David Meredith's Blog - Posts Tagged "tips"
Scoring Reviews and Getting Noticed - One author's take on how to get started
As the sweltering days of summer slowly stream by and I draw ever nearer to the one-year anniversery of my self-publishing debut, I find myself in the mood to ruminate on the successes and failures of the last year or so. Thankfully, the successes far outnumber the failures. My novel, The Reflections of Queen Snow White, has sold nearly 300 copies and has over 100 mostly positive reviews on Goodreads. In the process of achieving these results, I feel like I've picked up some helpful pointers, policies, and approaches to keep in mind in getting bloggers (and more importantly their dozens, hundreds, or thousands of followers) to notice you. I hope these will help other new authors get started effectively in promoting their work
The first thing that I can't help but notice on Goodreads is literally HUNDREDS of Group posts asking for reviews by aspiring authors. In general, these might be helpful in setting up review exchanges with other authors, but usually not so much in attracting bloggers whose promotion you really need to let the reading public know about your work. One thing I'll suggest to get better results is not to just post requests in groups.
For one thing, your request tends to get lost in a deluge of other people reqesting exactly the same thing. It has been my experience that few serious bloggers with good followings who can really help your work out even glance at those posts. In general, they respond much better to personalized requests. Most book blogs will have a submission requirements/policy/ or some other similar kind of contact tab on their blog. They will then either provide you with a contact e-mail address or review request form to fill out. If you have a professionally toned review request letter template (including a short paragraph explaining who you are, why you are contacting them and asking cordially for a review, a two - three paragraph synopsis of your work, and links to your web platform [home page, Facebook, Goodreads, Twitter, Linked-In, etc.])that you can tweak a little for each individual blogger's tastes, policies, and preferences, you will get a lot more positive responses.
Also, the most successful bloggers are REALLY overwhelmed by review requests. Those who are the most popular, best established, with the largest number of subscribers (and thus the most helpful to you and your novel) will be reluctant to commit their valuable time to a book or author that they don't know, has no web presence, and/or has very few Amazon/Goodreads reviews already. Therefore, rather than just do a Google search for book blogs, an exceptionally good way to utilize Goodreads Groups to get started is to go through the streams not for writers, but rather for new bloggers (they tend to be titled things like "Follow for Follow", "Like for Like!", "Looking to make new blogger friends" or something similar.) Most of these posts contain links to their blog which in turn can get you their review policy and contact information or you can just send them a personalized goodreads message (not a group post). New bloggers are much more willing to look at a new author's work and ASSUMING your writing is good, a few dozen positive Goodreads reviews can really open doors to the more popular blogs with hundreds or thousands of subscribers.
Next, it may seem like common sense, but BE CORDIAL!!! Even if you get what sounds like a snotty rejection, don't respond. If you get a bad review, even if you feel it is unfair, don't attack the reviewer. At most you should never do anything more than write a short e-mail response thanking the reviewer for their time. Just because they didn't like one thing you wrote doesn't mean that they won't like something else. There's no need to burn bridges just because you are angry. Also, bloggers talk to each other. If you get a reputation as a ranter, a complainer, and someone unpleasant to work with, it will really hurt your ability to get other bloggers to review your writing in the future. Most bloggers review books as a hobby, so they have no motivation or desire to work with authors who attack them.
Finally, one last tip. Bloggers have a high burnout rate. Avoid wasting time on Orphaned Blogs by always checking the date of the most recent post. If it has been more than a month or two since the blogger last posted anything, the likelyhood of that blogger reading your work is pretty low.
I hope you find this helpful and wish you much success. Good luck to all of you in the promotion of your writing. Until next time!
The first thing that I can't help but notice on Goodreads is literally HUNDREDS of Group posts asking for reviews by aspiring authors. In general, these might be helpful in setting up review exchanges with other authors, but usually not so much in attracting bloggers whose promotion you really need to let the reading public know about your work. One thing I'll suggest to get better results is not to just post requests in groups.
For one thing, your request tends to get lost in a deluge of other people reqesting exactly the same thing. It has been my experience that few serious bloggers with good followings who can really help your work out even glance at those posts. In general, they respond much better to personalized requests. Most book blogs will have a submission requirements/policy/ or some other similar kind of contact tab on their blog. They will then either provide you with a contact e-mail address or review request form to fill out. If you have a professionally toned review request letter template (including a short paragraph explaining who you are, why you are contacting them and asking cordially for a review, a two - three paragraph synopsis of your work, and links to your web platform [home page, Facebook, Goodreads, Twitter, Linked-In, etc.])that you can tweak a little for each individual blogger's tastes, policies, and preferences, you will get a lot more positive responses.
