Every author dreams of being sent on a book tour, but not all of them are so lucky. You need to have an amazing sales track record to have your publisher spring for a tour of any duration these days. Most midlist authors squeak by on their own, cobbling together tours by pulling strings at every bookstore they know and scrimping along the way by crashing at the homes of very good friends.

Then came a virus.

2020 is the year authors are staying home, and mounting virtual book tours to spread the word of their new titles. The early evidence is that these tours truly are global. There’s a very good chance that word of your talk will spread beyond the local reach of the bookstore sponsoring your event. That’s the upside. The downside, according to some publicists we’ve talk to, is that the longer your tour goes on, the lower the attendance at the later live, virtual events. The theory is that if a reader really wants to know about a book, they’ll tune in at the first couple of events, watch a replay, and decide whether to buy the book. They don’t have to wait for the live event offered by a bookstore in their area.

This week on the Sleuthsayers, I’m looking at how two mystery writers are getting the word out, broadcasting their own own videos from the comfort of their own homes. One’s a very famous author, the other not so much. But they are both during some thing very interesting.

I hope you’ll check it out, if you’re so inclined.

The link to the blog post is here.

If you like my work, kindly consider bookmarking Sleuthsayers. The next post will be in three weeks.

If you’re looking for reading material during this hellish time, I hope you’ll consider one of my books or my wife’s. If ever there was a time for escapism, it’s now!

The e-book versions of both of my two most recent books, Murder on Book Row and the fantasy novel, Sorceress Kringle, are available at almost every online retailer. You can order print copies at the usual suspects online, or autographed copies from Malaprop’s, the bookstore in my nabe.

Book “collage” photo credit: Patrick Tomasso on Unsplash