Michael Scott Miller works with numbers by day in the business world and with words by night. He began writing shortly after graduating from the University of Pennsylvania and has had his work published in the Welcomat (now Philadelphia Weekly) and wrote music reviews for the Wharton Journal while his wife was getting her degree there.
Miller’s debut novel, Ladies and Gentlemen…The Redeemers, has been downloaded more than ten thousand times and has received tremendously positive reader feedback, earning 4-star to 5-star ratings at Amazon, barnesandnoble.com, Smashwords, and Kobo. The complete set of reader reviews and comments can be accessed at http://feeds.rapidfeeds.com/40309/ .
Miller grew up in Cherry Hill, New Jersey and now lives in Lafayette Hill, Pennsylvania with his wife and three children.
You can visit Michael Scott Miller’s website at www.ladiesandgentlementheredeemers.com or connect with him on Twitter at www.twitter.com/MichaelScMiller or Facebook at www.facebook.com/home.php#!/profile.php?id=1206880325.
Thank you for this interview, Michael. Can we start out by having you tell us briefly what your new book is about?
Ladies and Gentlemen…The Redeemers tells the story of Bert Ingram, once a successful rep in the music industry, who has lost his way. Desperate for redemption, he decides to put together a band and begins recruiting musicians who have only one thing in common: the need to overcome a significant obstacle in their lives. As the story unfolds, the volatile mix of the musicians’ personalities and backgrounds threatens to derail the band, but they eventually begin to realize they have more to gain from one another than they ever could have imagined.
More and more authors are realizing the potential for sales that derives from virtual book tours. Can you tell us your personal reasons why you chose a virtual book tour to help get the word out about your new book?
The virtual book tour is a fantastic way for authors and readers to connect and interact. For authors, the virtual tour removes the burden of physically traveling from bookstore to bookstore across the country. For readers, the virtual tour allows them to participate on their own schedule, popping onto the blog when they want, posting comments, and then checking back later. They aren’t forced into a narrow time window at a specific location.
The virtual tour is also a good complement to the way many people are reading today, which is digitally. The author can reach out to potential buyers and the buyers can immediately access the author’s work.
Is this the first time you have heard of them? If not, where did you hear of them?
I heard about them a few months ago when Amanda Hocking was hyping J.L. Bryan’s blog tour, which he set up himself. I immediately became intrigued by the idea, but with the demands of my day job, I realized it would be much more efficient to contract with someone else to set up the tour. After doing some research, it became quickly evident that Pump Up Your Book was the premier tour company to work with (yes, I know as a writer I shouldn’t end a sentence with a preposition).
As you know, a virtual book tour involves – among other things – interviews and guest posts. Do you prefer one over the other?
I think a mix of the two is good so that readers who are following the tour don’t find it repetitive. That said, I like the creative freedom that comes with doing guest blogs. That probably doesn’t come as a surprise. I think that’s what makes us authors. I enjoy doing interviews as well, but the questions naturally tend to be similar from interview to interview.
Some authors prefer an all review tour. Can you tell us if you are one of them and why or why not?
This is a difficult balance. From a marketing standpoint, there is so much value in having the blogger tell his or her readers how much he/she liked the book. I think that’s more powerful than having an unknown or little-known author show up and respond to interview questions. That said, a month’s worth of blog reviews becomes boring for any followers, and doing guest blogs and interviews provides the author with a chance to display his or her writing style, as well as make a more personal connection with potential readers.
What do you hope to achieve through promoting your book through a virtual book tour?
My hope is to get enough sales in a short period of time that Ladies and Gentlemen…The Redeemers makes it into the top 100 in Amazon so that it a) starts appearing on lists where it can be seen by those browsing, and b) starts appearing in the “Customers who bought this item also bought ___” recommendations.
Do you promote online through other means? Website? Blog?
I have a website (www.ladiesandgentlementheredeemers.com) where readers can post comments, although my preference at this point is for them to do formal reviews where they purchased the book. The website is largely a portal for me to direct potential readers to where they can sample the book, purchase the book, follow me on Twitter, etc.
Who maintains your website/blog?
I do it myself. I use Weebly to host it and have found it to be great to work with. I highly recommend it.
What are your experiences with offline book signings? Do you have much luck selling your book through that method?
I haven’t done any book signings at all. While I do have a paperback version available through Amazon, my mantra is “It’s all about the Kindle.” Readers are much more likely to take a chance on a 99-cent eBook than on a paperback, even priced as low as I can at $7.95.
Here’s a fun question. If money were no object, how would you promote your book?
An ad during the Superbowl? A billboard in Times Square? If money were truly no object, I think I would use the money to support myself so that I could write full time. Writing and publishing more books would be the best form of promotion.
Thank you for this interview, Michael. Do you have any final words?
Thanks for inviting me to talk about virtual book tours with you. I would welcome any reader comments or questions.