Posts Tagged NetGalley
A Commercial Break
Posted by Sally Jenkins in Authors, Books, Successes on December 5, 2023
Drum roll and trumpet fanfare!
A massive thank you to everyone who has preordered Waiting for a Bright New Future – it will have landed on your kindle in the early hours of today. Hooray!
If you missed the preorder, you can buy now with instant delivery. Plus the paperback should be available very soon too.
The NetGalley advance reviewers have been busy reading Waiting for a Bright New Future and the response has been favourable (phew!)
“I loved the characters in the book and the humour thrown in amongst the sadness and how the main character was a man in his 50s discovering his life again after the death of his father and starting over again.” Helen A.
“I love that it wasn’t a simple ending but it fit perfectly with how each of the characters were set up.
Definitely a book I recommend.” Reviewer 1028737.
“This book makes you feel everything, the joy, the sadness, the anger, all the emotions you can think of, bundled up together and woven into such a perfect story.” Reviewer 810933.
According to my publisher, ChocLit (part of Joffe Books), this book will appeal to lovers of books by Jenny Colgan, Mike Gayle, Jill Mansell, Sue McDonagh, Laura Pearson or Beth Moran. I can’t believe that they’ve slotted me into such good company!
Still wondering whether it’s worth squandering the grand sum of 99p on Waiting for a Bright New Future? Here’s the blurb:
Is it ever too late to start living for the first time?
Florence is buoyant and colourful, an ageing tribute band singer who’s full of life. And the complete opposite of staid Stuart, her new landlord.
Stuart’s not sure about having a lodger. And he’s not used to the singing and dancing that now fills the house. Nor the pairs of voluminous knickers left to dry on every spare surface in the bathroom.
Florence is everything Stuart has never allowed himself to be: bold, fearless, unabashedly herself. He’s spent his life putting everyone’s needs ahead of his own, avoiding risks and hiding from chances.
Soon Florence is persuading Stuart to dance with her in the kitchen. And when his childhood sweetheart shows up again, it’s Florence who encourages him to make his move.
Florence can see how much he’s changed, even if he won’t admit it. But Stuart has changed. He’s no longer the timid man he was when they first met.
Life is about to give Stuart a second chance, if only he has enough courage to grasp it . . .
Waiting for a Bright New Future falls into the UpLit (Uplifting Literature) genre and will leave you feeling hopeful and positive for the coming of 2024.
Book Reviewing Opportunities
Posted by Sally Jenkins in Books, Lifestyle on October 5, 2022
If you like reading new books by indie authors this could be the opportunity for you:
Reedsy Discovery is recruiting reviewers. The main Reedsy website is full of resources and freelance services aimed at helping writers at all stages of their journey to publication. Reedsy Discovery is an offshoot of this and is designed to spotlight the gems of the indie publishing world. The reviewers on Reedsy Discovery help to identify these gems. Reviewers are unpaid but they do have the opportunity to monetise their reading by accepting tips from people who find their reviews useful.
Interested? Visit the Reedsy website to find out more and to apply.
If you fancy finding out what it’s like to be a competition judge, The Highland Book Prize, uses keen
The Scottish Highlands
readers from the general public as initial readers. Readers provide a report and scores for each of the books they read and these are then used to compile the longlist for the Prize. Reading for the longlist takes place between July and September each year and has just finished for 2022. However, you can apply now to be on the panel next year. I have now been involved in this for three years and previously blogged about the experience.
Finally, if you enjoy blogging, tweeting and generally shouting about the books you’ve read, NetGalley might be the site for you. Publishers and authors distribute digital review copies and audiobooks to the NetGalley community, and in exchange, members provide reviews, star ratings, social media posts etc. Some publishers on NetGalley will vet reviewers before releasing ARCs (Advance Review Copies) but others are happy for their books to be read more widely. Register online to be a NetGalley reviewer.
Note: In all three cases above, the books are supplied in digital format, i.e. not paper books.
Talking About Authors and Reviews
Posted by Sally Jenkins in Authors, Promotion on April 29, 2022
Last week I watched a Facebook Live broadcast by the Empowered Author Group. It was facilitated by Sam Missingham and Katie Sadler. The chat covered a range of topics from how to deal with reviews, how to encourage readers to leave reviews and what to do with those reviews when you get them. I jotted down the points that resonated with me.
