A Technique For Finding Blog Hosts

I asked the class to do a little exercise over the weekend - make a list of keywords for your novel, then using as many of those words as you can cram in, write a three-sentence synopsis of your book. Here's what Nancy submitted:

While traveling home, Missie is thrust through a portal where her music plays an important role in defeating a tyrant. Her career must be sacrificed, her life forever changed, to accommodate these Renaissance costumed people of Gil-Lael. Their values are so different from Missie's modern American lifestyle, that she believes she has truly entered a fantasy world.


My list:

music
career
sacrifices
values
costumes
Renaissance festivals
life changes
fantasy
travel

Nancy has nailed her keywords and a description that's clear enough for us to understand the gist of her book. (Polished, this could live on her blog, too.)

Just for yucks, I googled "Renaissance Festival blogs" and the first hit gave me a musical group that ties into that particular book theme:

http://www.cantigamusic.com/blog.html

This blog seems to be relatively active. And she's doing some traveling so that's another keyword connection along with music!

The next step for Nancy is to start a separate blogroll on her blog - either for music or for the festivals that relate to her theme, or both. (She could link to many Ren Fests throughout the country.) Add this blog right into a related blogroll immediately. Then it won't be forgotten or lost forever. Nancy will see the name on her blog, hop over there, and start interacting with this blogger by leaving a comment now and then, or at least staying in tune with what they are doing. (Don't just dump your book info on them though - that's just too tacky.) Always check to make sure a potential host blogger has Twitter and Facebook information and try to connect on those levels, too.
Nancy might also check costume blogs and travel blogs for countries pertinent to her theme. Even if a blog doesn't look particularly good or active, look at their blogroll, because that's where the good hosts often lie... even another layer or two down can yield some real blog gems. One related blog leads to another.

Yes, it's time-consuming, but well worth the effort. You do this a little each day, until you have dozens upon dozens of potential blog book tour hosts in your clickable blogrolls. By the time you're ready to plan your tour, you'll have choices and, even better, relationships established with other bloggers. And that means success for your blog book tour.