We’ve all heard of the traditional “book tour,” in which an author travels around the country making the rounds of late-night TV, afternoon talk shows, radio stations, etc. However, those people are usually big celebrities who could be selling dish soap, and people would still want to listen to them (they also probably didn’t even write the books they’re promoting, but that’s a separate blog post…).

For the rest of us non-Hollywood authors, no matter who publishes our books, we’re usually on our own.

A virtual book tour is a creative way to promote your book without breaking the bank

One effective alternative for authors, especially those who have self-published, is to engage in a virtual book tour. Here’s how it works:

Contact a number of blogs and websites that like to review books and interview authors, and offer to send them a copy of your book (you can also offer yourself up for an email interview). While it can be hard to get the attention of mainstream media, online it’s often a different story. Plus, lots of these book blogs have large, loyal audiences of avid readers.

1. Send your book out to those who agree to review it.
2. Create a spreadsheet to track when the reviews/interviews will be published.
3. Announce them as they appear (using your website, Twitter account, Facebook, etc.)

If this sounds like too much work for you to manage on your own, there are many companies that specialize in setting up virtual book tours (often called blog tours). A simple web search should get you going!

-Maria

This blog post originally appeared on CreateSpace.com. Reprinted with permission. © 2013 CreateSpace, a DBA of On-Demand Publishing, LLC. All rights reserved.