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Nancy Mehl
Rating: N/A
Votes: 0 (Vote!) | | Posted on Sunday, March 17, 2002 - 03:57 pm: |   |
Okay - I'll take this tip. Dennis can do next week!
You've joined a writer's group (or two, or three!)
You've got a web site - or you're working on one.
Now - let's talk about reviews.
Reviews are important because they give people a chance to hear about you. Do they sell lots of books? Not usually - unless you get into Library Journal, Publisher's Weekly, or the New York Times. But, they're a way for people to begin to identify you. "Hmmm, that name sounds familar!" It may take a while, but after several reviews - someone may order your book. And, I've sold books from reviews. My review in Library Journal comes out April 1st. I'll let you know what happens. At that time, I'll begin contacting libraries - hoping I can get it in stock.
Pick 5 good review sites - geared to your genre. It isn't hard. Ask other authors. Check Amazon under the names of authors who write what you write. Look for the professional reviews there. One really good way is to go to the web sites of other authors. Usually, they post the reviews there. Check to see what reviewers they used.
For example: If you write romance, you'll probably want to check out Romance Journal, Romance.com (I think thats's one) Of course, if you've joined the romance writers' group you should have by now, you will be able to ask them the best publications for reviews. Joining these groups is seriously important. They will be a wealth of information - and give you access to areas you need.
If you write mysteries: Mystery News, MurderExpress, I Love a Mystery. There's also BookBrowser. They review all kinds of books. Check them out.
A few pointers: go to their site and follow the rules for requesting reviews. DON'T send review requests to all the reviewers on a site. It ticks them off! Be courteous. Don't tell them what other reviewers have said about your book! Do give them a good synopsis - and tell them the genre of your book. Usually, what you write will go before the reviewers and someone interested in your type of book will offer to review it.
Sometimes, you can approach reviewers individually. This can work well - or backfire. I have one reviewer who's been sitting on my book for a long time. Why? Probably because she isn't accountable to anyone. She can review it when she feels like it - and post it where she wants to. But, through the groups you join, you can usually find reviewers there.
One more point about groups: if you write mysteries, I recommend iUniverse's Wicked Company. Also, there's MurderMustAdvertise (but be careful here - promotional information only) - and DorothyL. (Read the rules of the group before you join!)
Anyway - make a list of 5 places you want to review your book. Contact them!
Per PA rules: If you get a positive response, forward the e-mail to PA's customer support. They will send a book to the reviewer. If you're in a hurry, or if you want to make sure it gets there - send the book yourself.
Tip - be careful about book rate. It will save you a couple of dollars - but it's very unreliable. A book I sent that way took 2 months to get to the reviewer. Now, I use priority mail.
Okay guys - let's get to work!
Nancy |
Nancy Marie
Rating: N/A
Votes: 0 (Vote!) | | Posted on Sunday, March 17, 2002 - 05:30 pm: | |
All,
I followed Nancy M's advice pretty much to the letter, except joining the group thing, I just don't have the money for the fees and dues.
However, just want to say here that PA's policy about review copies seems to change from day to day. I sent all my review requests to PA and was told that they would only send out five review copies. They would then wait to see the results. (I posted this whole mess earlier.) So, I sent the other 20 or so books out myself. A big investment on my part, in light of my limited funds, but an investment I considered worth it, for all of the reasons Nancy M. listed.
smiles and blessings, Kitty |
Nancy Mehl
Rating: N/A
Votes: 0 (Vote!) | | Posted on Sunday, March 17, 2002 - 10:23 pm: | |
Nanc,
Check for groups that are free. MMA, DorothyL and Wicked Company are free lists. There must be some Christian lists like that?
Nancy |
Jennifer Lynn
Rating: N/A
Votes: 0 (Vote!) | | Posted on Monday, March 18, 2002 - 08:17 am: | |
Nancy Marie--my contract doesn't have a limit on how many books PA will send out for review, does yours? It does say that they can decide WHO to send the review copies to though.... Was it a battle for you?
Jennifer |
Nancy Marie
Rating: N/A
Votes: 0 (Vote!) | | Posted on Monday, March 18, 2002 - 08:28 am: | |
Jennifer Lynn - no my contract does not specify how many, just that they will send them. So what they did is not a breach of contract, because there is no number specified. A loop-hole, I believe it's called.
Even with my agent going over the contract several times, it appears there are many such "loop-holes" in the contract. I don't think my agent fully realized the nature of the organization I was doing business with, or he would have made the contract more specific, like to read "review copies to all review requests," or something like that.
He does now, however, and told me, "I will not refer any of my clients to PA." That says something, doesn't it. In fact, he just recently got one of his clients, a fellow that visits here ocassionally out of a contract with PA. So...
I got the PA contract on my own, and then referred it to him for review. He told me about the down-sides and the up-sides, and then left the decision up to me.
smiles and blessings, Kitty |
femazur.com
Rating: N/A
Votes: 0 (Vote!) | | Posted on Monday, March 18, 2002 - 01:35 pm: | |
If you are a publisher and a businessman and know the following, will you send out books? Yes? No? In some cases? Which cases?
