Sending PDF files to bloggers for review

[Irina Shapiro]

So, I was talking to a friend of mine yesterday, and she mentioned that a PDF of a popular book is circlulating online, making it unnecessary for people to buy it.  I've heard of this happening before, and began to wonder, how safe it is to send PDF's of your work to bloggers.  Sure, everyone assures you that the document will be deleted after it's read, but there is no way to check that it's not forwarded to a third party.  So, here is my question.  Is it safe to send PDF files to bloggers for review?

Irina Shapiro

www.irinashapiro.com

http://www.facebook.com/pages/Irina-Shapiro/307374895948375

[Irina Shapiro]

I totally agree.  I have used Amazon's KDP and the free promotions certainly helped.  Obscurity is not the desirable outcome!

[C.B. Haight]

I have to agree with you. Obscurity has no benefit. I say take the precautions that you can then remember you write because you love to, not because it will bring in money. Sometimes you can profit, but only after people know who you are and you have a few books under your belt. The best thing to sell your book is your book itself. When people talk about it word spreads. I know that after someone released Stephanie Myer's doc of a possible rewrite of Twilight people wanted more and were begging for it. While the practice is dishonest and I in no way condone it, I also understand that there is no way to really curb piracy completely. I figure I will take any benefit I can in the meantime. There are more honest people than dishonest and those people will buy your book especially if they like what they are hearing.

[Grace Elliot]

I echo that.

Obscurity is a far greater threat than piracy. (Famous last words??)

 

[Irina Shapiro]

Well, here is to us creating our own destiny and escaping the the clutches of obscurity and mediocrity!

[Trudean Wright]

It's a risk we all take and we put our trust in bloggers not to misuse works we send to them.

[C. M. Albrecht]

When permitted, I send pdf copies to potential reviewers. With a pdf copy a reviewer is unlikely to make changes — inadvertently or otherwise  — to the content. As to copying, hey, if they copy and give away a few free copies, what the hey! If I was trying to get rich I'd have started Microsoft.

[Shay Fish]

In defense of bloggers, I've seen bloggers doing giveaways on their blogs of eARC's. Usually, within the first comment, someone asks if they've gotten permission from the author. I've never been asked by another blogger if I would forward an eARC and I've never asked another blogger to do it. If I see an eARC of a book on a blog and I'm interested in it, I either request it from NetGalley or I contact the author directly. I really do think that the vast majority of bloggers do behave ethically.

[The Romance Reviewer]

Speaking as a reviewer that receives many pdfs, I know that I've never even thought about sending it to others. Many reviewers feel like they've earned a name out there if authors are coming to them for a review, and many are not going to go against the author's trust and give out copies of the pdf to other people. Many reviewers feel that if others want to read a book, they either go out and write a review of it themselves, or buy the book. Or else what would the blogger and author's hard work be for?

Many people out there really just want to review, so I'm pretty positive you can trust them :)