Virtual Book Tour: A Love Affair

Today I have a guest post at www.sellingbooks.com – here’s the beginning of the article titled How I Fell in Love With the Book Marketing Potential of a Virtual Book Tour:

Before my book MRS. LIEUTENANT: A SHARON GOLD NOVEL came out in April (2008) I had come across the idea of a virtual book tour – where during a specific period of time an author’s book is featured on various blogs. Sounded terrific, except the price was way out of my budget.

Then when my book went live on Amazon, my print-on-demand publisher BookSurge gave me an hour’s free marketing consultation. Recommendations included Pump Up Your Book Promotion for a virtual book tour. And the price for this tour was in my budget.

And now I’m going to share with you what I learned along the way:

Read what I shared at http://snipurl.com/3lwth.

Technorati Tags: Mrs. Lieutenant, www.sellingbooks.com, virtual book tour, www.pumpupyourbookpromotion.com, BookSurge

Virtual Book Tour: Day 8 Stop for MRS. LIEUTENANT

My virtual book tour stop for today is at http://fizzybeverage.blogspot.com/2008/06/mrs-lieutenant.html. This is a truly delightful book review even though the reviewer is nervous about writing this particular review. Read the review to find out what made her nervous.

And I just got an email from a book reviewer in Okinawa who has graciously agreed to write a guest post about the U.S. military presence there. I’ve very excited to bring you this guest post at a future date.

And for you military spouses out there – are you writing your contest entry for “Tell-Your-Own-Story” at www.yourmilitary.com? I just heard from Nancy Brown at YourMilitary.com that Lifetime is sending prizes for the contest.

Technorati Tags:
contest, fizzybeverage.blogspot.com, Lifetime, Mrs. Lieutenant, prizes, Virtual book tour, www.yourmilitary.com

Virtual Book Tour Day 4: Let’s Start a “Conversation”

Today I’m stopping at http://bookfoolery.blogspot.com/2008/06/mrs-lieutenant-sharon-gold-novel-by.html. I’m particularly pleased with the comments added to the review on Bookfoolery because these “conversations” are what Web 2.0 is all about.

And as a special promotion for my book MRS. LIEUTENANT: A SHARON GOLD NOVEL -- Pump Up Your Book Promotion is giving away a FREE virtual book tour or $25 Amazon gift certificate to one lucky person who comments on the blog stops of Pump Up’s June virtual book tour authors.

Leave a comment on my blog at www.mrslieutenant.blogspot.com or at my virtual book tour stops to have a chance to win one of these prizes!

Technorati Tags:
army wives, officers wives, officers wife, virtual book tour, Vietnam War, Mrs. Lieutenant, Iraq War, Pump Up Your Book Promotion, bookfoolery.blogspot.com, mrslieutenant.blogspot.com

Virtual Book Tour; Lifetime’s ARMY WIVES; Ft. Knox Reporter

Check out the backstory of MRS. LIEUTENANT at http://mjroseblog.typepad.com/backstory/2008/05/may-4-1970-oh-1.html/ and also my guest blog at www.thewriterslife.blogspot.com on this Day 3 of the MRS. LIEUTENANT virtual book tour.

Leave a comment at www.thewriterslife.blogspot.com to be entered into a drawing sponsored by Pump Up Your Book Promotion. For more stops on my blog trail, visit www.virtualbooktours.wordpress.com.

Last night I watched – courtesy of Lifetime’s website – the first season finale of Lifetime’s wildly popular tv series ARMY WIVES, based on the non-fiction book by Tanya Biank. I wanted to be prepared for the second season premier this Sunday, June 8.

After the cliffhanger ending, vignettes of each of the main characters were featured. I particularly responded to the voice over that these women were from different classes and cultures and yet had one thing in common – THEY FELL IN LOVE WITH A SOLDIER.

And that’s exactly what MRS. LIEUTENANT: A SHARON GOLD NOVEL is about – four very different women whose one thing in common is falling in love with a soldier. (ARMY WIVES and MRS. LIEUTENANT are both set against the background of unpopular U.S. wars – Afghanistan/Iraq and Vietnam, respectively.)

And I was just interviewed by Josh Coffman of The News-Enterprise in Kentucky about MRS. LIEUTENANT, which takes place in 1970 at Ft. Knox. I’m looking forward to reading his article because his news beat is Ft. Knox. (The above-mentioned backstory guest post describes my time at Ft. Knox.)

Coffman asked me what relevance my novel had today for women whose husbands are being deployed now. My response: The novel’s underlying theme of sisterhood – of women bonding together to get through a difficult time – has as much relevance today as it did in 1970.

