Book review questions

Dodge · Oct 22, 2010

1.) I have a pdf of my book and I am interested in giving away this pdf as a free copy of my book in exchange for reviews. What is the best way to do this? The only way I know of is to have those interested is to have them email me and I would send out the pdf file to them. Then they could review it and post that review to Amazon, smashwords, B&N, etc. as well as email me a copy of the review to post to my site.

Opinions?

2.) Also what about the pdf floating around; is there any issue with others posting my full book online?

3.) How do you go about getting book reviews?

Thanks!

KodyBoye · Oct 24, 2010

I've done this kind of thing before, so I'll answer as best as I can.

1 - If you're doing it for reviews, you might not get a lot of hits based on the fact that it's read for review. As of now, I don't believe you can have free PDFs listed on Amazon or Barnes and Noble, but I know Smashwords allows you to put free PDFs online.

2 - If you put a book on the internet, it's going to get pirated. This could be a good and a bad thing--good because people are still getting access to it, bad because you might not be making money on it. You have to weigh with the good or the bad, but if you find your book being spread around online, someone liked it enough to list it.

3 - You ask. Pretty much that simple. Look for 'small press book review sites.' Usually, said book review sites have 'sites we like' pages which also do reviews. It's a lot of work, but I found it easier to draft a simple query letter, then to send it to a bunch of people. List the standard--title, pages, publisher, genre, what type of book it is, synopsis, etc.--then give them your regards.

That's most of the advice I can give you.

Dodge · Oct 24, 2010

Thanks for the advice. It's helpful! Especially number (3).

MumblingSage · Oct 25, 2010

Dodge said:
1.) I have a pdf of my book and I am interested in giving away this pdf as a free copy of my book in exchange for reviews. What is the best way to do this? The only way I know of is to have those interested is to have them email me and I would send out the pdf file to them. Then they could review it and post that review to Amazon, smashwords, B&N, etc. as well as email me a copy of the review to post to my site.

Opinions?

2.) Also what about the pdf floating around; is there any issue with others posting my full book online?

3.) How do you go about getting book reviews?

Thanks!

Disclaimer: I have NOT done this sort of thing before, however, my sister writes fiction reviews for her two magazines and has told me something about the process as I prepare for my novella's release next year.

1.) Do you mean you plan to send digital review copies? If so, check your targeted reviewer beforehand to see if they accept ebooks. There's a list of indie reviewers in the self-publishing subforum, and some of them accept ebooks. You would send the file to the reviewer in an email.

2.) No ethical reviewer would leak the book beforehand.

3.) Again, I haven't done it myself, but the process I've seen authors and publishers go through with my sister is: first, send an email or a letter with a description of your story, asking if the reviewer would like to review it (tell them what formats it's available in). If they say they'd like to see it, send it over. If you want to attach the .pdf to your introductory email and do it all in one go, that's fine too (before sending print copies, my sister would suggest you ask if the reviewer would really be interested in writing the review, since otherwise you're out postage and they're stuck with a book they weren't expecting).

Dodge · Oct 27, 2010

MumblingSage said:
Disclaimer: I have NOT done this sort of thing before, however, my sister writes fiction reviews for her two magazines and has told me something about the process as I prepare for my novella's release next year.

1.) Do you mean you plan to send digital review copies? If so, check your targeted reviewer beforehand to see if they accept ebooks. There's a list of indie reviewers in the self-publishing subforum, and some of them accept ebooks. You would send the file to the reviewer in an email.

2.) No ethical reviewer would leak the book beforehand.

3.) Again, I haven't done it myself, but the process I've seen authors and publishers go through with my sister is: first, send an email or a letter with a description of your story, asking if the reviewer would like to review it (tell them what formats it's available in). If they say they'd like to see it, send it over. If you want to attach the .pdf to your introductory email and do it all in one go, that's fine too (before sending print copies, my sister would suggest you ask if the reviewer would really be interested in writing the review, since otherwise you're out postage and they're stuck with a book they weren't expecting).

Thanks for your input. It's all good

Book review questions

Dodge

Sparks fly off my pages!

KodyBoye

New kid, be gentle!

Dodge

Sparks fly off my pages!

MumblingSage

Inarticulate Herb

Dodge

Sparks fly off my pages!