I am often asked about what I do for a living,

There are cases when a separate web site is necessary however. If you have a corporate side to what you offer your followers then by all means you should have a web site. For example if you offer training camps, coaching, speaking, products, and work with major corporations and entrepreneurs wanting these materials and services  like my good friend and author Brian Hazelgren (www.brianhazelgren.com) then you should have a web site. But you should then also have a blog where you can get a little more personal. I’m not talking about sharing pictures from your weekend BB-Q although that’s not all bad. But I am talking about sharing personal opinions about your industry and maybe even a world event every now and again. We will get into social networking and that whole concept a bit later but a blog is the main place to focus on building your followers.

Your website and or blog needs to look like someone with some skill put it together. There are plenty of professional looking WordPress themes available for free if you wither can’t or just don’t want to pay someone to set things up for you. I have set up my own blogs and I have built my own sites. Some look better than others but for the most part they look good and have a little style. I have a tendency to be a little blocky in my design choices but hey that’s just me and I’m ok with that.

Be sure you coordinate the design of your website and blog to fit into your branding as discussed previously.

These sites allow you to sign up for a free account and then start talking about books.  Most of them let you sign up as an author and list the book or books that you have written. But you can also list what you are reading, write reviews, rate the books you have read, join groups, make friends etc… You may wonder why you would want to do this if all you are interested in is marketing your book. You don’t always want to be in everyone’s face saying HEY LOOK AT ME I’M AN AUTHOR AND HERE IS MY BOOK, HOW MANY COPIES DO YOU WANT? You want to give to the communities on sites like these just as you would give a speech or free training at a school, local bookstore, library etc… You give a little and get exposure which is the name of the game.

Sites like these give you a good advantage over regular social networking sites since everyone there is there because of books. Sites like these give you a targeted market to participate and comingle with.

Goodreads.com is probably the premier site for book social networking. They have an author program in place that allows authors to promote their books free of charge. You can advertise your book, give away copies to drum up excitement and interest, share upcoming events, post a video, write a quiz about your book etc… you can even download a widget to add to your personal site or blog.

Shelfari.com is another one that lets authors create a page about themselves and do some self promotion by posting a video or adding an excerpt from your book. There are some well recognized authors here like Suzanne Collins, Steig Larsson, Jodi Picoult and others.  You can be right here with them.

Librarything.com is another good site for many of the same activities and they have over 1.2 million users. They offer a program that lets members do early reviews which would be a good way to get a jump start on your book launch. They also have groups that you can join that may pertain to your particular genre.

Here are a few more that you should check into:

www.reader2.com

www.revish.com

www.connectviabooks.com

I’m not suggesting that you join every one of these but please sign up and participate in at least two of them. If you do sign up for only two then I suggest Goodreads.com since they are the biggest and will give you the most exposure for your time spent.  The second one I will leave up to you since none of the sites are identical.

Just think networking when you are participating in any of these great sites and don’t talk only about your book. Nobody likes to listen to a stuck record anyway. Have fun with it.

Mike Webb

Dream

Gilbert, AZ – Sortis Publishing will release Dream by Adam Montierth on April 1^st 2011. This is Emmy award winner Adam Montierth’s first in a series of children’s books that will be published by Sortis.

Dream is a brilliantly illustrated and very well written book aimed at motivating young readers to set out and accomplish goals even when others may have said it can’t be done.

As a writer, producer, and director Mr. Montierth is no novice when it comes to writing. Adam and his twin brother Donovan have been writing since they were very young and as a result, they have garnered much acclaim for their work together, including 3 Emmy awards for short films they have written, produced, and directed under the banner of Brothers Ink Productions. Adam’s wife and children have inspired him to apply his talent to the art of Children’s literature.

Mike Webb owner of Sortis Publishing said “I am very pleased to have Adam aboard as one of our authors, his first book titled “Dream” is sure to be a hit among kids and parents alike as it is written to teach kids to go after their dreams and lead an accomplished life even when others might tell them otherwise. The book uses characters from history like the Wright brothers, Neil Armstrong and others to teach a great lesson. The book is also great for science and history as well”.

Not only will the book be made available through retail outlets like Barnes and Noble and Border’s but it will be available through online book retailers like Amazon.com and others.

Mr. Montierth will be involved with schools and other organizations involving kids by doing readings and other events on a regular basis.

More about the book and Mr. Montierth can be found by visiting the publisher’s website at www.sortispublishing.com.

But here is an explanation of what a virtual book tour is, why you should do it and how you should do it.

The Blog part of a Virtual Book Tour

A Virtual Book Tour really consists of anything that you can do online to promote you and your book. For example: Blog tour, online video interviews, podcasts, webinars, articles etc… but for now I am going to talk about blog tours. We will get to the others in future posts.