Also, the most successful bloggers are REALLY overwhelmed by review requests. Those who are the most popular, best established, with the largest number of subscribers (and thus the most helpful to you and your novel) will be reluctant to commit their valuable time to a book or author that they don't know, has no web presence, and/or has very few Amazon/Goodreads reviews already. Therefore, rather than just do a Google search for book blogs, an exceptionally good way to utilize Goodreads Groups to get started is to go through the streams not for writers, but rather for new bloggers (they tend to be titled things like "Follow for Follow", "Like for Like!", "Looking to make new blogger friends" or something similar.) Most of these posts contain links to their blog which in turn can get you their review policy and contact information or you can just send them a personalized goodreads message (not a group post). New bloggers are much more willing to look at a new author's work and ASSUMING your writing is good, a few dozen positive Goodreads reviews can really open doors to the more popular blogs with hundreds or thousands of subscribers.
Next, it may seem like common sense, but BE CORDIAL!!! Even if you get what sounds like a snotty rejection, don't respond. If you get a bad review, even if you feel it is unfair, don't attack the reviewer. At most you should never do anything more than write a short e-mail response thanking the reviewer for their time. Just because they didn't like one thing you wrote doesn't mean that they won't like something else. There's no need to burn bridges just because you are angry. Also, bloggers talk to each other. If you get a reputation as a ranter, a complainer, and someone unpleasant to work with, it will really hurt your ability to get other bloggers to review your writing in the future. Most bloggers review books as a hobby, so they have no motivation or desire to work with authors who attack them.
Finally, one last tip. Bloggers have a high burnout rate. Avoid wasting time on Orphaned Blogs by always checking the date of the most recent post. If it has been more than a month or two since the blogger last posted anything, the likelyhood of that blogger reading your work is pretty low.
I hope you find this helpful and wish you much success. Good luck to all of you in the promotion of your writing. Until next time!
How to Find the Perfect (CHEAP) Art For Your Book Cover
You can’t tell a book by its cover… But most people DO!
Let’s face it, cover art is important. Especially as a new author, if you have a blah book cover you might be dooming your masterpiece to obscurity before potential readers have perused so much as the acknowledgements. Cover art is the very first thing that readers see. It’s the thing that determines whether or not they pick your novel up off of the shelf or click the enlarge button on the website. It is the first, greatest hook. It can also be incredibly expensive.
There is no shortage of sites that offer the whole package. “We’ll let you choose your cover art from over X000 selections and do all of the cover design for you! You can also sign up for our ultra-super-mega-primo promotional plan for an additional fee, so all you have to do is sit back and wait for the money to start rolling in!” they cry in big, bold print, “Millions of satisfied customers!” Unfortunately, even with thousands of prefab choices, your book cover will still be just that, a slightly tweaked, prefab template that will be incredibly similar to dozens if not hundreds of other books by authors who also used the same service. Most of these promotions don’t come anywhere close to delivering everything they promise and these too can be quite pricey, so what’s an aspiring author to do?
Well, of course the easy answer is to use and abuse your friends. If you have friends who are talented artists and are willing to help you, they can be an excellent resource. Be sure you explore every option and connection you might have among your friends, acquaintances and professional contacts. Be assured that other authors competing with you for readers are absolutely doing the same.
However, this is not always a viable option. Maybe you aren’t best buds with a budding Monet or Rembrandt. What then?
This is the dilemma in which I found myself when I was trying to get my debut novel, The Reflections of Queen Snow White, ready for publication. The first thing I did was go online and hunt for some art that I thought appropriately represented my concept. The actual site I went to was Elfwood.com, but there are other sites where budding, young artists can post their work (Deviant Art, is another major site for artists, but you can find a more exhaustive list here: http://www.website-creations.org/our%...). Now first of all, let me be clear – YOU CAN’T JUST GO ON THESE SITES AND STEAL ART!!! However, what you can do (what I incidentally DID do) is search for already completed art that is the same subject/theme that you are looking for and then contact the artist about acquiring the rights to use his/her work for your cover and promotions. Most artists are pretty open to making a deal with you, I’ve found.
Sometimes you can get artwork for free in exchange for just mentioning the author’s name and website/contact information in the acknowledgements of your novel (artists, just like authors, are struggling for recognition and exposure - anything that helps get their work in front of more eyeballs is a benefit to them and this is essentially free advertising), but more than likely they will ask you to pay something. However, what you will have to pay for rights to an already completed work (with perhaps a little haggling) will undoubtedly be MUCH cheaper than what you would have to pay for a commissioned piece. (Even among relatively unknown artists of any ability or talent a commissioned piece can run anywhere from $500-$800, and better established artists can charge MUCH more.) Artists posting their work on these sites are generally on these sites because they are new and emerging artists. They expressly want to gain as much attention for their work as they can and every book you sell, every review site that you are featured upon, will be that many more people who see it. Most artists don’t mind scoring a little quick cash either and you buying the rights to a piece of art they’ve already completed is essentially free money for them. They don’t have to make anything new. All they really have to do is draw up a quick half page contract detailing the price and exactly how you are allowed to use their work and then e-mail you a high definition electronic copy - easy for them, cheap for you.
