Wednesday, September 2, 2015

Blog Tour: THE LAST OF THE FIREDRAKES by Farah Oomerbhoy - Guest Post + Giveaway

About The Book:
 
The Last of the Firedrakes by: Farah Oomerbhoy 
Publisher: Wise Ink Creative Publishing 
Pub Date: August 15, 2015 
Pages: 488 
Genre: Young Adult / Fantasy
A fantastic adventure story that will transport you to a dazzling world of myth and magic.
16-year-old Aurora Darlington is an orphan. Mistreated by her adopted family and bullied at school, she dreams of running away and being free. But when she is kidnapped and dragged through a portal into a magical world, suddenly her old life doesn’t seem so bad.

Avalonia is a dangerous land ruled by powerful mages and a cruel, selfish queen who will do anything to control all seven kingdoms—including killing anyone who stands in her way.  Thrust headlong into this new, magical world, Aurora’s arrival sets plans in motion that threaten to destroy all she holds dear. 

With the help of a young fae, a magical pegasus, and a handsome mage, Aurora journeys across Avalonia to learn the truth about her past and unleash the power within herself. Kingdoms collide as a complicated web of political intrigue and ancient magic lead Aurora to unravel a shocking secret that will change her life forever.
Guest Post:
10 Things You Might Not Know about Launching a Book

When I started my publishing journey nearly a year ago, I had no idea the hard work, determination and detail that goes into publishing a book. At that time I was so confused about what to do and where to start. I was virtually a baby in the publishing arena, looking out in wonder at the vast world before me. I didn’t understand how it all worked, but I wanted to learn more.

The task ahead seemed like an insurmountable mountain looming before me, but then I found a wonderful virtual author assistant, Kate Tilton, in October of 2014. She introduced me to the amazing Laura Zats and the wonderful team at Wise Ink Creative Publishing, and so my publishing journey began.

There are many things to consider when publishing a book. Here is my top ten list of tools and ways to think about your project as a product during production and your launch that you may not have thought about before.

1.             Audience. The first thing that Wise Ink had me do was fill out an audience profile worksheet. And I was completely lost. I had no idea we needed to do this, but in hindsight it was very necessary. After all, even though I had been writing my book for myself, my ultimate goal was to get The Last of the Firedrakes into other people’s hands. Figure out who your audience is, what they like to do, and what they want in a book.

2.             Marketing. This builds off of audience, and aligns your personal goals for your book with what your future audience wants. Create a plan and a list of ideas/goals/thoughts about what you want to do with a published book, and this will help keep you going!

3.               Cover. Although I had a pretty good idea about what I wanted my book cover to look like. I had no idea how much work it takes to actually get from the idea to the finished cover. If you want a cover that will stand out, get a professional cover designer to create it. I can safely say that I have learned that having a beautiful professionally made cover goes a long way towards getting people to notice your book. When my book was first on Wattpad, I had a cover just thrown together, and it looked like it. When Scarlett Rugers took over and gave me something new, interest skyrocketed!

4.               The Insides. What your interior looks like makes a big difference when a person reads the book. If the words are not the correct color, font, or size then a reader may get put off. Also the interior format of a print book and e-book differ, so they have to be formatted separately according to their specifications. This might be something you’re tempted to skimp on, but it makes all the difference! After all, the readers are going to be spending the most time between the pages.

5.                Early Reviews. Getting readers to review your book early is key to a book’s success. I used NetGalley to get my book noticed pre-release. The site is mainly for reviewers, librarians, media, and booksellers to read and choose the new books that they like for the upcoming season. Once your book is edited, proofread, and formatted, you or your publisher can put up the book on NetGalley. Readers request the book and then review it on NetGalley and other sites like Goodreads and their own blogs. This builds hype for your book, if you get good reviews of course, ultimately helping sales.

6.             Giveaways! I also bumped up the interest in my book’s launch by having a giveaway pre-release on Goodreads. Amazon also has giveaway options (available after the book is released). If you’re doing a blog tour, you can have giveaways on blogs as well. Speaking of which . . .

