'Read and Review'

This is a new initiative by The Choosy Bookworm. They have a nice daily newsletter with books you might be interested in – and for authors and readers alike, they have their ‘Read and Review’ program.

It works like this: Authors who’d like publicity for their books buy a listing in the newsletter. So far, nothing revolutionary. But if we’re willing to give away 25 free copies of our book, we can apply for it to be tagged ‘R&R’. If Choosy Bookworm accepts it into their program, the first 25 people to express interest will be sent a copy, and in return they post a review (and to keep things fair they acknowledge they received a free book in exchange for their honest review.)

This is no different from sending copies to book bloggers, but the 'R&R' reviews have a lovely freshness about them. They’re obviously written by ‘real people’. Two of my volunteers were so keen to get a book they mis-spelled their email addresses, but we got those sorted!

I’ve been sending the free copies in the form of Amazon gift vouchers. This means they’re costing me the price of the book each time. On the flipside, they’re counted as sales to me, so I get my normal royalty back and the sales help the ranking of the book. So… about a buck a time.