Virtual Book Tour: About the VBT

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Virtual Book Touring empowers authors to connect their books with interested readers through the medium of weblogs podcasts, vlogs and other Internet modes of communication. The concept originated with Internet Rock Star Ben Brown and the micropublishing house, So New Media.

In a nutshell, a Virtual Book Tour in book tour online instead of in the "real world." It consists of an author "stopping" at a given number of websites in a given about of time, At these stops, the author may be interviewed, may take over the site for a day and blog themselves, may answer questions from readers, get their book reviewed, or contribute an original essay.

Virtual Book Tours comes in 3 formats–Single Day, Weeklong or Ongoing. Tours require the author to be available for the two weeks leading up to tour launch and for at least 2 hours per day during the tour. Participating authors must have continuous, DSL-level access to the Internet throughout the duration of engagement and must be comfortable with email and web browsing technology.

Tours rates are $1500 for Single Day (10-15 stops), $3000 for Week Long (up to stops) and $5000 for Ongoing. Fees include all administrative time, assessment, tech support and after-tour reporting. Occasionally we are so enamored with a book that we offer it a tour for free but please don't ask for it.

VBT's focus exclusively on fiction, narrative non-fiction and memoir published by accredited publishing houses. We do not accept poetry, plays, romances, children's literature or self-published books.

Since we receive hundreds of requests for tours every year, we have developed a second, less expensive consulting service. Many authors and publishers are interested in using the Internet for book promotion yet have books that don't fit the Virtual Book Tour. As such, for a fee of $100 an hour, publishers and authors may use our expertise in online media to develop marketing plans, create online press lists, or matchmake between authors and bloggers.

Make sense? Tell us about your interest in Virtual Book Touring.

I am an author interested in receiving a Virtual Book Tour for my book.
I am a publicist/agent/publisher representing an author who would be good for the Virtual Book Tour.
I am a website owner interested in being a stop on the Virtual Book Tour.
I just want to stay informed of future tours.

The VBT for Authors

Since the VBT is a small shop and receives hundreds of requests a year for tours and can't possibly satisfy them all, please observe the following guidelines before pitching us your book...

Only published authors may tour. The VBT does not accept self-published authors. This includes books from any publisher where the author pays for publication (iUniverse, Publish America, Exlibris etc.)
The VBT focuses on in-print fiction and narrative non-fiction, aimed at the intelligent, general reader. Please do not suggest any book that falls outside these parameters (technical, self-help, how-to, political treatise, mass-market genre fiction), no matter how far.
The VBT does not tour any author who does not have their own dedicated website. This is an online project, after all.
In order for an author to tour, the publisher will be expected to provide a new, free copy of the touring book to each of the tour sites (no ARCs please). Since the bloggers are not paid, it's the least we can do.
Tour sites are expected to be honest and fair in their impressions but will not be censored if they don't care for the book on tour. Or put another way, the VBT is a book tour, not a press junket.
The VBT is not for the shy. Touring authors will be interviewed, reviewed, possibly photographed and recorded, and writing for a variety of websites. If you're a shrinking violet or a proud Luddite, the VBT is not the right publicity strategy for you.
The VBT is a supplement to existing publicity efforts, not a replacement for them. While we do our best to give exposure to books that we feel didn't get it, the VBT will not save a book hasn't been given any publicity attention at all.

In our experience, most authors come to us seeking help with online publicity. If we find that the VBT and your book is not a good match, please consider our consulting services, which will either match up your book with appropriate blogs or offer online publicity advice by the hour. These options are charged either on an hourly or per blog basis and are almost always more affordable than a full-blown tour.

When making your request, please include your name, the name of your book, how long it's been on the shelves, and your publisher. Be prepared to send a copy of the book to VBT HQ:

Kevin Smokler
Virtual Book Tour
798 Stanyan St. #6
San Francisco, CA 94117

We look forward to hearing from you.

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The VBT for Publicists, Agents and Publishers

So you represent a book you think would be perfect for a Virtual Book Tour. Cool. While we're always interested in checking out new and interesting books, we get dozens of requests every day. So please keep the following in mind before pitching us...

The VBT is only free if we approach the author. If you approach us and would like us to set up a tour for you, please see our rate page. We also advise on tours you might like to set up yourself. For those please see our consulting services.
The VBT focuses on in-print fiction and narrative non-fiction, aimed at the intelligent, general reader. Please do not suggest any book that falls outside these parameters (technical, self-help, how-to, etc.), no matter how far.
The VBT is an online project. As such, books that strut their Luddite credentials or authors who are proudly "not tech savvy" are not the best match. Your author will need to have unobstructed access to a computer and the Internet throughout the length of the tour and provide similar access to the owners of the tour sites.
The VBT is a supplement to existing publicity efforts, not a replacement for them. While we do our best to give exposure to books that we feel didn't get it, the VBT will not save a book that hasn't been given any traditional publicity attention already.
We ask tour stops to be fair and honest in their assessment of the touring book and do not censor them. Put another way, the VBT is a book tour, not online advertising.
In order for an author to tour, the publisher will be expected to provide a new, free copy of the touring book to each of the tour sites (not ARCs).
The VBT is not a project for shy authors. Touring authors will be posting on websites, getting interviewed, possibly photographed and recorded, writing for a variety of websites. Shrinking violets will not work.

Some things you might need to know about the advantages of virtual touring:

Cost and time effective. An author need never leave home to "tour." Tour stops can take less than an hour a day.
Novelty. Despite their rapid rise in popularity, weblogs are still seen as being on the cutting edge of mainstream culture. The VBT is a great way to brand an author and their book as being ahead of the curve.
Desirable demographics. The weblogs in the VBT network largely appeal to a young, college-educated audience with disposable income, eager to be exposed to new books.
The web has proven itself to be among the most effective mediums for connecting readers, authors and their books. Online bibliophilic communities such as Readerville, Book Muse and Book Reporter are routinely browsed by thousands of visitors a day and are significantly responsible for breaking books by authors like Jim Crace and Charles Baxter. The popularlity of such authors as Malcolm Gladwell and Richard Florida can be directly attributed to their exposure in the blogosphere.

Sound good for a book under your watch? Please tell us about it!

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The VBT for Site Owners

So you've got a site that you think would be perfect for inclusion in the VBT. We're intrigued. Tell us more about your site, but please keep the following in mind before approaching us.

The VBT focuses on in-print fiction and narrative non-fiction, aimed at the intelligent, general reader. If you're a reader yourself of this sort of thing, then you're probably a good tour site. We don't do technical books, just so ya know.
We don't like to be stat whores but we do need to know that someone reads your site besides you and your family. We might ask how many people. Please don't be offended. We need those stats to show authors that the VBT is worth their time.
Please be a website that focuses, at least somewhat, on books. If your blog consists for political tirades, celebrity gossip, stupid iPod tricks or the coming apocalypse, we're probably not the best match.
If you are selected as a tour site, you'll receive a free copy of the touring book. During the tour, you'll be devoting one day of your site's posting to the tour. Although that doesn't sound like much, you must read the book, arrange to do something cool with the author (interview them, let them take over your site, go horseback riding with them etc.), and then do it. As a time commitment, we'd say it's at least a few days' worth.
Your opinions are yours. We do not censor tour sites. We simply ask you to be honest and fair with your impressions of the book.

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Interested? We might be too. Please get in touch.