Publicity and Promotion Issues with Free Books

zeldas_lullaby · Post by **zeldas_lullaby** » 06 Sep 2015, 21:01

OK, I need some counsel. I often give away my book for promotional (and friendly) reasons. If it's an "Oh, hey, can I have a copy?" thing, then I'm fine with that. It's my decision. What gets me upset, though, is when there's an implied/tacit understanding that I'll get something from the other person, but they fail to deliver.

I contacted my local newspaper's new book reviewer, who had a blurb under her article saying, "Local author? Email me at such-and-such." So I did. She replied by saying that she'd love to take a look at my book, and that it sounded interesting to her, and that she decides which local books get covered in the paper, and she gave her snail-mail address. I paid to have a copy shipped to her from Amazon. That was just under two months ago. I haven't heard one word from her.

I emailed her a little while ago and asked if she received the book (although I know she did receive it, because Amazon tracking is fairly reliable--she received it on July 10) and if she's enjoying reading it. I haven't heard back, although that's fine--it's a Sunday night. I'm a little peeved, though, about the general situation. I was further peeved because her column ran today and of course it didn't mention my book.

I'd like advice and also a discussion about "free" books. I'm always happy to give a volume 1 to any interested reader, but what upsets me is when there's an implied agreement for something in return, and that never materializes. I could be jumping the gun, but come on, it's been two months.

My hunch is that this woman flaked out on me. What I don't understand is that she seems to have no awareness that I paid $16 (after shipping) for her to have a paperback (it's 456 pages!) on my dime. On the one hand, we didn't have any sort of binding agreement for her to write up my book. On the other hand, come on, I spent $16 and sent her, a stranger, a free book! Merry freakin' Christmas! Am I overreacting? Underreacting? I've had the same situation with online bloggers who agreed to review my book, but after I sent it to them, they disappeared from the face of the earth... with my book, no less.

gali · Post by **gali** » 06 Sep 2015, 22:06

You are right to be peeved and it was very wrong of her to act that way. Contact her again after a few days and ask about it. Perhaps you can write a letter to the newspaper and complain about her? People who get free books for review should do the decent thing and review it! I often get free books for review and always deliver and can't understand people who do otherwise.

zeldas_lullaby · Post by **zeldas_lullaby** » 06 Sep 2015, 22:15

Well, she didn't exactly promise to review it; she promised to take a look at it and judge its merit, and then decide whether or not to mention it in the paper. That's why this feels so convoluted. There wasn't a clear-cut arrangement. But best case scenario--suppose she rejected it and decided it wasn't worthy of the local paper? She still could've told me as much and/or mailed the book back to me via media mail. I didn't know whether she'd select it or not, but I didn't expect to just hear nothing at all.

I like your idea, though, and I'll follow through with it, starting with emailing her again on or around Thursday. (She's probably off for the three-day weekend now, anyway; I hardly begrudge her that.) And then if I don't hear back again, I will complain. Thank you for that sage counsel!!

rssllue · Post by **rssllue** » 06 Sep 2015, 22:16

gali wrote:You are right to be peeved and it was very wrong of her to act that way. Contact her again after a few days and ask about it. Perhaps you can write a letter to the newspaper and complain about her? People who get free books for review should do the decent thing and review it! I often get free books for review and always deliver and can't understand people who do otherwise.

zeldas_lullaby · Post by **zeldas_lullaby** » 06 Sep 2015, 22:18

Thanks for the second vote, Russell. I really didn't know how to interpret her actions.

rssllue · Post by **rssllue** » 06 Sep 2015, 22:24

It is quite unprofessional at the least, assuming she did receive it like Amazon says she did. Courtesy seems to be a lost art at times in business nowadays.

gali · Post by **gali** » 06 Sep 2015, 22:29

zeldas_lullaby wrote:Well, she didn't exactly promise to review it; she promised to take a look at it and judge its merit, and then decide whether or not to mention it in the paper. That's why this feels so convoluted. There wasn't a clear-cut arrangement. But best case scenario--suppose she rejected it and decided it wasn't worthy of the local paper? She still could've told me as much and/or mailed the book back to me via media mail. I didn't know whether she'd select it or not, but I didn't expect to just hear nothing at all.

I like your idea, though, and I'll follow through with it, starting with emailing her again on or around Thursday. (She's probably off for the three-day weekend now, anyway; I hardly begrudge her that.) And then if I don't hear back again, I will complain. Thank you for that sage counsel!!

Promised or not, it is obvious the book was sent for a review and not as a gift. If she rejected it, for whatever reason, she should have come out and say it and send the book back! When you contact her again, tell her you want the book back if she doesn't plan to review it. Good luck!

-- September 7th, 2015, 6:30 am --

rssllue wrote:It is quite unprofessional at the least, assuming she did receive it like Amazon says she did. Courtesy seems to be a lost art at times in business nowadays.

zeldas_lullaby · Post by **zeldas_lullaby** » 06 Sep 2015, 22:35

Thanks, Gali. I'm glad to have someone spell that out for me, because I tend to be uncertain of the correct response to these things, both internal and external. I appreciate your input!!