7.               Bloggers. I have discovered to my great delight, the wonderful world of book bloggers. This is a community of people who love books and take the time to review books for the rest of the world. Plan your own blog tour (posts on lots of different blogs) or hire someone to do it for you, and you’re capitalizing on their readership, as well as getting reviews for your book!

8.               Publicists. One of the easiest ways to get the attention of book bloggers, news outlets, and even bookstores, is to have a publicist. I’ve been lucky to work with the lovely Amy Del Rosso. She has been indispensable in planning my blog tour, giveaways, and coordinating all the aspects of the launch to keep it targeted and successful. If you have the budget, consider adding a publicist to your team!

9.             Swag. I write YA, and swag is a big part of that community. Which means I got to make a bunch of branded The Last of the Firedrakes stuff! Bookmarks are always a nice option since readers inevitably use them and it is a good way for people to remember your book even when they are reading another one. Pins and buttons can be nice too, so can pens and notebooks. Tote bags are an option but as they can be expensive they could be used as an exclusive giveaway gift. Necklaces and miniature book charm bracelets are also good options for exclusive giveaways, especially if you have mostly female readers.

10.            Facebook Party. I live in India, and a lot of my readers are in the US, and so I needed to figure out a way to have a worldwide launch party. I did this by throwing a Facebook party. Over two days, I had guest authors of other YA and fantasy books stop by and offer their own giveaways and engage with their audience and my audience. That way, we were helping each other raise awareness of our work, and had a great time doing it!

What is your favorite part about a book launch? What do you wish authors did more often?
Purchase Links:

About The Author:

For Farah Oomerbhoy, writing is a passion and reading her solace. She is a firm believer in the fantastic and magical, and often dreams of living in Narnia, Neverland, or the Enchanted Forest. 
Farah lives with her husband and three children in their family home in Mumbai, India. She has a Master’s degree in English Literature from the University of Mumbai.  
Farah's first novel, The Last of the Firedrakes, Book 1 of the Avalonia Chronicles will be published worldwide August 15th, 2015.

Website |Twitter |Instagram |Pinterest |Goodreads |Wattpad |Facebook

Follow The Tour:
August 14th – Reads All The Books – Review
August 14th – Bookish – Tour Promo 
August 15th – Dizneeee's World of Books – Review / Guest Post
August 15th – Melissa Martin's Reading List – Review
August 17th – Ya Fiction Queen – Guest Post
August 17th – Christine Abee – Review
August 18th – Books, Stars, Writing. And Everything In Between – Interview
August 18th – EndlessReading – Review
August 19th – Motif by Tanya – Author Interview
August 19th – Ramblings of a Perpetual New Girl – Review / Guest Post
August 20th – Ramblings of a Perpetual New Girl – Review / Guest Post
August 21st – Book Addict – Guest Post / Author Interview
August 21st – Author of The Not So Public Library – Review
August 24th – Miranda's Book Blog – Review / Guest Post
August 25th – BookishFever – Review
August 26th – The Reader and the Chef – Review / Top 5 or 10
August 27th – The Power of Three Readers – Promo
August 27th – Ashley Martinez – Review
August 28th – Bookish – Review
August 31st – The Renegade Zombie Reviews – Review / Author Interview
September 1st – Beauty's Library – Review / Guest Post
September 2nd – Pixie Vixen Reviews – Character Interview
September 3rd – Creatyvebooks – Review / Author Interview
September 4th – Cabin Goddess – Review & Recipe
September 7th – serenastone – Author Interview
September 7th – 5 Girls Book Reviews – Review / Interview
September 9th – Holly's Heart Art – Review
September 9th – Read with Royella – Review 
September 9th – Books and Ladders – Review
September 10th – Reading with AngelaRenea – Review / Author Interview
September 11th – Atomic Pirate Girl's Book Worm Booty – Review
September 11th – Triple T Tots tweens and teens – Review
September 14th – Anything but Vanilla Book Blog – Playlist
September 14th – Rockin' Book Reviews – Review

Tour Wide Giveaway:
**Giveaway consists of a Kindle Fire HD 7 and a Firedrake Prize Pack. 
a Rafflecopter giveaway

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