"Reviews are important because they give people a chance to hear about you. Do they sell lots of books? Not usually - unless you get into Library Journal, Publisher's Weekly, or the New York Times. But, they're a way for people to begin to identify you. "Hmmm, that name sounds familar!" It may take a while, but after several reviews - someone may order your book. And, I've sold books from reviews. My review in Library Journal comes out April 1st. I'll let you know what happens. At that time, I'll begin contacting libraries - hoping I can get it in stock."
F.E. Mazur
www.femazur.com |
C. E. Winterland - work
Rating: N/A
Votes: 0 (Vote!) | | Posted on Monday, March 18, 2002 - 02:04 pm: | |
Right to the point with a very sharp blade, as usual, FE.
You make a great point, and one that a lot of us as authors really need to try to keep forward in our minds when dealing with any publisher, not just PA.
Especially in the current market atmosphere, the business is foremost in the publishers' mind - all ideal philosophies aside. Each review copy costs the publisher not only in expenditures, but also in (especially in PA's case, in my opinion) revenues/profits lost. Or in the very simplest terms, if 1 book equals $2.00 in expenditure, and $10.00 in profit, one review book costs $12.00. Of course that's not actually the case, but in business you use models that reflect just those sorts of things.
CEW |
Jennifer Lynn
Rating: N/A
Votes: 0 (Vote!) | | Posted on Monday, March 18, 2002 - 04:48 pm: | |
Thanks Nancy Marie..I'm about to jump in the same waters as you (review seeking, that is) so the info is appreciated. On one note, some romance sites (that's what you wrote, wasn't it?) I've seen DO take electronic copy, so if you've saved a copy of your final page proofs, you can use them. Some publishers call them 'galleys', and you can print off and use them at will. I found one site that accepted a word document of my ms, course I told them that there wouldn't be a lot of changes made, just typos etc corrected. So far I haven't heard that they want anything else, and they've been good to me so far. That review should come out sometime in April with the interview I did with them. www.romrevtoday.com if you want to check them out.
Jenn |
Nancy Mehl
Rating: N/A
Votes: 0 (Vote!) | | Posted on Monday, March 18, 2002 - 05:02 pm: | |
Jenn,
Good point. One I should have mentioned. You can make your own galleys. I have some sitting in my office. The one I'm reviewing now has been nominated for an Edgar Award - so it is a perfectly acceptable practice.
Anyone can make their own galley. Copy the pages of your book, (hopefully from your proofs) a copy of your cover, and take it to the printers. They can copy the cover onto card stock. (Another sheet of card stock for the back is helpful.) Then they can bind the book together with plastic rings for a few dollars. Mine charges $2.50 to bind. Voila! You have a galley. Make sure you also copy the page from your proofs that holds the ISBN and date of publication info.
This is cheaper to send out.
There are some reviewers who will only accept actual books for review. Be sure to ask the reviewer first.
Nancy |
Jennifer Lynn
Rating: N/A
Votes: 0 (Vote!) | | Posted on Tuesday, March 19, 2002 - 08:00 am: | |
Thanks Nancy, I wasn't aware that galleys had to be bound, so that was good info, I appreciate it. Like I said before, I'm just getting into the game so I've a lot to learn.
When it comes to review copies, is it acceptable to ask for the book back (if you've included postage), or is every book sent out pretty much gone? I am getting a couple more author copies than the base contract states, but that still doesn't give me enough to send out to every reviewer that I'd like. The way I see it, I am more familiar with my genre than the publisher is and we may not agree on who can get a review copy. Which of course leads to ME sending out copies.
One other thing Nancy, in case anyone is interested...I formed a yahoo group for small publisher/independently published authors, so we can help promote our work. Its in VERY early stages right now, but one of the things we thought we'd do is form electronic flyers for distribution, and maybe venture into print flyers eventually. The nice thing about it is it has chat room capabilities to hold author chats (which eventually would be nice). It's not much but anything helps. Feel free to pop over and look. Suggestions are always welcome. http://groups.yahoo.com/group/authorschoice/
Jenn |
Nancy Mehl
Rating: N/A
Votes: 0 (Vote!) | | Posted on Tuesday, March 19, 2002 - 09:52 am: | |
Jenn,
Usually, the reviewer keeps the book. Most of us are not paid. Our "pay" is the book.
I would be careful about asking for the book back. However, if the reviewer is someone you know, you can ask if it's alright to send a SASE for the book's return.
One fairly successful author, Nancy Cohen, has asked me to review each of her books. She's always sent me a galley - with a return envelope. I don't mind it because we've worked together so long, but if it was someone I didn't know well, I might have a problem with that. (Well, "I" wouldn't but some reviewers might)
Just be sure to read the guidelines on the site or in the publication you are contacting for a reveiw. Ask ahead of time. If they don't mind sending the galley or book back, they'll tell you.
Nancy |
Jennifer Lynn
Rating: N/A
Votes: 0 (Vote!) | | Posted on Tuesday, March 19, 2002 - 11:47 am: | |
Okay, thanks for the info. I'm an amateur at this, but no one else needs to know that eh? I just heard somewhere (can't remember now) about others who have done that, and I didn't know how that would look.
As for galleys, heck I won't mind sending those out, they are far cheaper to produce than a book anyway. |
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