A blog tour is set up with the intention of introducing authors and their books to as many people as possible at or around the same time by utilizing bloggers who either review the book or interview the author about their book. The benefit of a virtual book tour for the author of course is exposure to people who already have an interest in books and want to read about the latest and greatest book. The benefit of a virtual book tour to the blogger, interviewer or reviewer is the great content that they are providing to their readers, which not only keeps them coming back but hopefully makes them want to share the bloggers post with others which in turn brings more readers to the blog.

Will a Virtual Book Tour lead to sales

Authors should pay attention to and look for opportunities to do a virtual book tour as often as possible. Why? Because what else could you do that could put you in front of potentially tens of thousands of potential readers all at nearly the same time for so little time and money? Think about it… if you have 10 to 20 bloggers participating in your virtual book tour that will either review your book or do an interview with you all in the same 30 day period that each have 500 to 5,000 readers then that turns into 5,000 to 100,000 readers that will learn about you and your book. How many of those will click on the amazon.com or barnesandnoble.com link that you have provided to your new best friend blogger? Probably quite a few. This not only sells books for you but it also increases your ranking on the sites but it also increases your search engine ranking.

And remember that most if not all of these bloggers will have Twitter, Facebook and other social networking platforms that they participate where they will most likely notify all of their followers there that they have just posted something about your book on their blog.  The desired result of your virtual blog tour is to create a lot of buzz about your book in a relatively tight time frame.

Steps to take to set up a Virtual Blog Tour

The first thing you need to do is start finding bloggers who may have an interest in working with you on your virtual book tour. You will want to not only search for bloggers that blog about books, you will want to find as many of them that like your particular genre. This will intensify your potential since their readers are most likely interested in your genre as well.

Next you will want to have all of the informatin that bloggers will need for your virtual book tour ready and available to them via email. This should include the following items:

• A brief introduction to your book
• A jpeg or other type of file of the cover of your book
• The same for a picture of you
• An electronic copy of your book or a hard copy if they prefer
• An established time frame for your virtual book tour – usually 2 to 4 weeks in length
• Sample interview questions for the bloggers who want to interview the author as part of the virtual book tour
• Links to your amazon.com, barnesandnoble.com or other sales page for the book
• 2-3 articles that the blogger can use as a guest post from the author – include your embeded links in the word document.
• Give away copies of the book for your new virtual book tour friend to give away to their readers as part of a contest or other promotion

Of course there are many other things you should be doing other than a virtual book tour to promote yourself and your book and you should definitely be doing several of them. A virtual book tour is one of the places I would start first.

If you are an author or publisher and think you might be interested in participating in a virtual book tour then you should visit http://submissions.authorblogtours.com to see how they can help you with your virtual book tour.

Daily Affirmations for Love

For Immediate Release – Gilbert, AZ – Sortis Publishing is excited to announce the release of Daily Affirmations for Love by Mamiko Odegard, PhD.

In Daily Affirmations for Love, Dr. Mamiko Odegard offers 365 entries that reflect relationships as an empowering “dance” rather than a deliberate, linear path. Mamiko does not offer us the seven effective ways to be a good lover. Instead, she notes how each day is uniquely different, but each one ultimately requires that we dance past daily distractions and get back to experiencing the discipline of love, wrapping each day in a positive affirmation that helps us experience “love as a verb!”

Praise for Daily Affirmations for Love

“We all wonder about the choices we make in building and retaining life-long, loving relationships. The power of love comes through on every page as Dr. Mamiko Odegard combines personal experience, professional expertise, and spiritual affirmations. She courageously shares the truths about love and relationships we all need to hear. Daily Affirmations for Love is authentic and rich… a rare and precious gift by a woman of great insight, clarity and wisdom.” ~ Chris Widener – Speaker, television host, and author of The Angel Inside

“Every moment, small gesture, and awareness becomes a gift. Dr. Odegard designed a collection of daily thoughts to reflect upon and open our hearts throughout the year. She has captured a slice of humanity with her thoughtful and loving approach to each day. Dr. Odegard clearly has a keen eye for the simple pleasures in life. Each page is filled with gentle, funny, and at times, profound insights. This is a must read for every person who is passionate about their personal journey into relationships. Dr. Odegard challenges us to stop… reflect… and smile… as we live each day to the fullest. This little book will bring joy to your heart and those you love.” ~ Jessica Browne, Actress- Murder She Wrote

Daily Affirmations for Love, published by Sortis Publishing, is available for purchase at Sortispublishing.com or Amazon.com and your local book store.

For a review copy of Daily Affirmations for Love or to schedule an interview or appearance contact Mike Webb at 866-375-9744 or by email

On January 27th 2011 Sortis Publishing set up a live video phone interview with author and Attorney General Mark Shurtleff. The interview was done with AZTV in Arizona during their AM Arizona morning show with Tonya Mock and Lew Rees. 

