Monice Mitchell Simms's Blog

For Make Believers Book Tour in a Box : For Make Believers – Book Tour in a B...

For Make Believers – Book Tour in a Box Phase II

G'Day, Fam!

Amazing. Just as I physically force myself to stop surfing the web and finally get my head in the game to begin writing this blog, one of my neighbors in the apartment building next to mine begins blasting his music.

Damn shame, too. The breeze coming through my bedroom window is delicious.

O.K. before I start suffocating in my now stuffy room, let me get to business.

In my last blog - Book Tour in a Box: Phase I – I touched on three steps I personally took (am taking) to build an author's brand from the ground up and how that made it possible for me to produce a successful book tour for my debut novel, Address: House of Corrections, on a shoestring (no string) budget. This is how I translated it into advice for you:

1. Take your time to write, edit and publish the best book you possibly can. First.

2. Create and publish a blog.

3. Dive headfirst into social media.

Now that you've completed your book, got folks following your blog and have made meaningful social media connections, it's time to create a buzz for yourself, so you can take your show on the road.

Fam, I present to you…

Phase II

BOOK TOUR IN A BOX STEP FOUR:

Build a website. Alright, I bet you're wondering why I listed building a website after creating and publishing a blog. Well, that's because these days most blogs and even social media profile pages are doubling as websites. And to pay to have a website created when you can get a free blog up and running within seconds seems like a waste to me.

And while we're on the topic of waste, I've also learned that what you work works for you. As I knocked my head around this social networking landscape, I discovered that it didn't make sense for me to have a bunch of accounts to different sites that I didn't have the time or interest to maintain.

That being said, if you just have to have a website, there are plenty of free sites that you can choose from. The templates are professional looking and they even offer you the opportunity to have your own personal domain address. For an upgrade fee, of course.

Here's a link to a free service that I used to create my Flash website, which I haven't upgraded for a personal domain address, because I didn't have the money. And it's also in desperate need of an update, because I, quite honestly, spend no time on it and like my blog better.

Wix.com: Free Website Builder

BOOK TOUR IN A BOX STEP FIVE:

Draft a press Release(s) announcing your future New York Times Bestseller.Thanks to our economy, the days of keeping an expensive publicist on retainer are long gone. And now that its common place for journalists to scour the web for news, I highly suggest that you enlist the help of a friend to pen a press release for you or write one yourself. I did — Midwest Born, West Coast Accomplished Writer Takes On East Coast.

If you're going at it alone like I was and need help writing a press release, check this out -

How To Write A Press Release

Also, below is a link to my favorite free press release distribution site. (I only used the free ones.) But if you have a budget, many free websites offer premium packages that you could upgrade to that will send your press release directly to a list of news agencies. There are a plethora of paid websites to choose from…But like I said, I didn't use those…

Briefing Wire – A Free Press Release Website

BOOK TOUR IN A BOX STEP SIX:

Don't sleep on traditional media. Newspapers, magazines and Radio might be on life support, but that doesn't mean that you should exclude them from your media plan. The first two things you should ask yourself are – What is your hook? And who do you know?

Every book and author has a hook. For me, it was family – mother and daughter relationships, specifically – and my hometown Detroit. A journalist in my former life and a homegrown success story, I was fortunate that I could revisit some of the same media that had supported me in the past. Ironically, though, it was the new, unexpected connections that yielded the most ink.

But what if you're just starting out and you don't have any former connections to draw on? Then, you have to figure out what your hook is. What makes you stand out from the crowd? Craft a press release around that, ignore the nay-saying voice in your head and push it out to every possible venue. And I mean, everyone. From local or school newspapers, radio and television programs to The Oprah Winfrey Show.

And last but not least, make a list of all the folks you know in media. Trust me, you know more people than you think you do. Especially now that the definition of media is a much more fluid term than it used to be and EVERYBODY has a Facebook profile and Twitter page.

Remember: No one is untouchable. Every traditional media organization has a dedicated blogging department. Reach out to freelancers, staffers, and take it from me who got many a front page story, because none of the staffers wanted to write it — make an intern your friend!

To jump-start some ideas for you that could work for local and national media – some of them are out there (just warning! , check out what these folks had to say -