Guest Post from Donna Huber, Author of SECRETS TO A SUCCESSFUL BLOG TOUR

I am very pleased to host Donna Huber today. Donna is the author of Secrets to a Successful Blog Tour and an invaluable resource for authors. With the release of her book, she has gotten a taste of what it's like on the other side of the fence, and she discusses her experiences here. Please welcome her, check out her book, and make sure to enter the Rafflecopter giveaway below, as well!

Being on the Author Side
I'm heading into the last week of my tour and I thought I would take a few minutes to talk about being on the author side of things. Maybe you want to know if the grass greener over here or any new insights I have now that I've walked a mile in author shoes.
As a blogger, I've had the privilege of hosting a number of wonderful authors. And as a tour organizer I've worked for some more awesome authors. I've gotten a pretty good glimpse at the life of an author when preparing for a tour. There haven't been any big surprises. The hardest part of being on the author side as I go through the tour is taking my own advice.
Getting the all the guest posts done has been a challenge. I knew this would be the most time consuming part of the tour. Between suggested topics and topics I had jotted down when I began thinking about touring, I had enough topics for all the stops that requested one. If you've read my book, Secrets to a Successful Blog Tour, you know I recommend making notes about possible topics well in advance of a tour. I did write down the topics, but I made the fatal flaw of thinking I'll remember why I thought it was a great topic. I should have made a few more notes.
I knew time would be tight. I still have a day job and freelance clients as well as my blog to keep up with. I started out well. I got all the interviews done and the Top 10 lists before the start of the tour. I was pushing to get the first week's worth of guest posts done. I recommend having tour posts sent to the blogger a week before their tour date. This last week I'm getting posts to authors around the 5 day mark. Not too bad, but I'm also having to write one every night.
You would think after the number of tours I've talked authors through, that I would not have had the nerves. I found myself having to give myself the pep talk I give to my clients. Thankfully I have a great support group of authors and bloggers who were able to reinforce that pep talk.
It has been interesting to go through the publishing process, which is something I haven't been totally privy to in the past. My clients are usually in the pre- or post-publication stage when they come to me.
Ever wonder how the number of pages are determined for a Kindle book on Amazon? Amazon estimates it for you. It's not something you add to the description when submitting it.
How many books are being sold for an author to appear on the best sellers list for their category at Amazon? It depends on the category. The really competitive categories like romance, you need to be selling several a day. For some of the business & marketing categories, maybe only 2 or 3. (Oh, and the author doesn't have a lot of control over the categories. I could make broad choices. Since marketing and advertising books fall under the Business and Investing category, some reason my book made the top 100 for accounting books.) For some categories, just 1 ebook sold for that day will have you in the Top 100. It also doesn't take many sales to raise the overall ebooks sale rank from the 300K range to breaking the 100K mark. Another thing I've learned - patience is necessary. There is a lot of waiting. You have to wait for the submission process to be complete once you click submit. You wait for reviews. You have to wait for the results of publicity efforts. Publishing is not instant gratification. Ok. I already knew that, but that doesn't mean the waiting is any easier.
Thankfully there haven't been too many surprises. I still prefer to be behind the scenes helping other authors, either as a publicist or blogger. Will I publish another book? Perhaps. 

Summary
Plan a successful blog tour while keeping your sanity.
From the publicist who introduced the world to Fifty Shades of Grey, Donna Huber is now revealing her secrets to successful blog tours. She shares tips and tricks learned through organizing over 30 tours, blasts, and promotional events for nearly 50 independently and traditionally published titles.
Secrets revealed in this quick read include:Planning stage decisionsDifferent types of toursRecruiting bloggers and keeping requests organizedBest practice communication tipsTricks to making a great guest appearanceHow to organize a fun (and legal) giveawayActions to take during the tourNext steps once the tour is completeVirtual tour and other promotional opportunitiesWhen to hire a professionalIn this easy to follow manual, Donna does not stop there. She spills even more of her blog tour secrets to help authors get the most out of their events by providing:
Tour checklistTour invite tipsStep-by-step guide to creating tour graphics10 broad guest post topics25 sample interview questions 

Biography

Donna Huber is an avid reader and natural encourager. She is the blogger behind Girl Who Reads where, in addition to book reviews and author appearances, she writes the popular blogging advice series, Tips on Thursday. She has worked as a freelance publicist since 2010 assisting publishers and authors with their marketing and publicity needs. Most notably, she was the publicist for The Writer's Coffee Shop Publishing House edition of Fifty Shakes of Grey and Fifty Shades Darker by E.L. James.
When she is not doling out blogging advice or promoting the next bestseller, she can be found spending time with family (particularly the four legged, furry members), rewatching Downton Abbey and Harry Potter, or trying to make a dent in her never ending to-be-read pile.
Social Media Links  
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Buy Links  
Amazon (US)Amazon (UK)SmashwordsKobo
Twitter Party  
August 15 at 8:00 p.m. eastern #GWRchat
Prizes (2): 5-9 stop tour; $20 Amazon Gift Card


Blog Tour Schedule  
July 29: Fresh Pot of TeaJuly 30: Sarah AislingJuly 31: Book Lover's OpinionAug. 1: What Shall We Blog About Today?Aug. 2: Jude OuvrardAug. 3: Jamie SheffieldAug. 4: From the Desk of... R.E. HargraveAug. 5: All That's Written... Aug. 6: Italian Brat's ObsessionsAug. 7: Author S.A. JonesAug. 8: Karen Pokras TozAug. 9: Lisa BilbreyAug. 10: Elizabeth Lawrence, Author & Professional OddityAug. 11: Aria Glazki WritesAug. 12: Rose & Beps BlogAug. 13: Cabin GoddessAug. 14: Killer ChicksAug. 15: Twitter Party @ 8:00 p.m. EST #GWRchatAug. 16: Library Girl Reads & Reviews
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