50 Blog Tour Post Ideas for Crime Fiction Writers

Scott's Note: Richie Narvaez guest blogs today, giving some ideas on how authors, particularly indie ones like himself, can up their blog tour game.  Richie's doing the blog tour thing himself now because his debut novel is out - Hipster Death Rattle. 

Richie's a guy who grew up in Williamsburg, Brooklyn, an area now known for trendiness and hipsters.  Into this mix, in his book, Richie puts a person who is using a machete to kill various hipsters in the neighborhood.  This can't be good for Williamsburg's reputation.  Hipster Death Rattle is a sardonically told crime novel, with the mystery playing out against a backdrop of gentrification, very high rents, and class tension.  It's an engaging read, quite well-plotted, with sharp social commentary.

But anyway, here's Richie with his ideas on authorial self-promotion.

50 Blog Tour Post Ideas for Crime Fiction Writers

by Richie Narvaez

Publicizing your new crime fiction book doesn’t have to be murder. With my debut thriller out in the world — Hipster Death Rattle (Down & Out Books, 2019), available on IndieBound, Amazon, and Barnes and Noble. Buy it! Buy it now! — I have to find the optimal ways to publicize. 

One of the easiest and least expensive ways is the blog tour, in which a writer, much like a movie star rounding the chat shows, takes a virtual tour of a number of blogs, writing about topics that directly or indirectly play up his/her cozy, procedural, noir, what have you, all in the hopes of generating interest and of course sales. 

Now, coming up with topics to write about can be difficult — it took enough out of you just to write the damn book! So I’ve taken the liberty of listing some ideas for you here to try to make your next blog tour that much easier. 

1. Blog Tours Are Vital to Your Publishing Success
2. Why Blog Tours Are a Waste of Time
3. Why You Need an Agent
4. Pshhaw! No One Needs an Agent Anymore
5. Getting to Really Know Your Agent
6. Why Sleeping with Your Agent Is a Not a Good Idea 
7. My Agent Stabbed Me in the Back — Which Gave Me an Idea for My Next Thriller!
8. How a Night in Prison Inspired My Whodunnit
9. Being Married to a Police Detective’s Distant Cousin Made Me a Better Crime Writer
10. How My Cats Inspired My Gritty Noir
11. So Long, Sam Spade! Private Eye Novels Are Passé
12. How to Interview Real Serial Killers for Your Book
13. Uh Oh, Are You Being Stalked?
14. Talking to Real Life Private Eyes and Security Experts 
15. Need to Change Your Identity and Live Off the Grid?
16. Welcome Back, Chandler! Private Eye Novels Are Back
17. Start Your Writing Career by Writing Short Stories
18. Why No One Reads Anthologies Anymore
19. Setting Could Be Your Procedural’s Most Important Character
20. Why a Cat Could Be Your Mystery Novel’s Most Important Character
21. Say What? How to Create Realistic Dialogue
22. Why Your Dialogue Can’t Be “Too Real”
23. Don't Overthink Dialogue. You're Not a Playwright, You Know
24. Writing Careers Are Tough on Marriages
25. Just Leave Me Alone and Let Me Write Already!
26. Can Your Relationship Survive Your Writing Career?
27. 10 Steps to Researching How to Commit a Murder
28. Why You Should Learn All You Can about Forensics
29. Where to Hire a Hit Man
30. 5 Steps to Clearing Your Browser Search History
31. A Cat Is a Writer’s Best Companion, Cheerleader, and Beta Reader
32. How to Come Up with a Third Act Twist No One Will See Coming
33. Why Do People Marry Serial Killers?
34. How to Create . . . Wait . . . Wait for It . . . Waaaaait . . . Here It Is: Suspense!
35. How to Plot Your Cozy in 5 Steps
36. How to Plot Your Cozy in 10 Steps
37. How to Let Your Cozy Plot Itself
38. Your Mystery Won't Sell without a Cat in It
39. Make Sure to End Your Book with a Surprise!
40. How to Write an Honest Book Review
41. I Give All My Friends 5 Stars on Amazon, No Matter What
42. 5 Reasons Why Crime Fiction Is Really Fantasy Fiction
43. 10 Reasons Why Crime Fiction Is Really Horror Fiction
44. One Reason Why Crime Fiction Is Really Crime Fiction
45. Why Serial Killers Don't Make Good Roommates
46. How Can You Make Your Villain Likable?
47. Get on Social Media to Sell Your Suspense Novel
48. Why Social Media Is Passé
49. Why No One Reads to the End of Your Blog Posts
50. Why a Human Sacrifice to the Cat God May Be Your Only Hope for Crime Fiction Publishing Success

You can get Hipster Death Rattle right here.