Did all that marketing work?

Well,,, maybe 'all that' marketing isn't really correct. But I did do some marketing for my latest book, The Stuff of Legend. You'll find the details in my previous post, The Joy of Marketing. But in summary:

• I enrolled the book in NetGalley for all of March
• I posted a headline ad at the Romance Reviews
• I bought a book blitz tour through Book Unleashed which took place on 27th March

The purpose of all this was to try to increase sales, and to obtain additional reviews. At the beginning of the month I had three reviews on Amazon. Since it seems to be the only place I sell much, it's the only place I check.

It's early days, I know. March is not quite finished, and the book blitz ended a few days ago. I'm told that the book blitz entry appeared on forty-two sites, with a reach of at least 250,000 (without retweets and so on). 3,190 people ended the $10 Amazon gift card giveaway.

So how has this activity affected sales, and reviews?

• I have no new Amazon reviews
• There has not been a sales spike (huh) for TSoL but I have noted a tiny uptick in sales for previous books in the series
• I have had a handful of friend requests on FB and follows on Twitter

Do I feel I received a reasonable return on investment? At this stage, no. I think I can reasonably assume that I would have made as many sales if I'd done nothing at all.

Would I do another blog tour/blitz? No. This is not at all a reflection on Book Unleashed. The event was conducted in a professional manner, and forty-two sites is good coverage. I did not pay extra for guaranteed reviews, or other options offered by the company. But then, my books are not aimed squarely at the romance market. Years ago I signed up for a blog tour, and the organiser refunded my money because she couldn't get enough tour hosts to sign up (Science Fiction, you see).

Would I put a book on NetGalley again? No.

What would I do instead? <Shrugs> Spend more time taking photographs.

FOOLS RUSH IN BLOG TOUR ROLLS ON--WITH GIVEAWAYS!

The book birthday celebration for Fools Rush In, Book 3 in the Interstellar Rescue series just keeps rolling on. Tuesday, October 18, was the official launch day, but reviews, interviews and guest blogs continue to spread the news about this book, my first real space opera noir novel.

Fools Rush In features a woman of color as the heroine. Undercover Rescue agent Rayna Carver is of African-American descent, though she grew up in the polyglot colony of Terrene, far from Earth. So I've spent some time talking about diversity in science fiction romance as a guest blogger. You can find the first of these in Heather Massey's The Galaxy Express 2.0 blog (now part of the Science Fiction Romance Quarterly), which appeared October 15. 

I'll be addressing the topic from a slightly different perspective (how did Rayna come to be) on Pauline Baird Jones's blog  Monday, October 24. 

This third installment in the Interstellar Rescue series is a bit of a departure for me. Unlike Books 1 and 2, Fools Rush In takes place entirely away from Earth, mostly in space. There are plenty of space battles, lusty romance and evil aliens, but it also includes some shadowy dirtside locales and a criminal underworld element. (Sam, the hero of the story, is a pirate, after all!) So I call the story space opera noir. Think STAR TREK meets BLADE RUNNER.
I describe the concept more fully in my guest post on the Science Fiction Romance Brigade blog, which appeared October 18. 

I've had some great reviews of Fools Rush In already, thanks to several willing blogger/reviewers. You can find them at these blogs:

Riley Moreland--Whiskey with My Book
Gemini--ReadYourWrites Book Reviews
Mom--Mom With a Reading Problem 

And, finally, lots of folks have featured the book with spotlights and excerpts. Thanks to all these bloggers for their help!

C.M.McCoy, Author, Tippity-Tapper blog  
Two Reading Addiction Junkies Facebook page
Here Be Magic blog (Veronica Scott and others)
Anne Marie Carter Facebook page
Roses and Violets Book Reviews blog
Zara Hoffman blog (includes tour schedule!)
My Fav's N More Readers' Blog


Now here's the best part! If you take the tour of these wonderful blogs and check out not only the fun stuff about Fools Rush In, but all the other great posts they have to offer, you can enter my Rafflecopter giveaway for a $10 Amazon Gift Card on any of the sites!

And if you go and COMMENT on THREE of these sites, come back here and tell me which ones you visited and commented on, you'll be entered to win a separate GIVEAWAY of a FREE signed copy of any of my Interstellar Rescue books you choose PLUS an Interstellar Rescue tee-shirt! Remember, you have to visit, comment AND come back here to tell me you did it to enter for the win!

Now, get on out of here, you crazy kids, and have some fun!

Cheers, Donna

EXCITING NEWS KEEPS LAUNCH WEEK ROLLING!

The view from the top at Snowbird

Well, it's been a wild and craazzy week-and-a-half since the launch of Trouble in Mind. I had a real-time launch party in my new home town of Marshall, North Carolina, with a passel of my new friends from this welcoming mountain town coming out to listen to me read and lift a glass in honor of my book birthday. Then I had an Facebook Launch Party, with co-blogger Sharon Lynn Fisher joining in the fun online.

As if that wasn't enough excitement for one week, hubby and I moved into our dream house on the knoll at Snowbird on Friday. We bought this land (with several others) in 2006 and finally started building in April of last year. It's been a very long haul, but at last we're here!

And for a final piece of terrific news, Unchained Memory, the Audiobook version, made its debut last week. Yes, now you can LISTEN to the book while you ride in the car, run on your treadmill, work in the garden or relax in the bath! My marvelous Agent Michelle found a wonderful voice actor, Lisa Beacom, to read the book and the results are thrilling! Check it out for yourself--there's a sample of about half the prologue on the Amazon buy page. Guarantee you will want a copy of this for yourself AND a friend with limited vision issues.

Get your audio version Unchained Memory HERE!

 Finally, you can catch me on various sites around the Internet this week and next:

Men Behaving Badly Book Blog (Promo & Excerpt)

https://www.facebook.com/MenBBBB/

yah gotta read this (Promo & Excerpt)

www.yahgottareadthis.blogspot.ca

Lush Reads Book Blog (Promo & Excerpt)

https://www.facebook.com/Lush-Reads-Book-Blog-1499075163708919/

Us Girls & A Book (Promo & Excerpt)

http://usgirlsandabook.blogspot.com

Mom with a Reading Problem (Interview)

http://www.momwithareadingproblem.com

Pick a Genre Already (Promo & Excerpt)

http://pickagenrealready.blogspot.ca

Twisted Fantasy Book Blog (Promo & Excerpt)

https://www.facebook.com/Twistedfantasyblog/?ref=br_rs

B's Book Blog & Reviews (Promo & Excerpt)

http://bsbookblogandreviews.blogspot.de/ 

Extreme Bookaholic's (Promo & Excerpt)

http://extremebookaholicsblog.blogspot.com/

Lady Amber's Reviews (Schedule)

www.ladyambersreviews.com

Itsy Bitsy Book Bits (Review)

https://www.itsybitsybookbits.com

Live Love Books Blog (Interview)

www.livelovebooksblog.wordpress.com

YourNextHotRead (Promo &Excerpt)

https://www.facebook.com/YourNextHotRead/

March I

Cathryn Cade's Blog

http:\\cathryncadesblog.blogspot.com

Stop by these blogs and say hello!

**GIVEAWAY**If you comment on any two of them and come back here to let me know you did, you'll be entered for a chance to win a FREE KINDLE COPY of Trouble in Mind OR a FREE AUDIO BOOK of Unchained Memory, your choice.

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