What is VBT - Writers on the Move?
VBT – Writers on the Move was originally created as a virtual book tour group, but quickly evolved into a promotional group. We are a group of authors who cross-promote using monthly virtual tours; monthly mystery site giveaways; monthly Viewpoint/Hot Topic segments; link exchanges; library marketing, reviews; and I’m looking into getting the members weekly spots on blog radio. We even have a VBT – Writers on the Move blogsite where the members are contributing authors, and we have a Twitter account. Visibility is one of the building blocks of any marketing campaign and we at VBT – Writers on the Move are always looking for ways to increase our visibility and readership.

When was the group created? Why?
VBT – Writers on the Move was created in November of 2008. I attended The Muse Online Writers Conference in October of that year; one of the workshops I participated in was with Denise Cassino – it was on marketing. Denise suggested the attendees of the workshop do virtual book tours for each other. She even created a list of the attendees who would be interested. I contacted a few of them and created the VBT group. We were fortunate enough to have others hear about us and join up. We’ve grown into a wonderful group of writers who care about helping each other move forward in our promotional efforts.

How many writers do you have in the group so far?
We have 29 writers in the group at this time. These wonderful authors/writers include a children’s book publisher, a children’s magazine publisher, an editor, two marketing gurus, and a number of award winning authors.

How do writers join the group?
We are always looking for authors who want to create or increase their visibility. Since we cross promote and one of our strategies is monthly virtual tours, being a member does require a bit of commitment. Each member is required to host another member the first and third of each month. We count on each other to follow through.

While we cover a number of genres, we do not promote graphic sex, violence, hatred, racism, and so on.
If any of your readers are interested and would like to learn more about our group, they can contact me at:
karenrcfv@yahoo.com
And, please put [VBT – Jo Linsdell] in the subject box.

Anything else you'd like to add?
To promote means to move forward; to help bring about or further the growth of. That’s what we do at VBT – Writers on the Move, we move forward by bringing about and furthering our visibility. As authors we need to continually promote ourselves and our work; VBT – Writers on the Move can be an effective tool in your marketing strategy.
And, I’d like to thank you, Jo, for the wonderful opportunity.