Free Books Without the Guilt and Curses

 Most authors will agree there should be a ring in hell for book pirates. Not a fiery ring or anything. We're not that mean. More like a ring in hell where the book pirate has an eternity of red lights and lost keys. Years ago, I had a reader message me that she'd read and loved the first book in the Coulter Men series. I was touched that she took the time to send me positive feedback, so I offered to send her the second book in the series for free. She happily told me not to worry--she got them for free already. 

I asked her for the website she was getting these "free" books. She sent me the link and you guessed it- they were from a pirate website. I told her those sites stole books from authors and often used these "freebies" as ways to sneak trojans and viruses into electronics. I wasn't lying about that. I read it in the pirate ring of hell pamphlet.  

The woman told me she couldn't afford to read all the books she wanted to read. She had a voracious, expensive reading habit. So, I sent her a list of all the many ways to get free books without being cursed by writer's wrath. 

1. Be a reviewer. Writers will not only give you free books, they might throw in their first born, to gain a reliable reviewer. Places like Net Galley and Online Book Club offer books to readers who are willing to post reviews. Reedsy also invites readers to become reviewers for their Discovery blog. 

Or maybe you want to start your own book review blog. Reedsy has an excellent post on that right here. 

The best part about being a reviewer, besides the free stories? Usually, reviewers get the books first, before they are published. 

Your local library. Remember that magical place with the cool stale air that smelled of aging paper and glue? It's still around and probably online offering free eBook lending programs. 

Be a Prime reader. I'm a member of Amazon Prime for the free shipping. At $119 a year, we spend that much on shipping over the holiday season alone, so it's a value for us. The bonus to that is it also comes with FREE reads. Not to be confused with KDP, which offers even more titles for free, there is a catalog of free titles just for Prime members. 

Visit Project Gutenberg. With over 60,000 titles to choose from, there's surely one or two books you've been wanting to cross off you to-read list. All of the titles are no longer under copy right and legally (and ethically) free to share. 

Check the free lists. Most all of the eBook sites offer free books- even if you're not in a paid program. Amazon, Barnes and Noble, Smashwords, and Kobo all offer free books. 

Newsletters and eBook sites. There are a huge variety of websites and mailing lists devoted to sharing eBooks, many of which are free. ManyBooks, BookBub, Digital Book Today and other sites offer lists of free books and they will send you an email notification of newly released free books.

This isn't even a definitive list. Just google FREE BOOKS and you'll get a huge list of free book sites. How can you tell the legit sites from the pirate sites? Look over the site. Legitimate book sites will have places for authors to submit the books they want to share for free. Pirate sites don't have places for authors to contact them. And be warned! Just like pirate music and movie sites, no one is stealing and sharing content as a courtesy from the kindness of their heart. There is something in it for them and that something could be your personal information!  

Legitimate site with Author Services

No Author services offered on this site that was
listed as the top pirating site by Statista.com

\ Image by Clker-Free-Vector-Images from Pixabay

Boost Your Launch By Getting Reader Reviews

Boost Your Launch By Getting Reader Reviews
Services that help authors get seen.

What do I know?

I feel like a fake.   Like I know nothing about writing, despite that, I joined in partnership with another writer, Vanessa Wells, to create themed anthologies.  We formed Stormdance Publications.  It has been a bit scary.  It has been challenging, overwhelming, and rewarding. 

What have I learned?  Here is what comes to mind because it is my current focus.  Getting our books in front of readers and getting reviews, which is important for authors who want their books to keep selling.

One thing I did was to learn how to create arcs in Mobi, ePub, and PDF, from Vanessa’s Word Doc she uses to upload our books to Amazon, using Scrivener. 

That done we now need a way to distribute our ARC’s and get them out to a larger audience if possible, but how?  We have two websites Writer’s Gambit and Stormdance, but that is not enough.  There are Facebook and Twitter, still not enough.  Not ready for Instagram.

