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IndieGalley - The Indie Alternative to Netgalley
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I'll check this out. Thanks for the opportunity!
Danielle,This sounds like a great idea!
For books that are already for sale, is there any way to limit the number of reviewer copies distributed?
My thought is that if the book is already on sale, then Amazon would view it as the author making the book available to the public for free. They would then not allow the author to sell the book on their site for a price. If the book was being made available to a small, limited number of reviewers (not the general public) then it should be allowable.
If the book isn't for sale yet, then there should not be any difficulty selling a later revised (proofed) final version as far as Amazon goes. Although some authors may still want to release limited reviewer copies to have some control over distribution. Or have assurance that the website is checking and validating that the people receiving the book are bona fide reviewers.
Candice wrote: "Danielle,This sounds like a great idea!
For books that are already for sale, is there any way to limit the number of reviewer copies distributed?
My thought is that if the book is already on sal..."
Well, the way it is set up, you can use the author approval system to only approve a specific number of reviewers. There are two options at the moment for authors: Read Now and Approval Required. With Approval required, I email the author reviewers who have requested the title, pointing the author to the profile page the reviewer set up so he/she can determine if the reviewer is a good fit. It could also be used to limit reviewers to a set number. Although, with your suggestion, I might create a third option. Use a password specific to that title and listing, but not contact the author about every reviewer and end the listing as soon as the cap of reviewers requesting is hit. What do you think?
I don't think it should be a problem with Amazon for two reasons. 1) it is not actually available to the public. The reviewers are checked out first before they are allowed access to titles. 2) Amazon generally requires someone to point out that a book is free on another site for it to be marked down.
And thanks for the feedback!
I like your first option of allowing the author to check for fit with the reviewer (meaning that the reviewer does regularly cover that genre and/or has a legitimate blog or website or platform). I can see though that some authors may want to set a simple numerical cap if they don't have time or want to check each reviewer. Amazon is pretty obsessive about checking pricing and clamping down fast on books selling for less elsewhere. I just had a book that I wanted to put into KDP Select. The book had been on a temporary 2-week sale both at Barnes & Nobel and Amazon. I removed it from sale entirely at B&N then increased the price on Amazon back to the original price and placed it in KDP Select. While the price updated on my control panel, the sale price still showed live. I contacted Amazon. Several days later, they finally answered and told me because I was "selling the book for less elsewhere" they had the right to keep the sale price. I responded that the book wasn't selling for less anywhere. A day or so later they responded that they had investigated, confirmed I was correct and finally raised the price back to the original price. So they are out there constantly trolling the internet and will jump right on authors taking the price out of their control. I don't think anyone "reported" me for a lower price given the short sale time and fact that there never was a price difference.
Candice wrote: "I like your first option of allowing the author to check for fit with the reviewer (meaning that the reviewer does regularly cover that genre and/or has a legitimate blog or website or platform). I..."That's interesting, considering how much work authors who want their book perma-free have to go through to get it listing that way on Amazon. I know they do occasionally find books listed lower and change it, but I wonder how often they find it on their own, and how much they miss. Are there situations that make them more likely to catch it? I don't know.
The site is currently in a BETA launch, so it is free to list titles at the moment. Of course, like with Netgalley, reviewers/bloggers will always be able to join for free.
Since the site is brand new, I am actively looking for reviewers, bloggers, and authors interested in listing a title with us. I will also happily accept any comments or feedback on what you like about the site, and what you feel could use improvement.
And, of course, you'll be needing the link: http://indiegalley.theeternalscribe.com