Setting Up a Blog Tour with Sammie Spencer

Blog Tours. We've probably all seen them, even if we didn't realize it at the time. But setting one up? How do you find the best blogs? How do you keep up with it? And what exactly do you even do?

That's what Sammie Spencer is here to teach us about. So go grab your afternoon caffeine, get comfortable, and come learn some stuff with me! Quick reminder about our Prize Pack Giveaway. All the ebooks being offered will be announced tomorrow, but chances to win are going on now! Be sure to read the end of the post for more details :-)

Here's Sammie!

Setting Up a Blog Tour

When I first started marketing my book, Amaretto Flame, I saw a few different blogs that were doing blog tours. At first, I didn't realize what a 'blog tour' even was, but eventually I realized that authors were taking their books on virtual tours to gain exposure and connect with readers. I thought, hmmm...I wanna do that. A friend of mine provided me with a resource for all YA book blogs (thanks, Trish!) and I started there. Having no clue what to do, I just sort of jumped in and did it. I managed to schedule a two-week long tour that went really well! You should know that Teen Book Scene (amazing, amazing) will organize a book tour for you for FREE - they're so awesome! But if you want to do it yourself, here are some pointers:

Create a Schedule - The first thing you should do is create a schedule. Choose a month and the dates you're free for the tour. (You don't actually have to be online while you're on tour, but following up with comments and questions on blog posts is a good idea). I originally wanted to go on tour for as long as possible, but after having done the tour, I realize shorter tours may be a better idea. For those following along, shorter tours are more interesting and there's less of a chance it will become boring/repetitive/annoying.

Browse Bloggers - You may already know some great book bloggers, but when I started, I didn't. So, I used the above resource and I browsed through a lot of different blogs. I looked at what the hosts had read recently, the kinds of books they liked, etc. If I thought Amaretto Flame was a good fit for their blog, I bookmarked them. If you're self-published, be sure to check the 'review policy' on the blog to ensure that the host accepts self-published books, because many don't.

E-mail - I created a form email that I sent to about 10 different bloggers to start. It basically told them about my book and what kinds of things I wanted to do on the tour. I wanted to do giveaways, character interviews, etc. If there was anything about a particular blog that stood out, I let the host know that in a personalized section at the bottom of the e-mail. I let them know what the blog tour time frame was, and asked if they'd be interested in having me visit, and when the best day for them was. As each blogger answered my e-mail, I worked out the little details such as exactly what we'd do, whether or not they wanted a book for a review, and what date I'd be appearing.

Keep Track of Everything - If you get an e-mail from a blogger who is free a particular day, mark it on your calendar right away so you won't forget. You can then notify other bloggers of what days are taken and which are still free. If the blogger has any preferences other than the date, you can note that as well.

The Cool Stuff - The bloggers were so amazing to me, and helped me out a lot. One of the things a blogger mentioned to me was an idea for an 'ending' gift for those who followed the tour and commented on every stop. This was really fun, and so after the tour, I went through and marked down those who commented everywhere. Then, I chose a winner. I also tried to respond to those who commented on the blogs, even if it was just a general response.

I had a LOT of fun on my tour and I'm about to go back out again for a few days in June. As long as you stay organized and show tons of respect for the book bloggers, you'll have a lot of fun and the planning won't be too difficult!

Sammie Spencer makes people for you to love, and then she makes bad things happen to them. *insert evil laugh* To be fair, she makes good things happen to them as well. She loves writing about witches and magick, and reading just about anything she can get her hands on.
 
TO ENTER to win a copy of Ms. Spencer's AMARETTO FLAME, tweet this post, hop over to her Amazon page and 'like' it, and then come back and let me know in the comments!

Spotlight Review: Amaretto Flame by Sammie Spencer

Today's lunch time post is a Spotlight Review of AMARETTO FLAME, one of the books up for grabs in our Prize Pack Giveaway. The author, the superbly talented Ms. Sammie Spencer, will be back around later this afternoon to teach us all about scheduling blog tours for your work.

So, enjoy this spotlight, follow the directions at the end to enter for a chance to win a copy, and then come back later to meet the author!

The name grabbed me first. Then the blazing cover. But when I actually started reading AMARETTO FLAME, it was the three-dimensional, superbly-written characters like Olivia, Everett, and Jenny that kept me turning the pages. And when Jackson Vance walked onto the page, it was all over.

First, the Goodreads Summary:

When Olivia Landry screams, people die. No wonder she's been shunned by humans her whole life. When Olivia makes a huge mistake, she's banished for a summer to a human town; forced to live as one of them. She's out for revenge when she discovers the humans are different than she imagined, especially the rugged, sexy guitarist, Jackson Vance.

Pretending to be human isn't as hard as she thought it would be...until the witch hunters attack. Now Olivia must somehow protect herself, her family, and her new human friends. There's a problem with that. When you go around screaming, people are bound to learn your secret. Can love really conquer anything?

AMARETTO FLAME is Sammie Spencer’s debut novel and thank goodness it is part of the Eagleton Coven series. I honestly did not want this story to end. The fast-paced plot, action scenes, and hot romance kept me turning pages, and I literally sat in my parked car for an hour to finish the story because I simply could not tear myself away from reading.

The protagonist, Olivia Landry, is my kind of girl. She is strong and powerful—heck, she’s a freaking witch—but her very nature also leaves her vulnerable. And that is where Ms. Spencer reeled me in. Olivia’s hurt-filled past and her self-perception as an outsider is endearing. She is an amazing leader who also shows the softer, caretaker side with so many characters, including Everett who I really hope gets his own love story (or perhaps becomes a true triangle for Olivia and Jackson) in the sequel. Olivia is fiercely loyal, kick-butt passionate, and loves James Dean. That’s a heroine I can root for.

Jackson Vance is hotness personified, a sexy musician who literally electrifies Olivia’s veins. This is a love story you can lose yourself in.

But Ms. Spencer doesn’t let you.

Right when things get steamy, she throws fantastic fight scenes at you, along with pain and confusion, and the entire range of human emotion. She manages a careful balance of romance and humor, anger and action, and crafts authentic relationships and subplots that add just enough spice to keep the reader constantly engaged.

A copy of AMARETTO FLAME is up for grabs in our PRIZE PACK GIVEAWAY! Believe me, you want to read this book. To enter, just leave a comment here and on any other post—every comment on any post = one entry. If you tweet this post or any other, be sure to include me @EndingUnplanned for another chance to win. And finally, you get TWO chances for hopping over to Ms. Spencer’s Amazon page and ‘liking’ her. If you do, please let me know in the comments. Good luck!