WinR Stuff

Wednesday, August 25, 2010

Interview with Cheryl Malandrinos of Pump Up Your Book

Cheryl Malandrinos is a freelance writer and editor. A regular contributor to Writer2Writer, her articles focus on increasing productivity through time management and organization. A member of Musing Our Children, Ms. Malandrinos is also the Editor in Chief of the group's quarterly newsletter, Pages & Pens.


Cheryl is also a Tour Coordinator for Pump Up Your Book, a book reviewer, and blogger. Her first children's book will be released in 2010 by Guardian Angel Publishing. Ms. Malandrinos lives in Western Massachusetts with her husband, two children, and three cats. She also has a married son.

You can find Cheryl online at http://ccmalandrinos.tripod.com/

Cheryl, could you tell us about yourself and what Pump Up Your Book does for authors?

Thanks for having me as a guest on your blog today. I’m honored to be here. I am a freelance writer, copy editor, and perhaps by the time this interview appears, I’ll be able to add published author to that list. My first children’s book, The Little Shepherd Boy, is due out this month.

My main source of income, however, is as a virtual book tour coordinator for Pump Up Your Book (formerly Pump Up Your Book Promotion). Authors contract us to set up blog tours to promote their books. Whether the books are new releases or the authors are looking to draw attention to an older release, they hire us to send them on a journey around the blogosphere to create an online buzz for their books.

How many blogs can an author expect to be on during a tour, and how long does the average tour last?

This differs per company, but Pump Up Your Book offers a variety of tour packages at affordable prices. Authors can tour for two-weeks, which would be stops at 10 – 12 blogs, or they can tour up to two months, which means they would appear on 30 or more blogs. The most popular package I sell is the Gold package, which is a one month tour with 20 blog stops.

At what point in the book’s publication should a writer be thinking about setting up a blog tour?

While it is an excellent idea to research virtual book tour companies months before your book’s release, approximately two months before copies of the book are available will be the time to sign up for a virtual book tour. By this time you should have an idea of who you would be most comfortable working with, what is expected of you and what the company will provide. This should also give you time for bloggers to receive copies of the book to review. It takes a minimum of 4 to 6 weeks to put together a successful virtual book tour.

What are the advantages and benefits of a blog tour as opposed to a book store tour?

I’m not an either or type of person. I feel authors need to look at their marketing budgets and decide where their money is best spent. I have three events planned within the first few months of my book’s release, and I am coordinating a virtual book tour to expand my reach.

That said, virtual book tours allow authors to easily find readers beyond their local area. In our current economic situation, one of the largest advantages of a virtual book tour is that you don’t have to spend money on gas, a new set of clothes, and hotels. No one knows if you’re checking your blog stops from your kitchen table in your robe with your hair sticking out like you just jammed a fork in an electrical outlet.

Consumers are busy people. Many people buy more products online than in stores. Amazon is my best friend between Thanksgiving and Christmas. I rarely step into a mall during the holiday season. Authors need to go where the buyers are. A virtual book tour gets you and your book into search engines so potential readers can find you. Bloggers have loyal followings. If they recommend your book, it’s just as good as their next door neighbor telling them how wonderful some new product is.

The other great advantage to a virtual book tour is its longevity. Readers can find out about your book months after your virtual book tour is over. Tours are also an excellent way to network. Bloggers are some of the nicest folks out there. If they like your book, they’ll tell everybody about it!

How can an author judge a blog tour’s success?

Obviously, authors are looking at sales numbers. If I don’t sell a boatload of books while on a virtual book tour, then it can’t be a success. Right?

The objective of a virtual book tour, like any marketing tool, is to help you create a brand and let people know about your product. Virtual book tours do this by splashing your name all over the Internet, putting you in touch with markets you wouldn’t easily reach unless you’re online. If you can type your name or the book’s title into Google and have your blog stops come up within the first three pages of results—the only ones most readers look at—then your tour is a success. If you’ve gotten some reviews you can post on your website or use blurbs from in a press release, then your virtual book tour is a success. If you’ve networked with bloggers who are willing to help you promote your next release, then your tour is a success. Yes, the ultimate goal is sales, but spending time to create that brand must come first.

How can an author get in contact with your company?

Authors can visit our website at www.pumpupyourbook.com If they go to the “Book Your Tour” tab they will find our current offerings and fee schedule. There is a contact form on our website. I can be directly reached at cg20pm00(at)gmail(dot)com.

Thank you so much for taking the time!

