So, I Used to be Good at Deadlines...

About a two months ago, I thought that it would be a good idea to set a publishing date for Stories from the Forester: Volume 1. I figured, hey, it'd be a great 1000th Twitter post, and it would be the right motivation to get the second story, Unwritten, finished.

Here we are, though, April 24th, and I'm no closer to being finished that I was when I made that announcement.

Sure, I might be able to get it written, edited and formatted for public consumption by that time. But, really, who are we fooling?

Besides, it's not like Flagrant Foul is flying off the shelves. In fact, the only person who's actually bought that book is ME!

So, I suppose it's one of those cases where I have to ask, "If a tree falls in the woods and nobody's there, would it make a sound?"

I'd ask for some motivation, but that generally goes unanswered as well.

Yes, it's been that kind of 2009...

Lulu.com Author Interview

This is what we call an interesting turn in the road...

Lulu.com Author Interview: Bob McDonald | Lulu Blog

This is also one of those occasions where spending an inordinate amount of time on Twitter will eventually net some feedback. A simple tweet reply to Lulu.com's Dan London was all it took.

And this was only the second-most interesting thing I saw on Twitter today. I also found out that Shaquille O'Neal's on Twitter no. Really, it's him!

The Book Tour - Plotting and Scheming

Now that I've finally gotten an ISBN for Flagrant Foul, I figured it would probably be the best thing to spend the six weeks that it will probably take for it to appear on online stores like Amazon (though you can buy it on flagrantfoul.com now!) drumming up some publicity...again.

I know what you're saying, fellow Questers. I already did all of this already. True, I was on Pete Klein's Adirondack Book House radio show in July and received a good review from Shannon Yarbrough, but really, was that enough?

Nope. Not even close. So, with the leaves turning and the time to promote more appropriate (Flagrant Foul, of course, takes place during basketball season), it's time to begin plotting anew, and maybe this time, someone will actually buy a copy (as opposed to the copies I've given away).

Where do I start this time around?

Good question.

First, there's the Quickest Blog Book Tour Guide Ever, a great site that details the 10 steps every Quester should take to plan and execute and effective blog book tour. So, where am I at on the list?

Let's see...

1. Start your own blog - Well, that's an obvious check.
2. RSS feed and bookmark link - Check (And while I have your attention, be sure to Digg this entry!)
   
3. Cyber-schmooze - Yep. As a matter of fact, if you're not already following me on Twitter, Facebook or MySpace, go ahead and do so!

So now, I'm at Step 4, choosing my tour hosts. Now, this has always been the stumbling block for your hero, so I'm going to have to get creative on this one.

Now, I've also posed the question, why not a Twitter Book Tour? Sure, people can throw questions at me and I can answer them. Create some publicity that way.

As you can see, I'm still thinking about that one...

The Twitterverse is Calling...

Finally, an instance where following people isn't considered stalking!

Microblogging, or micromedia (depending on you you ask) is spreading like wildfire. Forms of it have shown up on most of the social networking sites, such as MySpace, Facebook and LinkedIn. In the last couple of years, though, it's taken on a life of it's own.

Welcome to the Twitterverse.

Like most Questers, I, too, have been drawn to the ability to unveil a random stream of consciousness on a regular basis. While like most social media, it's a good place to keep in touch with your friends, it's also a pretty good tool to get the word out about your book.

Plus, if you look in the right place, you'll find a few sites to help you with your Quest.

Lulu's on there - http://twitter.com/Luludotcom

And a new one I found, and an excellent source for Quester, Blog Book Tours - http://twitter.com/blogbooktours (Oddly enough, Blogger thinks they're a spam blog, to which I do not concur!)

I can be followed, too - http://twitter.com/bobmcdonald