No, we have not tried book review sites or podcasts, but that idea is on the table for the future.   We have not even scheduled a blog tour yet.  It's coming.   Our focus right now is "just do".  Do something, try something, experiment, and figure out the process that works best for us as a team.

We are hoping to get 20 reviews on each Grumpy Old Gods volume.  As the reviews build, we plan to experiment a little with paid ads and giveaways, as we can afford it.  We are learning about Amazon’s keywords, categories, and algorithms. 

We are sitting on 15 reviews for Grumpy 1.  We have had more reviews, but Amazon keeps removing them for no good reason, or we would have already hit twenty with the first volume.  Like volume one, Grumpy 2 has had more reviews then what shows.  

Grumpy 3 has two reviews, so far.  We are still working on that one as it just released October 30^th.  I admit I have dropped the ball a little with Grumpy 3.  We are currently working to release Grumpy 4 by the end of November 2019. 

In our pursuit to get reviews, we have tried:  

BOOKSPROUT

For Grumpy 1 we tried Booksprout.  The first 20 downloads are free.  There is no integration of email such as MailerLite, MailChimp, so although it does tell you how many times it has been downloaded up to 20, you cannot connect to your email provider to know who is downloading it or recontact.

I also received two or three emails from people who had problems downloading from Booksprout.  Booksprout was good to let me know about those who contacted about problems and forward their email so I could email them directly. 

I also offered the ARC for review on the Booksprout site because you can do that.  We had one or two takers that way.  I had about 15 downloads on the account I set up and Vanessa had 10 on hers.

I almost forgot.  The first tier plan $20 you get automatic reminders, ebook distribution, unlimited pen names, unlimited arc reviewers, access to reviewer community, private arcs, strong arc freeloader protection, blocks all known pirates, identify & block pirates.  This one is in the running still.  

BOOK FUNNEL

I looked at Book Funnel, but other sites beat their offer in their free plan and their first-tier plans.  I do like Book Funnel.  It is not as economical for what you get for the money as others if money is a huge issue for you.   It’s a nice site.

PROLIFIC WORKS (The old InstaFreebie)

For Grumpy 2 we tried Prolific Works.  I love the revamp and name change.   The free version, Basic, you get unlimited giveaways and distribution (downloads) but no email provider integration.  The next tier of the plan is $20 a month plan.  You get everything in Basic. 

PLUS: You can add subscribers to a mailing list, optional MailerLite or MailChimp integration, Prolific Works acceleration to the right readers, fully customizable giveaways, track giveaway success.   All plans include: Ability to set limits and expiration dates for giveaways, optional DRM, eligible for additional promotions to readers on Prolific Works

As a reader, I like Prolific Works over Book Funnel because they keep track of all the books you have downloaded.  You can see the past books you have downloaded in a bookshelf through their services your account as reader or author.    

I had fewer downloads on this site, about 8, but I was late getting the link out too.  

STORYORIGINS

With Grumpy 3 I found StoryOrigins.  StoryOrigins is in open beta since it is a new platform, so all features are free to everyone for now, including email integration.   I am working on getting our links now, so do not have any numbers to share. 

Yes, I canceled my Prolific Works subscription and went back to their Basic plan for now. 

StoryOrigins offers group promos, newsletter swaps, collect reader email addresses, integrate email service providers, get reviewer history & completion rate, automate review tracking & follow-up, distribute & track audiobook promo codes, unlimited file delivery, tech support for readers, schedule newsletter content, Facebook tracking pixel, and Amazon affiliate tags.  That is quite a bit all free for now.

We are using StoryOrigins for our coming releases.  We have a call for submission out for Grumpy 5, deadline December 1^st with publication in January 2020.  We will post submission calls for Grumpy 6-Love gods and Grumpy 7-Trickster gods at the end of this month November 2019 with the release of Grumpy 4. 

I may also use Booksprout again as well, as we did get several downloads there. Another site I learned about but I have not tried is BookSirens.com similar to Booksprout. 

Getting reviews and getting seen are problems we all face.  Using sites like these make some things easier and gives you exposure to avenues such as newsletter swaps and cross promos with other authors on the site. 

