My first novel, Drama Queens with Love Scenes, was published by a small indie press over a decade ago. Little did I know back then it would be up to me to promote it and I stumbled in the dark to find information on just how to go about it.
One thing we all value as authors are reviews. Most people read for pleasure and don’t share their thoughts online. That’s fine. That’s the way it’s been for centuries for obvious reasons. But for us lesser-known writers, reviews really help in our promotional efforts.
So, when my first book wasn’t setting sales records, I paid for a couple of Review Tours. Each day a different blog would publish their thoughts on my novel, and I could take those quotes and add them to both my website, and my marketing.
I also learnt from those critiques. Some reviews were insightful about my writing, and I took those lessons and applied them in my newer works.
Today it is hard to find a good Book Review Tour. There are Book Tours where the same information is published on multiple blogs to help launch a book, but less bloggers are inclined to review.
As I write queer lit, I do have the option of an MM Romance ARC Review service, but my works are generally not Romance. I paid this service for my novel, The Midnight Man, but found very few wanted to read my work because adultery was part of the plot. A similar thing happened with a paid tour of my audio book. A reviewer couldn’t get into the story because it wasn’t Romance.
The demise of the Review Tour saddens me. It became apparent back in 2016 when the first edition of Nate and the New Yorker was released. I paid for a Review Tour from a team I had used in the past. They were good. But then a review came through which made it obvious the blogger never read my book.
I won’t quote what they said, but it was along the lines of ‘love is love’ and this is an issue close to my heart. No mention of the characters or plot.
Now, I was fully aware it was not the tour company’s fault. It’s harder to get bloggers to review than it was when I began my writing journey. In my queer lit space there are some excellent LGBTQIA+ Review Blogs, but over the years some have discontinued due to the workload it takes to keep them going.
In recent years I’ve paid for tours and found some bloggers who signed up, never posted. Others had, but you needed to search my name to find the post as it was never featured on their homepage on their designated day of the tour. Sometimes they simply cut and pasted the information without reformatting their page. This was evident when a guest blog I wrote was just one long paragraph without breaks on their site.
Today, I know which blogs regularly review my work. I always contact them once I have my Advance Review Copy.
As for paid book tours, they are expensive when you do the Australian to US dollar conversion, and while they get the word out to audiences who may not know you, they are not as essential to the author as an old-fashioned Review Tour.
kevin klehr 