We see her experiences and why each different site can help get the author the exposure needed to get started and have their books purchased.She has a look at book bloggers and what they are and how to have them become a part of your book promotion
As for newsletters we learn different ways to get these disseminated and the pros and cons of things such as Mailchimp. We also learn how to take advantage of Amazon’ s author site and why having a cite on the different countries Amazon site is a good idea.
Barb gives us a very informative look at how to get up and started in the social arena for authors. She gives insight of what is out there and how it can work for you.
My area that I learned the most was the website vs. Blog. Here you learn the differences and also different sites to use. You learn about Blog and Wordpress. Tumblr and Weebly. You learn the pros and cons of them all and about the terms of service they have. In social media, Barb looks at the popular sites and even mentions the ones one normally wouldn’t consider like Pinterest. We see her experiences and why each different site can help get the author the exposure needed to get started and have their books purchased.She has a look at book bloggers and what they are and how to have them become a part of your book promotion
As for newsletters we learn different ways to get these disseminated and the pros and cons of things such as Mailchimp. We also learn how to take advantage of Amazon’ s author site and why having a cite on the different countries Amazon site is a good idea.
Barb gives us a very informative look at how to get up and started in the social arena for authors. She gives insight of what is out there and how it can work for you.
January 6, 2016
Are you an author or maybe an author's personal assistant or book marketing manager? This book is for you! Honestly, if a person is at all involved in the publishing industry, they could likely learn a thing or two from reading Book Blog Tours. I wish I had read this book BEFORE booking a blog tour for the author I work with. Things would have gone much better and I think I'd have searched further before booking a blog tour company.
This book takes you through the pros and cons of booking a tour operator vs. doing it yourself and then gives you clear ideas of what you should expect from your blog tour as far as sales vs. creating and nurturing relationships with bloggers and readers. The author gives solid reasons for the advice she gives and backs that up with real life experience gained while marketing her own books.
I'm not sure that there's a better road map out there than one written by an author, blogger and marketing expert. Check this out and I think you'll be glad you did.
I did receive a complimentary copy from the author in exchange for my honest review, but I can tell you my review would be the same even had I paid for this book. I needed the advice in here and wish I'd had it 6 months ago! I've already ordered this for a friend and recommended this book on my FB page.
This book takes you through the pros and cons of booking a tour operator vs. doing it yourself and then gives you clear ideas of what you should expect from your blog tour as far as sales vs. creating and nurturing relationships with bloggers and readers. The author gives solid reasons for the advice she gives and backs that up with real life experience gained while marketing her own books.
I'm not sure that there's a better road map out there than one written by an author, blogger and marketing expert. Check this out and I think you'll be glad you did.
I did receive a complimentary copy from the author in exchange for my honest review, but I can tell you my review would be the same even had I paid for this book. I needed the advice in here and wish I'd had it 6 months ago! I've already ordered this for a friend and recommended this book on my FB page.
March 7, 2014
I received this book from the author for an honest Review.
From an author's point of view this is an excellent book for authors to understand the world of virtual blog tours.
From a bloggers point of view an excellent explanation of the inner-workings of a blog, its hosts and how it works.
A short and simplified book that will help you asking the correct questions when approaching a touring company for your book. Where to find a touring host and what to look for when selecting a host. The biggest thing is to set a goal or goals from the start so that disappointment will not follow at the end.
Virtual blog tours are part of the marketing process where you introduce yourself and your book to readers. Yes it can generate sales up to a point, but blogging is more about interaction and connection with the reader making fans and friends on your way. That produce the sales needed for the book.
Well written it gives you a great overview of the world of blogging and what to expect.
From an author's point of view this is an excellent book for authors to understand the world of virtual blog tours.
From a bloggers point of view an excellent explanation of the inner-workings of a blog, its hosts and how it works.
A short and simplified book that will help you asking the correct questions when approaching a touring company for your book. Where to find a touring host and what to look for when selecting a host. The biggest thing is to set a goal or goals from the start so that disappointment will not follow at the end.
Virtual blog tours are part of the marketing process where you introduce yourself and your book to readers. Yes it can generate sales up to a point, but blogging is more about interaction and connection with the reader making fans and friends on your way. That produce the sales needed for the book.
Well written it gives you a great overview of the world of blogging and what to expect.
September 8, 2015
I felt Barb Drozdowich covered a lot of useful information in a simple format. I personally find a lot of how-to books to be so crammed with detailed info about the subject matter that the task of reading the book feels overwhelming, forget about remembering or learning anything. That is not a problem with The Author's Platform. It's the perfect guide for newbie authors who are trying to figure out the land of the author platform. From social media to websites and blogging, Barb explains how to start building the foundation of your author platform. Also, I don't think it's a bad idea for seasoned authors to check out this book because social media platforms are constantly changing and upgrading, so I think any author could benefit from this book. I am looking forward to the next book in this series.
December 26, 2015
Book Blog Tours: An Essential Marketing Tool For Authors is a short (60 page) guide that covers everything from blog tour companies to review etiquette to how to set up your own blog tour. Barb includes tips on evaluating the benefits of a blog tour, expectations of authors, hosts, and blog tour companies, and even includes worksheets that help you keep your tour organized!
Barb Drozowich has a knack for keeping information short and simple, while giving plenty of detailed instructions. The worksheets are extremely helpful. In fact, the reason it took me so long to review this book was because I was so motivated and excited that I downloaded the worksheets and created my own media kit before I finished the book! If you are looking for an easy to read instructional guide on blog tours as a marketing tool, I suggest you get this one. I know I'll be using it when my next book comes out.