I am not ready for the swaps and cross promos, yet, but I am working my way there. 

How To Score Book Reviews

In the world of indie publishing, nothing gives you street cred like good book reviews. Maybe your blurb simmers with the wit of Oscar Wilde; maybe your cover art provokes spontaneous tears because it’s Rothko levels of sublime. All that’s no substitute for a real, live reader liking your book — and liking it so much they go out of their to share their excitement with the world. For potential ebook buyers, reviews furnish social proof. They show off how popular and vetted your book is and offer insight into the sort of people who liked it, making would-be readers wonder if they might like it too. You might be tempted at this point to buy praise — or start spamming your book’s Amazon page with adulatory sock-puppets. But there’s no need to take shady shortcuts. Instead, just follow these tips, and you’ll be scoring book reviews the ethical way.

1. Define your audience

You know your book from cover to content — after all, you wrote it. But now it’s time to think about how it comes across to people who weren’t around for the writing process. To get the reviewers you deserve, you have to know your audience — there’s no point hawking Louboutins to a shopper looking for soccer cleats, or tempting a would-be tractor-buyer to drive away with a Corvette instead. You can start working at the level of genre: My book is for sci-fi readers. But your thinking will have to get more fine-grained than that. Try to picture your perfect reader: how old they are, what they do when they’re not nose-deep in your book. Most importantly, try to imagine what else they like to read. This step is arguably the most important part of defining your audience: naming your comp titles — books that read comparably to yours — so that fans of those books can become fans of your books. Think hard about how your project fits into the greater publishing ecosystem, and you’ll be able to fine-tune your target audience, going from “sci-fi fans” to, say, “YA readers interested in works of Afrofuturism with a strong female lead.”

2. Identify the right reviewers — and pitch them

You’ve got a strong sense of your audience. Now it’s time to target the subset of that audience able to furnish you with glowing reviews — the ones who run the book blogs. First, do a sweep through a directory of book reviewer blogs, keeping an eye peeled for those that seem to fit into your niche. Next, think about your comp titles and track down where those books were reviewed. To streamline this process, you can also try submitting to a service like Reedsy Discovery, a book-marketing platform that shops your book out to reviewers for you. Now you’ve got a list of promising reviewers who A) work in your genre and B) have a demonstrated preference for works like yours. At this point, you’re ready to make contact with reviewers and pitch them your book. Make sure to look over each blogger’s policy to make sure you’re contacting them the right way — for instance, not cold-emailing them when they want you to fill out a form. Make sure to customize your pitch for each reviewer — the last thing you want is to sound spammy or boilerplate. Reference their past reviews to demonstrate that they’re more than just a faceless source of free publicity to you, and pull out those comp titles to prove you’ve done your homework on the market.

3 Draw them in with giveaways

Giving your book away for free can be a great way to get more readers lining up for it, trailing reviews in their wake. Luckily, Goodreads makes it easy to list a giveaway, and the data says it pays: according to book marketer Thomas Umstattd, 750 people enter the average Goodreads giveaway, and 45% of the lucky winners end up leaving a review for their prize. By doing a giveaway, you’ll be generating much-needed buzz: even bookworms who don’t win a copy are now more likely to add your book to their bookshelves. If Goodreads isn’t your scene, you can also offer your book through LibraryThing — their Member Giveaway interface gives you a real-time look at exactly how many users are making requests for it. You can also use freebies as reader magnets to, well, draw readers in and start building a fanbase. If you’ve got an entire series in the pipeline, for example, consider making the first installment perma-free in exchange for emails — and be sure to put a note in the back matter asking readers to leave a comment on your book’s Amazon page. Because they didn't have to give up a cent, they’ll be that much more willing to pay you with their time, offering glowing — or at least, honest — reviews.

Why Getting Great Reviews Is Your Job - Carolyn Howard-Johnson

Today we have the honor of hosting a special excerpt from Carolyn Howard-Johnson's new book. Getting great book reviews is something we all want to know how to do, right? Well, Carolyn is here to tell us why it's our job to get them.

