Carole’s Comments (group member since Oct 19, 2016)

Carole’s comments from the Navigating Indieworld Discussing All Things Indie group.

Cute!! Love that couple.

Great article ,Dale

I did it. But I was always shocked when I got a reaction

You nailed the whole thing Anna- I can't abide-" This person is a queue-jumper."

Sometimes it's in the appeal- Like this psychologist wrote to me about his book on anxiety. I ran and bought it- I wanted to review that. it felt like an important book and I could name five people in my orbit I wanted to read that book. It was terrific.
Other times- the tone of smugness bothers me- I built up many people on my mailing list by doing this- I sent out letters for all of our genres- You must have figured out Michael hates doing this end of the business- lol.

I actually liked this letter- it did push all the right buttons- but I have so many others in line- I did push it to the side. However- now I suggest they get on our threads.

As fingers, we don't have much strength- but as a hand, we can be powerful.

I learned you have to use the best resources- Julie used to do Facebook "things" (for my son- that was always the books we pushed)- were they takeovers? I never paid attention- that was her department.

He's got a decent fanbase- and most of the people he connected with- joined his mailing base and write reviews. I dunno- I have to do something- all my old methods are not working so well.

Jerry Seinfeld- Elaine- says it- Did you watch the show?

I think I have all the shows memorized. My brother did stand up with them and they named one of the characters in the early show after him.

I got it and laughed.

I used to read everything- then after the fourth year, I started hitting delete. I maybe read one in twenty that come in- Usually- it's the way they write the letter.

I used to write those letters for my son and I developed a huge mailing list. Things have changed. Amazon is deleting reviews now- they almost deleted all of mine. I read books I buy- but that's me.
When I wrote my query years ago- I wrote one line and never asked for a review. I just offered to send them the book- my question is- is this a viable way to get reviews anymore- or do we let them grow organically?

Okay- I'm going to see if I can do this- Any horror writers out there who want to participate in a takeover? I'm going to have Brit call you tomorrow 'cause I don't understand any of this lol.

I don't know where to start!! I know another author who does them- she's developed a huge following.

Dear Carole,

Hello! xxxxxx here contacting you from Cleveland, Ohio. Thank you for reading this email. I’m sure you probably get a dozen requests a day, so my hat’s off to you. We authors couldn’t do our jobs without you. I appreciate it.

I’m a dark fiction/supernatural author who writes cross-genre stories. I’m also a member of the Horror Writers Association (HWA), although my stories only dip a claw or three into that stream from time to time. I teach by day and write by candle light… when the power’s out.

As you’ve probably guessed, I’d love to get a book into your literary hands. I noticed that you reviewed The Ghost Files and thought my new release xxxxxx would be right up your alley. It’s a supernatural mystery trilogy I just finished, but let’s not get ahead of ourselves. If you have the time and inclination, start with the first and see where it goes… if it’s your cup of tea, etc. Now, you’re probably asking yourself, what makes this one different?

I’ll tell you… I hate books with two-dimensional characters you can’t connect with. I’ve taught writing for the last 11 years and honed my craft. As a result, book 1 is a coming-of-age story with heart. One thing readers rave about with this trilogy is how they love the characters and how they love to hate the villains. Here’s a description:

Ghosts are speaking to Alex, but can he bring them justice? Alex has a checkered past, a broken home, and a surprising psychic ability. But who will believe a troubled teen, especially when murders implicate the town’s founding family? For a powerful supernatural trilogy fraught with adventure and emotion, heed the call. Ghosts are speaking, and they want answers.



Here’s the link if you’d like to read the full description and previous reviews: xxxxxx



If you’re available, I’d love for you to read and review the book. It's free on Kindle Unlimited, or I can send you a copy. Just let me know. Unlike my main character, I can’t hear beyond the grave, time or space, so shoot me an email. It would make my day, and I'm interested to hear what you think about xxxxx.

In the past week or so, I've gotten about four or five requests like this a day. I figure it's because he's seen my review of the book he's mentioned and saw that I am ranked as a top reviewer.

He put a lot of thought in his letter. It's one of the better ones- I should tell him he can't ask for a review but I'm so tired of repeating it. I always invite these people here to meet all of you and learn from the best.

What are your thoughts on this method of getting reviews? Does it work for you?

My question is- does it date a book. Make it hard for the next generation to follow if they don't know who someone like Jerry Seinfeld is?

Not only that- it builds your base of followers- that means reviews. It's one of the only ways left to get reviews.

I would like to learn how to do this. I slashed our Facebook budget and am slow to get new followers. Combined with all mine and my kid's pages we have close to 40,000 followers.
I think that's a sizable community and I don't have a problem sharing them if it helps sell our books.

Thanks, he has them participating in a show like "The Voice"- but his invention.

so cute!! Numm, yum, yum.

My son is writing and put some current celebrities - is that a mistake?

What worked for you?

Someone just wrote me and said they were coming into a small windfall- where should they invest it to promote their book?

I suggested Bargain Booksy- I had some great results for my son's books- The jumped into single and double-digit ratings in their genre- what about you?

Looks like a good book, Dennis.