Diana Holquist on Virtual Book Tour at Pump Up Your Online Book Promotion

We have a very special guest today at Pump Up Your Online Book Promotion!

Welcome Diana Holquist, author of SEXIEST MAN ALIVE (Warner Books, Oct. '07). Diana is here with us today to tell us how she pumps up her own online book promotion!

Welcome to Pump Up Your Online Book Promotion, Diana! Can we begin by having you tell us what SEXIEST MAN ALIVE is about and why you wrote it?

SEXIEST MAN ALIVE is about the shyest woman alive who comes to believe a gypsy prophecy that her soulmate is People magazine’s sexiest man alive.

SEXIEST MAN ALIVE is a romantic comedy with a paranormal twist. Why did you choose this genre to write? Did you choose it or did it choose you?

I love funny, fun, fast books. That’s what I like to read and so that’s what I write. I threw in the paranormal twist—the Gypsy psychic—as a comic villain in my first book, Make Me a Match. All through that book, you’re not sure if she really is a psychic or just a con-woman. In SEXIEST MAN ALIVE, she’s back. And again, we wonder if she’s for real….

In regards to promotion, what have you been doing to promote your book online?

Listening to you, Dorothy. Really, I mean that. You’ve taught me so much about promoting online. I have two blogs (gypsypsychic.blogspot.com and blogaboutromance.blogspot.com). I also blog at Grandcentralcafe.blogspot.com with a bunch of other Grand Central Publishing authors. I have a website, that I optimized a-la-Dorothy with lots of keywords. Plus, I have a few book trailer videos and a MySpace page.

Of all the promotional items (bookmarks, press kits, etc.) you have used to promote your book, which one was used most effectively?

I don’t have a press kit and my bookmarks are curling from mis-use in my closet. I did all that stuff for my first book, Make Me a Match and none of it for Sexiest Man Alive. I’ll come back and let you know if I made a huge mistake.

Do you feel that the Internet has opened doors for authors who never dreamed they'd ever see a publishing contract and how has it influenced you in regards to your own publishing journey?

Well, for e-book authors, it’s a whole new market, which is great. For me, the Internet makes me work harder. It was so much easier being clueless for my first book. Now, I see what other authors are doing and how they’re doing it and I know that I need to get out and do all that stuff, too. But it takes time. A lot of time. And that’s all time that’s taken away from actually writing.

If you were in the middle of Manhattan (or any busy thoroughfare) and you wanted to call attention to your book, what would you do and what would you say?

I’d shout, “Hey, it’s the SEXIEST MAN ALIVE and he’s only wearing a towel!” .

If you could trade places with any author just for a day, who would it be and why?

Oh, man. Today, it would be Julia Glass because I’m reading Three Junes and it’s just gorgeous. Last week, it would be Philip Roth, since that’s who I was reading then.

Lastly, how do you determine your book's success?

Money. Just kidding. Sort of. Okay, well, I need a new roof, you know? But truly, if I can just keep getting contracts and keep writing, that’s success. That’s more than I ever hoped for. It’s an amazing privilege to have people read my writing.

Thank you for coming, Diana! Can you tell us where everyone can pick up a copy of SEXIEST MAN ALIVE?

Thanks so much for having me, Dorothy. I can’t ever thank you enough for teaching me about online promotion. I send everyone who asks me how to promote their writing to your blogs and sites.

As for buying SEXIEST MAN ALIVE, it should be in most stores. I was told that it made it into Wal-Mart, which is remarkable. You can also get it online at amazon.com.

Watch the trailer!




http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=D0bFYWrPC4c

Tags: Pump Up Your Book Promotion, virtual book tour, online book promotion, Diana Holquist, Sexiest Man Alive, romantic comedy novel