Take it away, Carolyn!

**Excerpted from Carolyn’s new How To Get Great Book Reviews Frugally and Ethically: The ins and outs of using free reviews to build and sustain a writing career

Amazon

You need this article! Here’s why:

In spite of a contract or even an advance your publisher may not be a true publisher. True publishing includes the marketing of a book, Think big names like HarperCollins, Knopf, and Writers’ Digest, the publisher of Nina Amir’s new Creative Visualization. They assign a marketing budget to your book and an actual marketing department complete with actual human-type marketers who are trained in the specialized field of not just marketing, but marketing books. Except for those who write only for pleasure, there is no reason to publish a book that doesn’t get read.

The sad part is: Even those big publishers need the authors’ help. There is no free lunch when it comes to the marketing of a book—including the getting of reviews.

Some publishers—even traditional publishers—may not respect tradition, be uncooperative or goof. One of my writing critique partners was published with a fine press. When she learned they had not sent advance review copies of her literary novel to the most prestigious review journals before their strict sixteen-week deadline, she was naturally upset. They explained it was a snafu that could not be fixed. That was no comfort at all. It did help her to know that because thousands of galleys sent to the important review publications lie fallow in slush piles, the chances of having a book reviewed by a major journal—even one published traditionally let alone getting a glowing review—is remote. Because she had me to nag her, she moved on to alternative marketing and review-getting strategies found in Chapter Six of this book. Using those methods, she was still able to schedule several major bookstore appearances that tend to favor established names and rely on big-journal reviews in their decision-making process. Nevertheless, it’s not the kind of loss any author wants to face.

These days most small publishers have no marketing department—or marketing plan. In fact, many admit that when it comes to marketing, you are on your own. No offense, publishers. I know many of you do a terrific job considering the profit margin in publishing these days. Let’s face it, you can use help, and you don’t need to deal with disappointed (irate?) authors. And, authors! We are ultimately responsible for our own careers. Sometimes when we wait to take responsibility, it is too late in the publishing game.

Some publishers charge the author an additional or separate fee for marketing. Many who offer marketing packages do not offer a review-getting package. If they do, the review their authors get is a paid-for review, which is definitely not the route you want to go. More on that later in this chapter.

Many publishers do not even have lists of people to contact who might help your marketing with endorsements or reviews. Further, many big publishers are relying on bloggers for their review process more and more as print journals and newspaper book sections shrink or disappear and as they begin to understand that grassroots publicity—reviews or otherwise—can produce a very green crop. And bloggers? Well, that’s a resource pool you can easily plumb yourself.

My first publisher supplied review copies only upon written request from individual reviewers. They did not honor requests generated by their authors’ initiatives. This meant that I could not count on them to supply books to reviewers I had successfully queried for a review. Unless the reviewer accepted e-copies (and many reviewers don’t!), I had to order copiesdirectly from the publisher and then reship them to my reviewers. This method is slow, cumbersome, unnecessarily expensive, unprofessional, and discourages authors from trying to get reviews on their own.

Publishers should offer review copies to a list of reviewers—even unestablished grassroots bloggers—who have been responsive to their authors in the past. And they certainly should not charge an author for review copies. Publishers have a profit margin and publicity obtained by their authors (including reviews) affects their bottom line, too. They should send their author a thank you (or a red rose!) along with encouragement to keep up the good work

Publishers should also market their books. That means that even if they are too small or underfunded to have a marketing department, they should have a list of reviewers to query for reviews, a list of influential people to provide blurbs for your cover, access to book cover designers (not just great graphic designers) who know what sells books, and a whole lot more. Ask potential publishers about their marketing process before you sign, but—even if you feel assured after having that conversation—it’s best to assume you may be on your own.

