How to spread the word about a newly self-published book.

[Deana Van Nice]

Hi everyone,

I am new to the site, to blogging, to publishing, and to this whole wonderful and crazy world of the author/reviewer/blogger dynamic.

I am trying to find out how to get reviewers and bloggers interested in free copies to read and review. I have posted a couple offers on book blog, joined Goodreads, BookDaily, Librarything, as well as submitted to a few individual reviewers. 

I have also read articles galore on Google and found a great article on Amazon about contacting their reviewers with offers... but it doesn't seem to be going anywhere. 

How much do you have to "Sell" your book and when are you pushing too hard? Obviously, the hope is that content will stand on its own, but if you can't get the content recognized, it has no platform to stand on...

Giveaways seem like a reasonable idea but

1) I have yet to figure our how to 'give away' a book from Amazon without buying it as a gift

2) I see a lot of people giving away other things with their book and that makes me feel uncomfortable. 

All in all, I am just continuing to network with the understanding that I am new to this whole dynamic, but I can't help but wonder if I am doing something wrong. 

Any comments, tips, or recommendations would be helpful and greatly appreciated.

So, how do you spread the word? How do you invite, garner attention, and help your book along? 

[Alison M.]

Here's my advice on how to find the best book blogger/reviewer for you.

Good luck with your book!

[Paula McBride]

Hi Deana, you've just got to keep trying new things and chatting to new people.

I've been self-published for nearly a year now - with 8 children's ebooks - and the first few months were slow, but with every month I made more contacts and more sales.

One tip - talk to people and swap ideas, not too much sale, sale, sale.

It'll put people off, but have patience it all takes time!

Good luck with your books.

Paula

Children's author and illustrator
http://www.amazon.co.uk/Paula-McBride/e/B005IQ4UMA
www.tothewillowgarden.co.uk

[Christine Jones]

I'm trying out the self publishing.  I got 2 books over at Lulu.  One just recently posted as a short collection of poems for the 2012 Olympics.  May not be many in the book, but all are unique.  You can find link under my page to the book.  Here is the link to your eBook, This 2012 Olympics: Join the Fun and Watch Champions (ID
#13028455): http://www.lulu.com/content/e-book/this-2012-olympics-join-the-fun-and-watch-champions/13028455

and my book:

Here is the link to your Book, This 2012 Olympics: Join the Fun and Watch Champions (ID #13028240): http://www.lulu.com/content/paperback-book/this-2012-olympics-join-the-fun-and-watch-champions/13028240

-Christine E. Jones

 

[Marie Evans]

What's your book about?

I review books on my blog at: http://marieevans1990.blogspot.co.uk/

I don;t have many followers, but I also post my reviews on amazon and goodreads which is now linked to twitter and facebook so more people read my reviews.

[Deana Van Nice]

Marie,

I would love to tell you more about my book and, if you are interested, have you read it. I looked on your site and I like your review style, but I don't see a way to contact you. Let me know so I can email you directly.

[Marie Evans]

Thank you, my email address is marieevans1990 (at) rock (dot) com

[Mark Cherrington]

Hi Marie. I am a new author and if possible would like a review of my first ebook. If possible please email me so that I can send you a copy.

Thanks Marie.

Take care

[Rebekah Campbell]

Hi Deana,

I'm new to the whole blogging thing but I think a lot of people check out the Amazon Reviews before they go ahead and buy a book. Another thing would be to send it out to a lot of different Bloggers who review books, that way a lot of attention would be on your book and you're more likely to come up in a Google search etc.

Visit my site and let me know what your book's all about, I might be able to review for you and add to Goodreads and Amazon? http://reflectivebookworm.blogspot.com

RB

[Deana Van Nice]

RB,

I also checked out your blog, but it came up with an error. Please repost the link so I can take a look. I would be more than happy to have you review for me if we are a good fit. 

[Rebekah Campbell]

Blast! Blogger have emailed to say that they've marked my blog as "spam" so I'm waiting on the review. I'll let you know when it's up and running again?
RB

[Pandora Poikilos]

If your book is enrolled in KDP Select, you can choose the days when you give it away free. Hence, if you time it well enough, you can alert your reviewers to download their copies then. 

If you need a further list of reviewers, I have some here http://www.orangeberrybooktours.com/p/book-reviewers.html

Hope it helps, good luck with your book. 

[Deana Van Nice]

I didn't know about KDP Select and dual published with Amazon and Barnes and Noble, hence I was not eligible. I'll keep it in mind for future works though.

The link is great though, lots of resources there. Thanks for sharing!