So how can you be sure that you get exactly what you want? Well, I suppose the short answer is that you can’t really, but you can get pretty darn close. Something to keep in mind is that there is an AWFUL lot of art out there. Especially if you are willing to put some time into a thorough search, it is highly likely that someone somewhere has painted or sketched your basic concept already. Of course, having said that, much like self-published novels, there will be a great deal of mediocre tripe that you have to struggle through to discover the gems. A lot of the art you will find will be flat out garbage, but if you are open to doing some digging you can really save yourself a lot of money and still score some quality cover art for your book. I feel like mine turned out pretty well.
In any case, good luck to all of you in your writing/promoting endeavors and I hope I’ve helped shed a little more light on this one challenging area of self-publishing. Until next time!
(P.S.: If you are interested, the artist I dealt with for the above cover was Matt Hughes who operates out of Atlanta, GA. You can find more of his work at http://www.matthughesart.com/)
Let’s face it, cover art is important. Especially as a new author, if you have a blah book cover you might be dooming your masterpiece to obscurity before potential readers have perused so much as the acknowledgements. Cover art is the very first thing that readers see. It’s the thing that determines whether or not they pick your novel up off of the shelf or click the enlarge button on the website. It is the first, greatest hook. It can also be incredibly expensive.
There is no shortage of sites that offer the whole package. “We’ll let you choose your cover art from over X000 selections and do all of the cover design for you! You can also sign up for our ultra-super-mega-primo promotional plan for an additional fee, so all you have to do is sit back and wait for the money to start rolling in!” they cry in big, bold print, “Millions of satisfied customers!” Unfortunately, even with thousands of prefab choices, your book cover will still be just that, a slightly tweaked, prefab template that will be incredibly similar to dozens if not hundreds of other books by authors who also used the same service. Most of these promotions don’t come anywhere close to delivering everything they promise and these too can be quite pricey, so what’s an aspiring author to do?
Well, of course the easy answer is to use and abuse your friends. If you have friends who are talented artists and are willing to help you, they can be an excellent resource. Be sure you explore every option and connection you might have among your friends, acquaintances and professional contacts. Be assured that other authors competing with you for readers are absolutely doing the same.
However, this is not always a viable option. Maybe you aren’t best buds with a budding Monet or Rembrandt. What then?
This is the dilemma in which I found myself when I was trying to get my debut novel, The Reflections of Queen Snow White, ready for publication. The first thing I did was go online and hunt for some art that I thought appropriately represented my concept. The actual site I went to was Elfwood.com, but there are other sites where budding, young artists can post their work (Deviant Art, is another major site for artists, but you can find a more exhaustive list here: http://www.website-creations.org/our%...). Now first of all, let me be clear – YOU CAN’T JUST GO ON THESE SITES AND STEAL ART!!! However, what you can do (what I incidentally DID do) is search for already completed art that is the same subject/theme that you are looking for and then contact the artist about acquiring the rights to use his/her work for your cover and promotions. Most artists are pretty open to making a deal with you, I’ve found.
Sometimes you can get artwork for free in exchange for just mentioning the author’s name and website/contact information in the acknowledgements of your novel (artists, just like authors, are struggling for recognition and exposure - anything that helps get their work in front of more eyeballs is a benefit to them and this is essentially free advertising), but more than likely they will ask you to pay something. However, what you will have to pay for rights to an already completed work (with perhaps a little haggling) will undoubtedly be MUCH cheaper than what you would have to pay for a commissioned piece. (Even among relatively unknown artists of any ability or talent a commissioned piece can run anywhere from $500-$800, and better established artists can charge MUCH more.) Artists posting their work on these sites are generally on these sites because they are new and emerging artists. They expressly want to gain as much attention for their work as they can and every book you sell, every review site that you are featured upon, will be that many more people who see it. Most artists don’t mind scoring a little quick cash either and you buying the rights to a piece of art they’ve already completed is essentially free money for them. They don’t have to make anything new. All they really have to do is draw up a quick half page contract detailing the price and exactly how you are allowed to use their work and then e-mail you a high definition electronic copy - easy for them, cheap for you.
So how can you be sure that you get exactly what you want? Well, I suppose the short answer is that you can’t really, but you can get pretty darn close. Something to keep in mind is that there is an AWFUL lot of art out there. Especially if you are willing to put some time into a thorough search, it is highly likely that someone somewhere has painted or sketched your basic concept already. Of course, having said that, much like self-published novels, there will be a great deal of mediocre tripe that you have to struggle through to discover the gems. A lot of the art you will find will be flat out garbage, but if you are open to doing some digging you can really save yourself a lot of money and still score some quality cover art for your book. I feel like mine turned out pretty well.
In any case, good luck to all of you in your writing/promoting endeavors and I hope I’ve helped shed a little more light on this one challenging area of self-publishing. Until next time!
(P.S.: If you are interested, the artist I dealt with for the above cover was Matt Hughes who operates out of Atlanta, GA. You can find more of his work at http://www.matthughesart.com/)
