Talking Virtual Book Tours with ‘The Chimp Who Loved Me’ Annie Greer & Tim Vandehey

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Annie Greer is a certified veterinary chiropractioner, radio host, animal behaviorist, farmer’s wife and AKC Canine Good Citizen evaluator who, with her veterinarian husband, Kent, runs three animal clinics and a 40-acre farm in Apopka, Florida.

Tim Vandehey is a journalist, ghostwriter and book collaborator who has written more than 35 books since 2004 in the sports, self-help, memoir, spiritual, financial, business, and healthcare genres. His recent published co-authored works include Blindsided (with Jim Cole, St. Martin’s Press, 2010), Running on Faith (with Jason Lester, HarperOne, 2010), Produced by Faith (with DeVon Franklin, Simon & Schuster, 2011), and I’m Here to Win! (with Chris McCormack, Center Street, 2011). Tim lives on Bainbridge Island, Washington, with his wife and two daughters.

The Chimp Who Loved Me is Tim and Annie’s latest hilarious endeavor.

You can visit their website at www.thechimpwholovedme.com.

Thank you for this interview, Tim and Annie. Can we start out by having you tell us briefly what your new book is about?

Annie: It’s a collection of 26 humorous essays about my many bizarre experiences with animals. I’m an animal chiropractitioner and behaviorist, and my husband and I run a 40-acre farm and three veterinary clinics in central Florida, so I have lots of chances to wind up hip-deep in poop or with something’s teeth wrapped around my windpipe.

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?

Tim: The Internet is the great leveler when it comes to book sales, because it gives authors the power to bypass traditional distribution channels and get to their readers directly. The problem is that there’s so MUCH on the Internet but no curation. The signal to noise ratio is really low. A virtual book tour is a great way to connect with readers via bloggers whose opinions they already respect.

Is this the first time you have heard of them? If not, where did you hear of them?

Both: We read about them in several articles, and were told about them by Tim’s literary agent.

As you know, a virtual book tour involves – among other things – interviews and guest posts. Do you prefer one over the other?

Annie: Either is fine with me. I can chatter for ever—just ask anyone who’s ever been a guest on my radio show, All Paws Pet Talk.

Some authors prefer an all review tour. Can you tell us if you are one of them and why or why not?

Tim: Reviews are great, but they’re not the be-all, end-all of promoting our book. Having the chance to reach out to readers and form a relationship with them is what this is all about. Reviews don’t do that. So a blend of reviews, interviews and guest posts is ideal.

What do you hope to achieve through promoting your book through a virtual book tour?

Annie: Greater sales, obviously. But we also want to raise awareness of the plight of exotic and entertainment animals, which we talk about in the book. A lot of people don’t realize that many lions, chimps and other animals used in the entertainment business suffer terribly when their careers are over. Some are bought by nitwits who have no idea how to care for them, while others end up in badly-run private preserves and escape or die of disease or malnutrition. It’s an outrage, and I hope this book will shed a little light on it.

Do you promote online through other means? Website? Blog?

We have a website, www.thechimpwholovedme.com. We also have a Facebook fan page.

Who maintains your website/blog?

Our web developer, Paul Moment, who’s a genius.

What are your experiences with offline book signings? Do you have much luck selling your book through that method?

We haven’t done much of that yet. But we plan to in the future.

Here’s a fun question. If money were no object, how would you promote your book?

We would buy a chimp for each person in the country and send it to their front door with a book in hand…and wearing a bow tie. Nobody can resist a chimp in a bow tie!

No, seriously…we would probably do a national book tour to animal shelters, clinics, etc. People who care about animals love this book.

Thank you for this interview, Tim and Annie. Do you have any final words?

Tim: Go Dodgers.

Annie: Eat Marmite.

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VIRTUAL BOOK TOUR, BLOG TOUR & BOOK PUBLICITY ENDORSEMENTS: NICE THINGS PEOPLE SAY ABOUT PUMP UP YOUR BOOK

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"THANK YOU for all of these graphics!!! That was a valuable added perk of working with you on the VBT! Thank you for all the work you put into those, and into the organization and follow-ups on the tour itself. It's been a pleasure working with you, Dorothy!"Allyson Rice, The Key to Circus-Mom Highway

"Oh, awesome!! Thank you so much! You ran such a lovely tour. Those images are great, I look forward to using them and will miss seeing the regular postings on Twitter ;-).
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Aiken Brown, SON OF A SOLDIER

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Elysia Strife, A PROMISE IN ASH

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Miri Leshem-Pelly, SCRIBBLE & AUTHOR

"I think you did an excellent job last time, thank you!"
Shami Stovall, KNIGHTMARE ARCANIST

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Suzanne M. Hurley, THE TEDDY BEAR EYE CLUB

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Sharon House, BRIMSTONE AND WATER

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Christine Donovan, BLACKJACK

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Michael Allan Scott, GREY DAZE

"Just wanted to thank you for putting together a great tour for You Won't Remember This. I think the author was pleasantly surprised and overall very pleased."
Bacon Press Books

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T.M. Wallace, WINTERGARDEN

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Lee Papa, TEMPLE OF ALL KNOWING

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Mary Lawlor, FIGHTER PILOT'S DAUGHTER

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Karen-Anne Stewart, ASH TO STEELE

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Lauren Carr, Best-Selling Mystery Author of Mac Faraday, and Lovers in Crime, Mysteries

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"Thank you for a great virtual book tour. I thought it went really well and it was great to have a wave of PR that flowed through the two month period of my book release. I'm working on my next book - and will definitely reach out to you when it comes time to market! You were a delight to work with and really made me feel looked after. As I've mentioned before, I just don't know how you do it all."
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--Carol Nicolas, THE SIXTH POWER

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Question of the Day

How do you make sales happen for you?

A lot of hard work! I sponsor a lot of on line parties, festivals and contests. Book sales don’t magically happen, believe me. An author has to work hard to earn her readers. And then she has to work hard to keep them by giving them something they’ll enjoy reading. I try hard to make my books worth a reader’s time.

-- Sheila Roberts, Author of Winter at the Beach