Technorati Tags:
army wives, officers wives, officers wife, virtual book tour, Vietnam War, Mrs. Lieutenant, Iraq War, Ft. Knox, The News-Enterprise, Lifetime, Tanya Biank, Pump Up Your Book Promotion,

Virtual Book Tours and Internet Marketing Promotion

As announced yesterday, I’ve started on a month-long virtual book tour (organized by www.pumpupyourbookpromotion.com) for MRS. LIEUTENANT. In actuality this is a blog tour, because – without leaving my own computer – I get “interviewed” on people’s blogs or I get to write a guest post for other people’s blogs. This is a great co-promotional opportunity because the author promotes the guest blogger and the guest blogger promotes the author.

Recently I’ve been recommending the virtual book tour idea to an author I met on www.RedRoom.com, which is a terrific website for book readers and authors. I’m going to include below a part of this author’s email in which he said he didn’t see the need for a virtual book tour that would get him “mentioned” on blogs:

“I am already mentioned on blogs – albeit in a narrow corner of the book buying world, those related to comics and cartoonists. These blogs are to help me with ‘search engines.’ I am uninformed about much of the on-line world but doesn't that have to do with directing people to your web site? And I don't have a web site.”

And later in the email he wrote: “The Authors Guild, to which I belong, is holding a telephone-seminar (whatever that is) on book promotion next week. I will sign up for it and let you know how that goes.”

Here’s my email reply to him: “Okay, I'm going to give it to you with both barrels. You have to get on the internet marketing promotion wagon. Which means you have to start learning about the possibilities as I did through books, etc. A teleseminar is really good – you call in or sign in on your computer and listen. I listened to one yesterday on social media that was very informative.

“And you want the search engines to find mentions of you even if you don't have a website. Did you read the review I got yesterday on someone else's blog? I'm going to have an interview or review on at least one different blog every day this month (Monday-Friday). This should increase my exposure to a lot of different people – the readers of each different blog.

“To get an idea of all of this, read RED HOT INTERNET PUBLICITY by Penny Sansevieri (get on Amazon) and then sign up for her free email newsletter at www.amarketingexpert.com. Sign up for John Kremer's free email newsletter (www.bookmarket.com) also. This is an important beginning of your new education.”

And, of course, I’m going to tell him he needs a website and also tell him about John Kremer’s sixth edition of 1001 WAYS TO MARKET YOUR BOOKS, which has a terrific Chapter 12 about internet marketing. And the great teleseminar I listened to yesterday was conducted by social media expert Erica O’Grady on www.ustream.tv and sponsored by www.blogcatalog.com.

The important thing to understand about virtual book tours is that an author doesn’t just get a MENTION. The author gets FEATURED for that day on a blog. And when you have a good virtual book tour organizer, that blog has been selected precisely because it fits in with the target market for the book.

Check out my guest blog today at www.overthehillchick.blogspot.com and leave me a comment. Then, if you’re an author or a potential author, get on the internet marketing bandwagon. The person you help will be yourself.

Technorati Tags:
army wives, officers wives, officers wife, virtual book tour, Vietnam War, Mrs. Lieutenant, Iraq War,blog tour, John Kremer, Penny Sansevieri, www.blogcatalog.com, www.overthehillchick.blogspot.com, www.pumpupyourbookpromotion.com, www.RedRoom.com, www.ustream.tv

Virtual Book Tour: Day 2 Stop for MRS. LIEUTENANT at Boomer Chick Blog

The moral of today’s boomer chick guest post (www.overthehillchick.blogspot.com) is: If you’re waiting for someone to say yes to you for whatever it is, at this age look around and see if, instead, you can say yes to yourself!

And I share the saga of the long journey to publication for MRS. LIEUTENANT: A SHARON GOLD NOVEL in order to encourage other boomer chicks. Here’s an excerpt from the guest post:

“Almost 20 years ago I told the story of this unique experience to two female producers, and they optioned the story for a possible film. They took the story “around town” (Hollywood), and then came back to me and said: “People don’t get the story. You’ll have to write the book first.” By the time I had written the first draft of the book, the two producers had moved on to other projects.

“Thus began years of rewriting and rewriting, learning to be a novelist instead of a journalist. Because, of course, this story had to be fictionalized to both add dramatic structure as well as protect identities.

“And all through these last 20 years, women who read a version of the manuscript liked the story, while agents and editors at publishing houses said “no way.” One editor said that the story was no longer relevant because there was no longer any racial prejudice in the U.S. Another editor rejected the manuscript sight unseen because she said the women couldn’t meet through their husbands – they would have to meet at their mutual place of work, such as a law firm.”

But I didn’t take NO for an answer. Read more of the saga of MRS. LIEUTENANT at www.overthehillchick.blogspot.com and leave me a comment about your thoughts on NOT waiting for others to say yes to you. After all, we only live once!

Technorati Tags:
army wives, officers wives, officers wife, virtual book tour, Vietnam War, Mrs. Lieutenant, Iraq War, boomer chick, virtual blog tour, www.overthehillchick.blogspot.com

Day 1 of the MRS. LIEUTENANT Virtual Book Tour

Today I start my month-long virtual book tour with a stop at Book Marketing Buzz: Book Marketing & Promotion Tips, where authors write guest blogs about the marketing strategies for their books. My post begins:

“My main book marketing plan is to become the queen of internet marketers for the promotion of my book MRS. LIEUTENANT: A SHARON GOLD NOVEL.

