Book Blurbs 101: How to Make an Effective BOTM Nomination

[Anna]

Book Blurbs 101: [BOTM] Book of the Month nominations:

This series is aimed at newer authors or those forced to self-market their books for the first time. Most sci-fi authors I know are quiet, introspective people who would rather be boiled alive than self-promote their books. These tips are designed to teach you how to self-market quietly, in a way which is genuinely helpful to the reader.

How do you self-promote within a community of readers who has been bombarded to death with self-promotion ads and cringes every time an author tries to pitch their book? The answer is to do so subtly. How you put that book in front of them can mean the difference between arousing curiosity and cringe-worthy contempt from readers.


Here is the optimal format I recommend to nominate your own book. I will show one of mine, a Young Adult paranormal novella which has absolutely nothing to do with Space Opera.

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LOGO Hi MOD!
LOGO
LOGO I would like to nominate The Chronicles of Riddick by Alan Dean Foster for READER PICK:


The Chronicles of Riddick

And also nominate A Gothic Christmas Angel by Anna Erishkigal for INDIE PICK:


A Gothic Christmas Angel

Thanks!
Anna Erishkigal

***


Why this format? When readers come to the BOTM nomination thread, they are curious to see what other community members nominate. The moment you get the monthly nomination notice in your inbox (around the 20th of each month), get thee to the nomination ASAP and nominate your book! The sooner you get here, the more genuine reader eyes will skim over the nominations and view your book cover!


Compare it to this less effective example:

LOGO Hi! I'm a Goodreads author and I'd like to nominate my book for Indie Pick
LOGO if that's Okay. It's A Gothic Christmas Angel a about a girl who commits
LOGO suicide on Christmas Eve because her boyfriend cheats on her and dumps her, and then this hot, sexy angel comes and leads her through her life choices, kinda like A Christmas Carol and It's A Wonderful Life all rolled into one. Here's the link: https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/1...

***

Did you even notice the above was an ad? Or did you skim and end up here because it was after the 3-star break? Aha! Gotcha! Get the point? While it's nice to pitch your book, that's not why readers come to the BOTM thread. They're there to glance it over quick and drop their own nomination. Invest in a quality book cover and let THAT talk for you!


Plan for the stupid LOGO indent:

The comments thread does this ugly little indent thing with your avatar to jut out the first three lines of your comment. So put your salutation (Hi Mod! + space + less important first line) there so when they get down to your book your author name and book cover will stick out!


Associate your INDIE PICK with a READER PICK which is very similar to yours:

Notice the big-name book is on TOP? If a potential reader likes that book or author, your post will catch their eye and slow it down long enough to glance at the next item in your post (your book). Always nominate a READER PICK which is similar to your book because after a few times, the reader will begin to associate the two.

[*insert curses about clunky Goodreads inability to feature the two books side-by-side with a pleasant amount of white space ... which would be an even more effective means of displaying the aforementioned comparison*]


Notice your book title is shown three times:

Did you notice? Huh? The first time is in the italicized typed text which is shown immediately beneath the 'my book is like' reader pick. Italics denotes importance, and ties your book title to the bigger-name 'my book is like' title above. The second time is in the book thumbnail itself, where hopefully an attractive book cover will cause the reader's eye to linger. The third time is in the book link you insert beneath your book cover.

[*Beetlejuice ... Beetlejuice ... Beetlejuice...*]


Your author name is your 'brand':

Note how I signed my full author name after the salutation at the end of the post? Your author name is your 'brand.' Whenever you interact with readers, you can quietly promote that 'brand' by using your full author name.) Note that my author name is listed multiple times in the sample. First, my first-name only with my avatar, which is consistent across all social media platforms. Second when the text-portion of the book name + author name is listed beneath the bigger seller. A third time in the book cover thumbnail itself. And then a fourth time in the salutation at the end. Never underestimate the power of 'brand recognition!'


How do I make pretty bold and italics?

When you go to add your comment, on the top right-hand side of the box is some gold writing that says (some html is ok). Click that box. A pop-up window of Formatting Tips will appear. Goodreads allows you to use bold, italics and underline to pretty up your verbiage.

Italics: < i > text < / i >
Bold: < b > text < / b >
Underline: < u > text < / u >
Strike thru: < s > text < / s >


How do I make my book cover and book link appear?

1. Above the comment box is gold lettering that says add book/author. Click it. A pop-up box will appear that says 'search' by either book or author.
2. Find your book.
3. Before you click 'add,' go to the bottom of the pop-up window and check off the 'cover' box.
4. Click add.
5. How hit 'RETURN' to make your arrow come to a new line underneath the book cover .html.
6. Click 'add book/author' a second time.
7. Go too the bottom of the pop-up window. Check off the box that says 'link.'
8. Click add.
9. Now hit return again. It will make it nice and attractive.

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Hope y'all find this tip helpful!