Virtual book tours are all the rage right now. I mean, literally, everyone is doing them. From Indies to small press to traditionally published authors. They are a cost-effective way to potentially reach a lot of readers and get your work out into those readers' hands. I am an author, tour host, and tour organizer. I can see this baby from all sides and for this post, I've compiled just a few things I've learned from my experiences about what makes tours successful or not.
Tour Hosts
Having the right hosts can make all the difference. I have set up all of my own tours so far and usually hand pick my hosts. But not everyone has time to do this and most usually go through a tour company to get it done. As a tour organizer, I don't always have the luxury of saying no to hosts, especially if I'm down to the wire and still have spots to fill. Sometimes having any host rather than no host is good. Sometimes it can work against you. Especially if that blog/site isn't …