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These are the questions:

1) How is your virtual tour doing?

The virtual tour is going well thanks Martin.  The biggest challenges I'm having are with the technology.  My broadband has quite a low bandwidth and I underestimated the time needed to upload big video and audio files. Also, my computer needs more memory so I'll have to get that sorted fast.

But the fascinating thing is that I start each day not quite knowing how it's going to all work out.  Luckily, this has been fun rather than stressful, because my attitude is that this is a total experiment. 

Hopefully it will translate into book sales, but it's too early to tell yet. What I do know is that the Gulp! brand is getting out there and piquing plenty of interest.


2) Do you feel more writers in the future will use virual tours?

I think virtual tours are a great way to compliment more traditional marketing methods like book signings, talks, print media, radio and TV.  I'd definitely recommend doing a virtual tour at the time of a book launch,
possibly even to pre-market the traditional book tour.

What I've noticed as well is that by doing author blogs and podcasts it can really put you in the driving seat allowing you to get your message across in the way that you want, rather than to rely on someone else's
interpretation. Plus of course, it allows your personality to come through, so rather than being just a name on the front cover of a book, people can "connect" to you as a person.

3) Would you use another virtual tour to promote future projects?

Absolutely.  And I'll be better organised as well, with the right equipment in place!  It's been a steep learning curve, but I think we'll see a lot more virtual book tours in the future.  I also won't be surprised if the big
name authors hit the likes of Myspace and You Tube to promote their books much in the same way pop groups do.  The only thing to keep in mind is the demographics of online "social networkers" tends to be younger.

4) Do you feel e-books will eventually replace printed books?

No I don't think e-books will replace printed books. Living in a place like London with millions of commuters, you can see that softback and hardback books are here to stay.  Plus the technology for reading e-books still
needs a lot of development, and the novelty of printing off 200 pages won't last long. The bigger threat I think will come from iPods and MP3 players. Millions are already in the habit of downloading their music everyday,
so from a consumer behaviour perspective the habit is already there and it is only a short shift to extend that behaviour to downloading audio books.

Thanks Martin. 

Gabriella Goddard is the author of “Gulp!: The seven-day crash course to master fear and break through any challenge” (Penguin, £7.99)

To buy a copy of Gulp! and download a free 30 page Gulp! eGuide, visit www.buygulp.com

To find out more about the Gulp! Virtual Book Tour, visit
www.gulpvbt.com

And if you want to get started NOW, pledge your Gulp! challenge for  Gulp! Together Week www.gulptogether.com