Barb Drozowich has a knack for keeping information short and simple, while giving plenty of detailed instructions. The worksheets are extremely helpful. In fact, the reason it took me so long to review this book was because I was so motivated and excited that I downloaded the worksheets and created my own media kit before I finished the book! If you are looking for an easy to read instructional guide on blog tours as a marketing tool, I suggest you get this one. I know I'll be using it when my next book comes out.
January 6, 2016
This book is brilliant! It's perfect for authors that want to know more about how to use blog tours for marketing and promoting their books. It advises you of the pro's and con's of hiring a blog tour, or doing it yourself, and if you choose the latter, what you need to do. It answers any questions in which you may have: are tours effective, what do they actually do, setting goals to organise them, and more. The book is perfectly sized at 60 pages, with everything in that you need. Barb gas also written other book about author marketing and promotion, and I would definitely read more! Oh, and there are also helpful spreadsheets / documents for download also, which Barb has mentioned in this book.
June 23, 2017
Very helpful and up-to-date (as far as I can tell!).
November 27, 2015
This is a book that is integral for any author who is beginning to move from from dreamer to published. While sure, many of these principles have been floating out there in bits and pieces for a while there, Drozdwich has compiled everything into an easy to read handbook -- a true beginner's guide -- that organizes all those bits and pieces into concise chapters. It doesn't matter how much a writer knows, it's how well that writer can execute that knowledge. That's where Drozdowich comes in. She knows her stuff and then she knows more then that. I highly recommend The Author's Platform: The Beginner's Guide.
May 5, 2019
It's a good informational book for beginning authors on building their on-line presence to attract readers. If you are already very tech friendly, you can simply browse through it for a few new pointers. If you are not tech friendly, it gives you a fairly detailed plan on how to build your platform. I chose four stars because some of it is slightly outdated - however in the digital world any book can be outdated a bit within a year of being published. I did expect a bit more from the book than I received, but on the whole it is a good book which serves it's basic purpose.
November 13, 2017
Breaking down and overwhelming project into bite-size bits!
This is a great overview for those beginning to build an author's platform. I am starting from just about scratch, and Ms. Drozdowich's down to earth style, practical tips and just-thorough-enough explanations are bumping up my confidence level. I can do this! But first I'm going to read the book again.
This is a great overview for those beginning to build an author's platform. I am starting from just about scratch, and Ms. Drozdowich's down to earth style, practical tips and just-thorough-enough explanations are bumping up my confidence level. I can do this! But first I'm going to read the book again.
January 8, 2016
Every author needs to read Barb's Book Blog Tours: An Essential Marketing Tool For Authors before they start marketing their book. This little gem is full of information on the whys, whats and hows to navigate a blog book tour. A quick read with good information!
January 16, 2016
Book Blog Tours by Barb Drozdowich should be required reading for authors! While it was a small book, it was chock full of valuable information. I have organized my own tours and outsourced tours in the past. Despite my experience I felt like I still learned a lot from reading this book.
October 12, 2013
A great book to help authors with their platforms. Nice to have a book that has the in's and out's and easy to read.
January 31, 2015
Some good information.
April 9, 2016
It sounds simple and helps me understand social media.
August 5, 2019
Very informative!
November 21, 2019
Very informative. Nice breakdown of each social media platform.
August 25, 2016
This is a great book for newcomers to the blogging scene. It's a good jump-off point for those who find the concept of blog tours mystifying, and it links to great resources for authors who intend to run their own tours.
I've been a blogger for four years and a published author for three months. I've also run tours for a friend's books. There were maybe two facts in this book that I didn't know, and while that's useful, I was hoping for more detail. While this book explains 'all' of the WHAT and some of the HOW, perhaps I want more of the WHY. Or maybe more examples and statistics. More support for the opinions stated. Wouldn't my English teachers be pleased with me for seeking that? LOL
Recommended to beginners.
I've been a blogger for four years and a published author for three months. I've also run tours for a friend's books. There were maybe two facts in this book that I didn't know, and while that's useful, I was hoping for more detail. While this book explains 'all' of the WHAT and some of the HOW, perhaps I want more of the WHY. Or maybe more examples and statistics. More support for the opinions stated. Wouldn't my English teachers be pleased with me for seeking that? LOL
Recommended to beginners.
September 6, 2016
Book Blog Tours is a concise, informative read for the newbie author although the advice is a good reminder for all those undertaking a blog tour. While I am not an author, I have done my fair share of blog tours and this short book lays it out in an easy to follow manner. I appreciate her insight into all that goes into creating a professional review (even a short story takes time and effort) and I especially like her advice regarding realistic expectations.
Is this work going to give you the holy grail and turn you into a marketing machine, no, but it's a good place to start. I hope authors know how much we book bloggers love books, love reading and love those that write.
Is this work going to give you the holy grail and turn you into a marketing machine, no, but it's a good place to start. I hope authors know how much we book bloggers love books, love reading and love those that write.
February 6, 2016
I read this one from a bloggers perspective even though it was written for authors and the information was really good for anyone who wants to start blogging or start up with any other online presence. From a book blogger perspective it had a lot of great information and ideas for helping great new authors and my favorites spread the word about the different books I love.This review was originally posted on Books In Brogan
March 3, 2016
Very basic. Maybe good for indie authors just starting out. It doesn't say anything you can't find through a quick google search.
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