THE Group for Authors! discussion

Tiffany A. wrote: "Hi everyone. I am hopeful that ya'll will have some great advice for me. I am wondering if anyone has any advice on how to get people to review your book. I mean, is there a polite way to ask for a..."

All you can do is ask. What I have found is that thanking people for their kind reviews, and asking whether they would mind cross-posting them to Goodreads/Smashwords/B&N/wherever works very well.

Unfortunately, you can't make people do much of anything. All you can do is demonstrate your gratitude when they do.

Tiffany A. wrote: "That's what I was afraid I would hear. >sigh< Guess I will just have to wait and see if more reviews start coming in. With a Christmas book, it is hard to promote off season, so maybe after the New..."

You might want to look at some Goodreads (or Facebook) groups that cater to the type of book you wrote and start interacting with folks there. Be ready to do some low-level (and infrequent) self-promotion -- the ratio of info to promotion should be 9:1 or thereabouts -- starting in November. (I have a background in marketing ... and I share some tips on my Goodreads blog; please feel free to have a look at some of the posts there.)

I hope this helps. ;-)

Tiffany A. wrote: "Thank you Sharon. I will definitly check out your blog, and I will start looking for groups that may be able to provide some good feedback. It is a Children's book (Ages 4-8) with a Christmas theme..."

You're most welcome. Off the top of my head, I don't know of any -- but I would recommend starting with the "Explore" link at the top of the Goodreads page and look for groups that focus on children's stories. Also, if your book is in hard copy (as opposed to an eBook) and you have a re-seller's license, you might want to look into getting into some craft faires/local artisan events to see how your sales go. More sales generally means more reviews (although not everyone who buys will take the time).

Tiffany there is a lot of great support, and reviews, on Goodreads Self Pulished group and Indie Book Collective

http://www.goodreads.com/group/show/3...

http://www.goodreads.com/group/show/2...

Tiffany,

I recommend posting a giveaway, if you have print copies of your book (giveaways are not yet open to ebooks, unfortunately). The giveaways are terrific ways to generate some reviews:

http://www.goodreads.com/giveaway

Once you get a few reviews, those reviews will be seen by the friends of the people who have written the reviews, and (hopefully) spread from there.

We've held giveaways for ereaders. We generate a coupon for them. We just have to let the readers know they're ebooks when holding the giveaway contests.

Tiffany A. wrote: "You have been so helpful. I have been reading through your blog and already implemented your facebook advice. I am so grateful for your posts. I will continue to backtrack through your wonderful bl..."

I am so glad I could help. In addition to Lenore's list, I would recommend joining the James Mason Community Book Club and Bestseller Bound groups (I am part of both). They welcome readers and authors of all genres and share a lot of great information. :-)

Interesting re an ebook giveaway! The first of my 5-ebook series, titled The Raker Chronicles, will be released to 20 or more venues in early June, if all goes well. The ebooks are taken from my hardback thriller novel Terminal Policy. Book I is titled Hidden Agenda and covers the first 8 chapters of Terminal Policy, as Raker grows up and swears vengeance on the insurance company. Book II is titled Strike Force, as he gathers his “termination team” members together etc. I've been busily editing Book II of The Raker Chronicles this morning.

The old website for my thriller novel (www.terminalpolicy.com) is being redesigned by a woman in Canada (to become www.thrillerpublications.com), the audio specialist is in China, one distribution center is in India and another is in England for the 70 million European youth who will read the series on their Kindles, smartphones, etc…. And the editing team, Digi-Tall Media, is in TEXAS! I guess we’re not in Kansas anymore, Toto!

I am always looking for books to review! I am open to reviewing all genres of books, but I must say that historical fiction is my favorite! If you are looking for someone to review your book, then check out my blog: http://historicalfictionobsession.blo...
I also work with authors in order to do giveaways, interviews, and guest posts!
I look forward to hearing from you!
-Kimberly
kimbers10[at]yahoo[dot]com

Aabra wrote: "If you publish your ebook on Smashwords you can make it available for free. I've done that with two of mine and a whole mob of people downloaded them for free. I haven't seen that as a big impetu..."

Okay, here's why that freebie from time to time matters. It drives your book up the bestseller list on Smashwords, which gets it more attention/visibility. I participate in their semi-annual promotions and have found it quite useful. I also give eBooks to deployed soldiers via Operation eBook Drop; frankly, you can't buy goodwill like that. I have had nice notes from servicemembers thanking me, and I know that my books have visibility to thousands of people through that venue alone.

This is all part of developing relationships with fans and potentials fans.

Have you seen my collection of Tarzan stories? "Tarzan: Le Monstre" It is a mix of history and fiction. I wondered if it something that you might review?

Aabra wrote: "I hadn't heard of Operation Book Drop so thanks for that. However, when I went to register I couldn't get past the verification stage. They didn't want to accept "five" for the answer to their qu..."

Send a message to Ed Patterson (the founder) of OBD at edwpat at att dot net and let him know there is an issue ... and ask him to send you the mailing list.

I should have mentioned that I was addressing Kimberley. My bad.