And here’s more: Big publishers are relying on bloggers for their review process as print journals and newspaper book sections shrink or disappear and as they begin to understand that grassroots publicity—reviews or otherwise—can produce a very green crop. Bloggers, you say? Well, that’s a resource pool you can easily plumb yourself

So, the marketing part of your book that includes finding the right reviewers to read and comment on your book will—in most cases—be up to you and well within your skill set after reading this book. And even when you have the luxury of a marketing department behind you, those authors who know how to get reviews on their own can keep a book alive for an infinite amount of time after their publishers relegate their books to a backlist or their contract expires. 

Note: If it is too late to apply this information to the process you use in choosing a publisher, tactfully take hold and guide the publisher you have through the review process. There are lots of ways to do that in this book. I love Nike’s advice to “Just do it!” only I add “yourself” to the motto. Many publishers are in your employ. You may be paying them for services. At the very least, when your book sells, it makes money for the publisher. You don’t have to ask for permission (though it never hurts to listen to their reasoning before you make a decision).

Carolyn Howard-Johnson brings her experience as a publicist, journalist, marketer, and retailer to the advice she gives in her HowToDoItFrugally series of books for writers and the many classes she taught for nearly a decade as instructor for UCLA Extension’s world-renown Writers’ Program. The books in her HowToDoItFrugally Series of books for writers have won multiple awards. That series includes both the first and second editions ofThe Frugal Book Promoter and The Frugal Editor won awards from USA Book News, Readers’ Views Literary Award, the marketing award from Next Generation Indie Books and others including the coveted Irwin award. Her next book in the HowToDoItFrugally series for writers will be How To Get Great Book Reviews Frugally and Ethically.

Multi award-winning novelist, poet, and author of the HowToDoItFrugally Series of books for writers.

Web site: http://HowToDoItFrugally.com

Blog:http://SharingwithWriters.blogspot.com

Twitter: @FrugalBookPromo

Facebook:http://facebook.com/carolynhowardjohnson

Amazon Profile:http://bit.ly/CarolynsAmznProfile

E-mail: hojonews@aol.com

Thank you for sharing your insight on book reviews and how to get them, Carolyn!

Please leave Carolyn a comment. :)

Book Reviews ... Your Thing or Not?

I  dare say that many person who write, came to it though reading. As far back as I can remember, books have been a part of my existence. My mother fed this part of my life by keeping me supplied with age-appropriate material.  At school, I was a regular visitor to the library and after that came the shared material from friends who also liked to read. This is where my reading material got interesting, with romance novels being added to my list of favourites. 

Until a few years ago, the only way I shared information about good stories was by word of mouth, which limited me to the people in my immediate circle. Being published widened this circle tremendously. Among the blogs I opened was one for book reviews. My intention with that was to share my thoughts about the books I’d read. Soon, I was flooded with requests for book reviews. Only then, did I begin to understand the importance of reviews to authors. 

I’ve found that readers rush to review books by super-popular writers but won’t necessarily write reviews for unknowns. I’ve also realized that misery loves company and some readers will leave negative, but nonconstructive reviews that cannon help the writer to figure out where they went off-track.

On my part, I try to review most of the books I read.  As a reader, I understand how reviews may influence other readers’ purchasing decision. As a writer, I know they help get the word out on a good story. When I don’t leave a review it is usually because I don’t have time or can’t find many positives about the story and/or the way it is written. 

One interesting thing I’ve discovered in that some readers are intimidated at the thought of writing a review. It’s not a test, so the important factors are to state what you liked about the story, what worked for you and what didn’t, and how these things made you feel – and your assessment doesn’t have to be more than a few sentences long. What a review shouldn’t be is a reader rehashing the story or attacking the writer.

Do you get the sweats at the thought of writing a review? How often do you write them? What prevents you from leaving a book review?
  


This week Wednesday will be post day for the IWSG. The purpose of the group is to share and encourage. Writers can express doubts and concerns without fear of appearing foolish or weak. Those who have been through the fire can offer assistance and guidance. It’s a safe haven for insecure writers of all kinds! Sign up on the linky and remember to post this Wednesday!