“When friends ask if I’m going to have book signings, or they suggest I contact the local library, I politely thank them. Then I explain that I can reach more people in one hour of online marketing than I can reach in hours and hours of book signings. And I add that I have to allocate my limited resources of time to maximize my return on investment. (That’s what having an M.B.A. from Wharton will help you realize.)”

Later in the guest blog I list some books that I have found particularly helpful:

Sell Your Book on Amazon by Brent Sampson

Red Hot Internet Publicity by Penny C. Sansevieri

Plug Your Book by Steve Weber

1001 Ways to Market Your Books (sixth edition) by John Kremer

You can read the entire guest post about my marketing strategy for MRS. LIEUTENANT at http://bookmarketingbuzz.wordpress.com/2008/06/02/book-marketing-buzz-book-promotion-publicity-tips-how-to-promote-your-books-with-womens-fiction-author-phyllis-zimbler-miller/

The other stop for today is an audio interview at InsideScoopLive – check it out at http://www.insidescooplive.com/author-pages/Miller-Phyllis-reading-interview.html

And leave a comment on my guest blog post at www.bookmarketingbuzz.wordpress.com and you could win a FREE virtual book tour (for published authors with a book recently released) or a $25 Amazon gift certificate (for non-authors)!

Respecting the Commitment of Graduating ROTC College Seniors

It’s college graduation season – and while this season gives me numerous blogging topics for www.flippingburgersandbeyond.blogspot.com – I’m talking about something different in this www.mrslieutenant.blogspot.com post.

And this something different is that, throughout the U.S., there are graduating college seniors who, as ROTC cadets, are now being commissioned as officers in the different branches of the U.S. military.

I was reminded of this by the May 20^th Wall Street Journal “Main Street” column by William McGurn entitled “Why Harvard Harasses the Military.” In the column McGurn contrasts college graduation at Benedictine College in Atchinson, Kansas, with college graduation at Harvard. The contrast has to do with the different level of respect given to each college’s graduating ROTC cadets.

Here’s a description of Benedictine: “After all the degrees had been handed out, two young men in dress blue were called back on stage. Before their families, their classmates, and their teachers, these men raised their right hands and swore to ‘support and defend’ our Constitution. And then Lt. Jeff Fetters and Lt. Michael Mundie were presented to their class as ‘the newest officers in the United States Army.’”

As I was writing this post, my younger daughter said that I should write about when her father was commissioned. I went to my albums – and discovered it was exactly 40 years ago today – on Tuesday, May 21, 1968 – that the U.S. Air Force and U.S. Army Reserve Officers Training Corps of Michigan State University held its 1968 ROTC commissioning parade at “four-ten o’clock” at Demonstration Hall Field!

I still have the commissioning program with the list of the ROTC army cadets including my future husband and his assigned branch – infantry. Major General Robert H. Curtin gave the main address: “There is a need for top quality, professionally qualified, dedicated and motivated people in the military service of our country.” He could be speaking about today.

With the approach of Memorial Day, instead of only thinking about the beach or shopping or the fourth installment of the movie “Indiana Jones,” keep in mind these patriotic words and show respect for the men and women today who support and defend our Constitution.

Technorati Tags:
army wives, officers wives, officers wife, virtual book tour, Vietnam War, Mrs. Lieutenant, Iraq War, ROTC, college graduation, Wall Street Journal

Announcing the Upcoming Virtual Book Tour of MRS. LIEUTENANT

MRS. LIEUTENANT: A SHARON GOLD NOVEL is about to embark on a virtual book tour around the blogosphere.

What is a virtual book tour? Instead of book authors flying from city to city and staying in hotels (and shlepping their luggage), book authors sit in the comfort of their own homes and write guest blogs that are featured on different people’s book-related blogs.

I’m doing my virtual book tour through Dorothy Thompson’s company www.PumpUpYourBookPromotion.com – and Dorothy is a terrifically pumped-up person.

In future posts I’ll give you details of my “appearances.” For now I wanted to share with you a description of one guest blog assignment I just wrote – for the blog www.theplotline.wordpress.com.

I had to write a character interview as if an interviewer were talking with one of my characters. This was such fun! I chose Kim Benton, the Southerner in MRS. LIEUTENANT with whom Sharon Gold shares a car.

I’m not going to give away any snippets of the interview here as I want to save everything for the blog post. Yet what I will say is that Kim talks about her differences with Sharon on the subjects of race, religion and the North vs. the South.

Use the RSS feed on this blog or go to my website at www.mrslieutenant.com to signup for emails of my blog posts in order to keep up with my virtual book tour stops. I’m looking forward to traveling all over the world without leaving my home!

Technorati Tags:
army wives, officers wives, officers wife, virtual book tour, Vietnam War, Mrs. Lieutenant, Iraq War