That's a good point that you make, Russell. And it's not something I understand, because I always try to be considerate and courteous. I mean, sometimes I fail, but I try. A complete lack of effort, though, is not appealing. And the reason it really irritates me is because of how hard I always try to be accomodating in reverse situations.

It does seem that people in modern times have the attitude of, "Oh, I don't have to write thank you notes." Or, "Oh, I don't need to say please and thank you," etc. I don't know how good manners have gone out of style!!

Funny story along the lines of your statement--I went to a job interview once a long time ago, and I waited patiently for two weeks to hear if I'd gotten the job. I finally phoned the HR department to ask, but they wouldn't answer the phone. On a whim, I star-67'ed them, which removed my phone number from their caller ID. Well, imagine, they answered on the first ring! When I asked if I'd gotten the job, the woman got really nervous and audibly embarrassed and told me I hadn't.

I get that there's no more awkward conversation than that, but she could've just sent me a postcard.

rssllue · Post by **rssllue** » 06 Sep 2015, 23:13

Indeed she could have. It is part of the job after all. We need a little less selfishness and more thinking of others in these types of situations; and really, all of life when it comes down to it.

zeldas_lullaby · Post by **zeldas_lullaby** » 06 Sep 2015, 23:15

Hear, hear!!

rssllue · Post by **rssllue** » 06 Sep 2015, 23:27

Post by **bookowlie** » 07 Sep 2015, 00:55

I agree with Gali that it's clear that the book was sent for review purposes and not as a gift. However, there was no stated commitment on the newspaper reviewer's part that the book would receive a review. It seems more along the lines of "she'll take a look at it." The newspaper reserves the right to decide which books to review. If you send a complaint, I have a feeling it won't be looked upon kindly and you will lose any hope of getting a review published there in the future. At least, you have a chance of it happening if you don't complain. Although you are upset that you spent money to send her the book, I think that's part of the price of getting a book marketed. Just my opinion.

I do agree with the members who said it's common courtesy to let you know if the book is not going to be reviewed. However, it's very possible it will be reviewed and published at some point in the coming months.

rssllue · Post by **rssllue** » 07 Sep 2015, 01:00

Very good points! Interesting perspective.

gali · Post by **gali** » 07 Sep 2015, 01:18

bookowlie wrote:I agree with Gali that it's clear that the book was sent for review purposes and not as a gift. However, there was no stated commitment on the newspaper reviewer's part that the book would receive a review. It seems more along the lines of "she'll take a look at it." The newspaper reserves the right to decide which books to review. If you send a complaint, I have a feeling it won't be looked upon kindly and you will lose any hope of getting a review published there in the future. At least, you have a chance of it happening if you don't complain. Although you are upset that you spent money to send her the book, I think that's part of the price of getting a book marketed. Just my opinion.

I do agree with the members who said it's common courtesy to let you know if the book is not going to be reviewed. However, it's very possible it will be reviewed and published at some point in the coming months.

Good points.

zeldas_lullaby · Post by **zeldas_lullaby** » 07 Sep 2015, 02:33

Thank you, BookOwlie. I had considered it from that angle as well. I have two thoughts offhand, and I'm falling asleep, so don't take them for accuracy.

1) I had a past dealing with our newspaper to write The Best column, which they pay $50 for. It's not hard. Everyone on this web site is capable of writing 100-200 words about why a product is The Best. I wrote one about Luna Bars. The woman (a different one than the reviewer) told me that she loved mine and would be ready to roll with in around three months. I never heard from her again. I sent a few follow-ups that also did not receive responses.

2) I don't know why I've heard nothing from the book reviewer. I think we can agree that it's been rude of her to not keep me in the loop in the two months since she received my books. Anything along the lines of, "I'm finally getting to your book next week. I can't wait to read it," etc. Her silence has me thinking that she's thinking, "I've got this free book. I'll do whatever I feel like doing with it. Suckers."

BUT... here's what I'm thinking. It doesnt matter if BookOwlie's right or if Gali/Russell are right. Here's why: I'm going to await email response from her, and if I don't receive any, then I'll email her again on Thursday. I'll just politely ask for a status update. Her response to that will yield usable fruit. If she says she just started reading it and loving it, then that would be good. If she says, "What book?" then that would be bad.

BookOwlie has the correct scenario as per our arrangement, loose as it was. However, I feel taken advantage of, as if she had no honorable intention of striving to get my book in the newspaper. I feel cheated.

I also feel entitled to know if it'll show up in several months, since I was lied to about that in the past. The problem is that newspaper types can hide behind that lie: "We may have room to run it in several months," could be code for, "We rejected it."

If that's what they're doing, then my silence is impossible, because I'm ingrained to not let people manipulate me and get away with it. It would be unwise to fly off the handle, so I'm going to gather more information first.