New to Posting

[Leslie Wright]

I am new to posting and since I will be reviewing books I am wondering if you let me know how you get the books that you review. I will be reviewing older books and I have many in my library, but I would also like to get copies of books prior to them being released. Do you contact the publishers or is there a site where you sign up. Any help would be greatly appreciated. I am also looking for ideas on how to get followers on my site as it is new.

 

Thanks

 

hhtp//www.wrighton-time.blogspot.com

 

[Marty Shaw]

Hi Leslie. Welcome to the world of book blogging :o)

While not the only way to go about getting books, this is what I did to get the ball rolling, and different genres might yield different results.
* Set up an area on your blog letting authors and publishers know that you're accepting books to review.
* Visit author sites and see what books are coming out in the future and send an email requesting a review copy in exchange for posting a review (this step gets easier as your number of posted reviews increase).
* Contact publishers to request review copies.

At this time, I've only requested one book from a publisher (Chronicles of Nick by Sherrylin Kenyon); most of the others came from either me contacting the author directly or having the author email me and request a review...and that part is still exciting :o) It takes a while to get the ball rolling so patience is required.

For Followers, the best way to get started is to just go around the blogosphere and make yourself known. Stop by other book blogs and say hi, comment on other bloggers posts, and participate in forums like this one. Make sure you don't just spam people - don't just leave a comment saying 'hi, visit my blog', make a comment that actually shows that you read the other person's blog.

As you circulate around the web and keep creating interesting content, people will start to find you on their own.

Hope some of this helps you out.

-Marty

[Leslie Wright]

Thank you Marty, what a great response. I appreciate your help.
Thanks,
Leslie

[Chelle]

I have three articles on marketing your Book Blog aimed at how to get more followers. Part one: Understanding Your Visitors Part Two: Making Your Blog Visible Post Three: Branding or Making Your Mark

As far as getting books, I use the library and intra-library loans. Otherwise I buy most of them. It's not completely unheard of to email a publisher about a book you want to review. I would reccomend building up your followers and daily hits (if you haven't done so already) before you pitch a publisher/author for a free book. Good luck!

[Leslie Wright]

Thank you Chelle,
Any help I can get is greatly appreciated. I will check out your articles.
Leslie

[Karen Burgess]

I get mine from the library, buy them, or get them from friends. I'm only interested in reviewing books I want to read!

[Mark Whiteway]

Hi Leslie,

I don't know what genres you are interested in, but I write speculative SciFi. Here is a link to my page on authorsden, where you will find a synopsis and an excerpt.

http://www.authorsden.com/visit/viewwork.asp?AuthorID=115824&id...

Book Two of the Lodestone Saga is at the printers and is due out shortly. If you feel you might be interested in reading and reviewing my work, please let me know.

Mark Whiteway - Author of the Lodestone Series

[Leslie Wright]

Hi Mark,
I do enjoy Sci Fi, the the imagery and abilities of the characters from your excerpt are very unique in a venue where only the best imaginations seem to shine. If you like my style of writing or would care for me to review your book I would be happy to oblige. Thank you for your post
hhtp://www.Wrighton-time.com

[Mark Whiteway]

Hi Leslie,

Sorry, the link you provided doesn't seem to be working for some reason. I would like just to read something (anything) you have written previously, if that's O.K. My email address is [e-mail].

You would also need to let me know whether you you would like to have the book as a pdf attachment or whether you would prefer a hard copy. If the latter, then I will need an address to send it to.

I look forward to hearing from you!

Mark Whiteway .

[Leslie Wright]

Hi Mark,
Would you try the link from my origial question. I am not sure why the link I included did not work. Great to hear from you, also I prefer hard copy but am very open to what works for you at this time.
If the link above does not work for you let me know.
Thanks,

[Mark Whiteway]

Leslie,

I tried again but keep getting the same error message:-

"500 Error - Web Site is Temporarily Unavailable
The server is temporarily unable to service your request due to maintenance downtime or capacity problems

Please try again later."

If the address you quoted is correct, then maybe you have a server problem?

Let me know, O.K.?

Mark Whiteway

[Leslie Wright]

Hi Mark,
I would imagine it was down as I am working on it. Done at this time, so try again if not availble this time, You could be correct although I did just get a new follower so hope it is only because I was updating.

[Mark Whiteway]

Hi Leslie,

Still no joy on accessingyour blog site, I'm afraid. Not sure why. Have you posted any reviews on amazon I could look at?

Mark Whiteway