First time video phone used for live television interview is used

“This is the first time to our knowledge that a live on air interview has been done using a video phone. We have done numerous online searches for anything regarding an event like this and we have come up with nothing. This is a first!” says Mike Webb who is the owner of Sortis Publishing. ”I had the idea of using this method of doing interviews after seeing the phone demonstrated and the implications it could have in my business”. Authors with Sortis Publishing can now do live TV interviews in a very cost effective way for both the publisher and the TV station.

Better quality with video phone for live television interview

“There are other methods of doing live TV interviews such as the free service that everyone knows about that you use through your computer, but the quality was not nearly as good as what we were able to get using the video phone” said Mike Webb.

The interview with Attorney General Mark Shurtleff was centered on his new book “Am I Not a Man? The Dred Scott Story”, which has just been released and is published by Sortis Publishing. The book is available at online retailers as well as through the publisher’s website.

You can see the video and find out more about the interview and video phone by clicking here.

Sortis Publishing plans to use the video phone again for interviews with their authors and we plan to work directly with TV stations around the country to facilitate these cost effective live video phone interviews.

Mike Webb can be reached at 866-375-9744 and more information about Sortis Publishing including their contact information can be found at www.sortispublishing.com.

Here Mark and I talk about his book Am I Not a Man? The Dredd Scott Story and Sortis Publishing on Am Arizona.

by Mamiko Edegard PhD

MY TRIBUTE TODAY…Mike Webb of Sortis Publishing! What an amazing person to collaborate with on an amazing publishing project! You know how you come to know and trust people through how they respond when everything isn’t perfect – that is where you can, how did my mother put that, “test their nettle!”

I am excited to have finished a project for Dr. Mamiko Odegard, a well respected, dynamic and successful Scottsdale psychologist and relationship coach. Slated to be released on Valentine’s Day, Daily Affirmations of Love is a dance of devotion… where Dr. Mamiko Odegard offers 365 entries that reflect relationships as an empowering “dance” rather than a deliberate, linear path. Mamiko does not offer us the seven effective ways to be a good lover. Instead, she notes how each day is uniquely different, but each one ultimately requires that we dance past daily distractions and get back to experiencing the discipline of love, wrapping each day in a positive affirmation that helps us experience “love as a verb!”

Mike and I are working to create a hybrid process between traditional publishing and the difficulties authors can experience when they try to self-publish. Making this “blend” happen is important to aspiring authors, but making the shift happen has required open communication, patience and amazing support – characteristics that do not always meet one’s expectations in this kind of collaboration. Mike has been stellar and EXCEEDED my every expectation. If you don’t know him or the services he provides to professionals seeking to share their expert status as an author – he is a MUST to add to your list of resourceful people within the publishing industry!

Thank you, Mike, for helping make Daily Affirmations for Love happen!

A

Am I Not a Man?

Special release for Black History Month “Am I Not a Man? – The Dred Scott Story” by Attorney General Mark Shurtleff breathes new life into the famous case that defined our nation’s stance on racism.

This historical novel illustrates the heart-rending true story of Dred Scott, a freed slave forced back into bondage, and his struggle to regain liberty. Scott’s personal story is one of national importance, as the case of Scott vs. Sanford became Abraham Lincoln’s presidential platform and served as a key reference in our nation’s Emancipation Proclamation. Scott’s trials in making the rights of a black man the rights of all Americans are as touching as they are true, in this moving account of Dred’s fight for freedom.

A perfect topic for Black History Month

Prosaic and insightful, Mark Shurtleff chronicles Dred’s journey from its humble beginnings to its earth-quaking conclusion, solidifying Scott as one of the 18th century’s most dynamic and powerful figures in the Abolitionist movement. This is a perfect topic for Black history Month in the United States.

“After five years of deep and extensive research into Dred Scott’s life and times, this distinguished lawyer’s own sense of the hunger of all for justice gives Am I Not a Man gripping authenticity.” - D.C. Congresswoman Eleanor Holmes Norton

“It will renew your faith in the power of the human spirit.”- Thurbert E. Baker, Attorney General of Georgia

“Illuminating, sensitive, and powerful, Shurtleff ’s fictional take on Dred Scott asks some timely questions of race and prejudice that have still not been answered.”- Robert Fleming, African American Literature Book Club 

Am I Not a Man? The Dred Scott Story by Mark Shurtleff is available at your local bookstore and online at Amazon.com and BarnesandNoble.com.

Available for Interview in Honor of Black History Month

Attorney General Shurtelff will be in New York, Washington D.C. Detroit and other locations around the country and is making himself available for interviews and speaking engagements during February in honor of Black History Month. You may contact Sortis Publishing at 866-375-9744 to schedule an interview or for more information.