The Chinese Spymaster goes on a "blog-tour"

Like many (most) authors, I give almost no thought to promoting my books. This is unfortunate for a self-published or "indie" author. Promotion is what publishers do for their authors although one hears complaints that more and more these days they don't do much. It is the rule of 80-20 (a phenomenon Vilfredo Pareto discovered and so it is sometimes named after him although he is most famous for the principle of "Pareto optimality"). For publishers 80 percent of whose revenues are generated by 20 percent of their clients will spend their time and resources on the 20 percent. The other 80 percent are much like like their self-published ("Indie") brethren: they have to do it themselves.

Into the vacuum ("opportunity") has flourished a plethora of book-promoters--from the many full-service marketing/PR like services ($$$$) to a great many how-to books or web-sites ($/*). Naturally there is a full spectrum of these services; in marketing-speak, it is called "differentiation"--the services provide various levels like whiskeys that are red, black or blue and aged for ten, twenty or thirty years. 

Some experts on book promotion recommend that authors visit book or publishing conferences. Others swear by readings and book-signings. Still others claim that the only way is to get the book reviewed, the more frequently the better. This appeals instinctively to writers; we write and read and so it seems logical that reviews should be the trick.

But there are, it used to be said, many roads to Rome. I have commented before on how helpful certain web-sites can be for authors in search of feed-back, comments or reviews of their writing; that is probably the first category of help that writers look for. One of those web-sites also provides help in promoting one's work.


The Making Connections Group on Goodreads (note link to a sample tour) has dedicated moderators who are active bloggers. They also arrange for "blog-tours" and The Chinese Spymaster has been on one of these with a promotion, a review and/or an interview blogged by a different blogger every day for a week, some days by more than one.  The work of arranging such a tour has been undertaken by the gracious and hardworking moderators of this group. This clueless writer shuffling slowly into the social media of the twenty-first century is more grateful than words can express.