Publicity and Promotion Issues with Free Books

zeldas_lullaby · Post by **zeldas_lullaby** » 08 Sep 2015, 21:35

HA HA! I would hope so!! Not much to be done now! You know that episode of Frasier in which Frasier and Lilith want to get their son in Marbury Academy? They go over for an interview with the headmaster, and they leave, and they hope it went well. But then they get all agitated, like, "Maybe we should've added such-and-such to our answer, so he'd know we're serious." And they get so worked up that they go back to the headmaster's house on a flimsy pretense and make complete fools of themselves. (Not that I'm above making a fool of myself.)

I'll keep ya posted!

TarinaJ · Post by **TarinaJ** » 10 Sep 2015, 12:37

@Moderntimes and @zeldas_lullaby,
I don't mean to hijack your discussion but I review books for an online publication called San Francisco Book Review. You can submit your books for review, they have different levels of sponsored reviews which means you or your publisher pay for a guaranteed review. There is also an option to pay for a review and an interview.

I do NOT work for them or represent them in any official capacity - I only review books through them. I stumbled upon OBC after I started reviewing with them.

I hope you both get good reviews for your book!
~TJ

moderntimes · Post by **moderntimes** » 10 Sep 2015, 17:47

Thanks, tj. I also review books for a mystery website, OverMyDeadBody.com, for which I'm paid the amazing price of zero dollars, but I get to keep the books -- this is typical for most book reviewers. Right now I'm taking a sabbatical from the site because I'm deep into editing all 3 novels I recently sold, and that's keeping me busy.

I also reviewed books for a couple of major dailies some years ago.

And being a member of the PWA (Private Eye Writers of America) a couple years ago I was on the review committee for best new PI novel, and read 58 books in just three months! Eeek! Our committee amazingly selected the winner independently, each of us choosing the same book for the best of the year, with very little disagreement among ourselves on the runners up too. So we did something right, I guess.

And no you're not hijacking any discussion -- this is an open forum and an open thread.

I'm not very amenable to paying for a review and I don't know whether my publisher would do this either. My search for reviews will be among magazines, both online and print, and newspapers and magazines in my local area -- as I'm a Houston resident writing Houston-based mysteries, this will help me wedge my book into the fray -- whether I get a favorable review? Hey, that's show biz.

sarah0688 · Post by **sarah0688** » 10 Sep 2015, 18:00

Hopefully people will change from free books especially the ease of ebooks accessibility.

zeldas_lullaby · Post by **zeldas_lullaby** » 10 Sep 2015, 18:30

Hi, TJ the hacker!!

Thanks for that info, and for the well-wishes!! I agree with MT that the most affordable option is to hit up the local print newspapers and magazines. If I'm lucky enough to get into my local paper, without having to have paid except for sending her my book, then I'll be thrilled six ways to Sunday. (Is that the expression?)

moderntimes · Post by **moderntimes** » 10 Sep 2015, 19:01

That, or nine ways to Tuesday, depending on the calendar.

zeldas_lullaby · Post by **zeldas_lullaby** » 10 Sep 2015, 19:09

moderntimes wrote:That, or nine ways to Tuesday, depending on the calendar.

moderntimes · Post by **moderntimes** » 10 Sep 2015, 19:12

sarah0688 wrote:Hopefully people will change from free books especially the ease of ebooks accessibility.

I don't quite get the "change FROM free books" phrase.

And I'm happy to give a few free copies of my books to friends and such, and send the requisite free copies to reviewers, but otherwise I'm hoping to pick up a nice royalty check for sales otherwise, e-book or print book sales.

ashersb · Post by **ashersb** » 11 Sep 2015, 17:25

No matter what, she has bad form. If she decided not to make the review or give you any feedback what so ever, then she should of simply returned the book to you. She shouldn't have kept it, and ignored you That's just bad form. Its completely unprofessional as well.

To snub an author when you are a book reviewer.....that's just bad job security! lol

moderntimes · Post by **moderntimes** » 11 Sep 2015, 19:07

ash, I tend to disagree. She may have just been swamped -- many reviewers are. My editor gets dozens of new books each month, which is typical. She may have intended to review the book in order but it was simply down the list. I think that Zelda may get a nice review after this, or at least a very fair and considered one.

zeldas_lullaby · Post by **zeldas_lullaby** » 11 Sep 2015, 19:13

Yeah, that's what we came to see, Ash, because she answered my email and said, "Your book is on my list, and I've been swamped!" I'm good with that. I'd still be peeved if she hadn't answered, but she did, and right away at that! Whew!

rssllue · Post by **rssllue** » 11 Sep 2015, 19:31

Grace rules!

JohannaSusan · Post by **JohannaSusan** » 21 Sep 2015, 09:49

That definitely seems like it is taking too long for her to read through the book and review it. I would maybe try checking in again and be a bit blunt, directly asking her if she intends to write a review or not. Sometimes people get busy and forget, or they just get lazy. This might make it hard to get a response. I'm not sure how helpful it would be, but when I offer music (I play piano and guitar) I always ask the person if they intend to listen to it and give me a review. If they don't, then I suggest that they either have someone else listen or that they call or email me when they can do the review. I think that mentioning that up front makes people feel more accountable. And maybe if it's a professional sample, I would try to get a deadline out of the person as well. I hope that helps.

moderntimes · Post by **moderntimes** » 21 Sep 2015, 10:49

If I'm understanding Zelda's original post, the book she sent to be reviewed is a compilation of several of her short novels, and it's therefore quite long. That may be contributing to the delay in the review. And as the reviewer said, she's swamped.

Fact that Zelda got a reasonable response on her request should be enough. Authors need to have some patience with the process. A commercial review from a major magazine may take months to materialize.

zeldas_lullaby · Post by **zeldas_lullaby** » 21 Sep 2015, 15:52

Yeah, the book in question is roughly 450 pages! I do have high hopes that she will include it in the feature she intends to do about local YA books. I had my dad search yesterday's newspaper, and he didn't find a column by her... This isn't unheard of; I agree with BookOwlie, who said that she probably doesn't even have her own office at the paper. I'll check again next Sunday... who knows??