- Reviews are subjective and what one reader hates, another will love. Anyone who’s ever been in a book group will know that a single book can generate a whole range of love/hate discussion.
- Authors need to develop a thick skin. This is not just for reviews but for an author’s life in general. The knock backs are many and we have to develop the skills for dealing with them.
- Many authors never read their reviews. If this is you, it can be useful to get a trusted friend or partner to read them to extract any constructive comments that be used in the writing of the next book. For example: A popular character could make an appearance in a sequel.
- If you are ever tagged in a positive social media comment, always respond with a thank you.
- The question was asked about how useful it is to get reviews from friends and family. In theory, Amazon does not allow reviews from friends and family, some will get through and can create a useful starting point. However, be aware that if these reviewers usually favour a different genre, their reviews on your book may mess up Amazon’s algorithms. For example, if your brother usually reads Westerns but reviews your Romance novel, Amazon may start showing your book to Western readers and this may limit your potential for sales. It can cause similar confusion on your ‘Also Bought’ lists. It might be better to get friends and family to recommend your book on their own social media and in real life. Or perhaps they could request it in the library or order it through a bookshop.
- Actively encourage readers to review or rate your book using your social media presence.
- At the end of each book put a polite request for a review.
- Build up a group of early readers or a ‘Street Team’ who will be happy to receive and review an early copy of the book and to shout about it for you. (Early readers can also be found by making your book available on NetGalley but this can be an expensive option unless you have a publisher willing to pay.)
- Blog tours are a good way of generating reviews. Build your own tour (Reedsy has a list of bloggers) or pay one of the excellent tour organisers to do it for you.
- When you get good reviews, use them for marketing purposes. Put them out on social media and in press releases.
It’s not easy to encourage reviews – most of us probably never thought about leaving a review until we became writers ourselves. So prize those coveted words of praise. And remember that even bestsellers get some bad reviews.
If you fancy writing a greater length about a book you’ve enjoyed, the Marlborough LitFest 2022 Love Books Competition gives you that opportunity (closes 1st July 2022).
Happy reviewing!
Reading: Solitary or Social?
Posted by Sally Jenkins in Books, Lifestyle on March 13, 2020
Reading is a solitary pastime. We sit alone, in silence, our mind in another world and ‘do not disturb’ exuding from our concentrated expression. Reading is a hobby not easily shared with others.
Wrong!
Reading is becoming an increasingly sociable activity. Books connect people, both online, in the virtual world and in real, face-to-face society. Don’t miss out by reading in a bubble, try some of the following:
- Join a traditional book group. Most groups read one book a month and meet to discuss their opinions (depending on the group there may be coffee, wine or cake …) I’ve mentioned before that I run a book group at my local library and the library or bookshop is a good place to start if you’re looking for a group. Alternatively, start your own. A friend of mine formed a group with her neighbours and they take it in turns to host the meeting.
- Join a Shared Reading group. I’ve written before about these groups connected to The Reader charity. There is no ‘homework’ reading. It is all aloud during the (usually weekly) meeting.
Bookfest Sutton Coldfield Library
- A couple of weeks ago I was a volunteer at Bookfest in my local library. It was a festival of children’s books with lots of author events and activities. I was one of three people on the front desk answering questions and directing people to events. It was fun to be with like-minded book lovers making an event happen that would be too expensive to stage without volunteers.
- Search out a Facebook group that discusses books. A few to get you going:
Imogen Clark’s Book Café – Imogen is a best-selling author
The Book Club – a large and busy group with occasional ‘real-life’ meet ups
Romantic Fiction Book Club – run by the Romantic Novelists’ Association
If you can recommend any others, please add them in the comments at the bottom of this post. - Review your favourite books online. This could be on Amazon, Good Reads or NetGalley (where you can request advance e-book copies of new novels to review). Or start your own book blog and get social in the virtual world, interacting with readers and writers.
- Start a book exchange at work, church or wherever groups of people meet. See if you can encourage non-readers to try a novel. What greater gift can you give someone than the love of books?
Reading and the love of books can be as solitary or as social as you choose. Whichever way you do it – happy reading!
Sally Jenkins 