Thanks again for letting me discuss virtual book tours with your readers. When I began working for Pump Up Your Book three years ago, virtual book tours were the wave of the future. Now, like cell phones and social media, it seems we can’t imagine life without them. Like e-Books, they aren’t half as scary as they seemed when they first came out. They help put authors in touch with readers all over the world!

Just a note: Cheryl will be on A Writer's Jumble this fall when her first children's book is released!

19 comments:

  1. Thanks so much for allowing me to talk about virtual book tours. I believe in their power and I like to see authors succeed. I'll be checking in from time to time to see if anyone has questions about VBTs.

    All my best,

    Cheryl

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  2. Wonderful interview, Cheryl! She covered it all beautifully.

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  3. Thanks Dot. You're a peach.

    Cheryl

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  4. Great interview, something I bring up I should think about every other show

    Barry

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  5. You're the best, Barry. I kow you're a great believer in VBTs too. Thanks for stopping by.

    Cheryl

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  6. It's a techno world, for sure!
    Virtual book tours are a must!
    They're a great marketing tool to get your brand out there.

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  7. Concise and well done, Cheryl! I suppose my bias for PUYB may make my comment suspect, but I see no clear favoritism in your answers. There is no attempt to dissuade an author from using PUYB, but the more sage advice to research and plan is provided—words any author should take to heart.

    I am genuinely tickled to see your bubbling excitement for your own title to be published. Much deserved, indeed :^)

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  8. Thanks for stopping by Morgan and J.W. Even my husband who knows little about online book promotion says promoting the book online seems like a better plan than promoting it locally. I'll do both, but so many of my contacts have been made online. I didn't even know we had a local writers conference until another local writer pointed it out.

    J.W., I hope to see authors succeed whether they use us or not. Many authors nowadays can coordinate their own, but our service is available for those who need us. I'm glad you enjoyed your tours with Pump Up.

    Thanks, too, for the kind words about my book. It's really a dream come true.

    Thanks again to both of you for stopping by. It means a great deal to me.

    Cheryl

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  9. Great interview Cheryl. I will be stopping by to book a tour

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  10. What a wonderful interview Cheryl! I knew you were talented, but now I see you're multi-talented, and I'd love to know where you get all your energy! Pass some on to me, okay?
    Best wishes to you always....

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  11. Susan and Nancy, you're so wonderful. Thanks for stopping by. Anytime you're ready Susan, I'll be more than happy to help. I love your books!

    Nancy, when you have two kids who keep you running all day, the energy levels are just pumped all the time. Right now I feel like I want to collapse into bed. LOL!

    Thanks again for taking the time to leave me a note, ladies. It's greatly apprciated.

    Cheryl

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  12. i'm sending this to a friend who says they're backward about asking to guest and don't know who to ask anyways.

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  13. Interesting interview. And, I agree that an author needs to utilize all affordable avenues of promotion available. Promoting your book, your product, or your services is A LOT of work, and it's ongoing!

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  14. Great interview, Cheryl - I loved the quote, "Amazon is my best friend between Thanksgiving and Christmas. I rarely step into a mall during the holiday season." Me too!

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  15. Super interview. I'll add that I enjoyed my tours set up by Pump Up Your Book. Cheryl has been such a great help to me in getting my name and books out there.

    Looking forward to your book and tour, Cheryl.

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  16. Wow! I'm feeling the love. Thanks for stopping by and taking time to comment here. Karen, you do such a great job promoting your work.

    Nicole, I love Christmas, but I hate shopping. My husband says I'm not a very good female. :) Overall I find good deals online and I don't have to wait in line among a bunch of other people. I went out shopping one Black Friday and vowed I would never do it again--I don't care how great the deals were.

    Bev, I'm glad you've enjoyed your tours. Your books are always fun to promote too. Hope sales for Caves, Cannons, and Crinolines are going well.

    Thanks again for dropping in everyone.

    Cheryl

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  17. I love your well-rounded approach of both VBTs and local promotion. And I appreciate your help with promoting my books through reviews. :o)

    I'm with you about online shopping, too - love it! The mall? Not so much.

    All best with YOUR upcoming book, Cheryl!

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  18. This was really helpful. I'm embarrassed to say that I didn't even know about virtual book tour services until now. Very informative. Oh -- and Cheryl-- good luck with your book.

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  19. Thanks Beth and Margaret. It's nice that you stopped by. Beth, your books are wonderful. They're so fun to read to the little ones here at home.

    Margaret, don't feel bad. When I started working with Pump Up, VBTs were a strange new animal that publishing houses didn't give much notice to. Now the bigger names in publishing are using this method to promote their new releases. It's really wonderful to watch this business grow and change.

    Thanks again ladies. I'm glad you dropped in.

    Cheryl

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