Now, that my publisher Next Chapter has decided to go wide, it seems like a sound decision to offer my YA Fantasy Bloodstone to potential reviewers on Booksprout, which is a garnering reviews site, with 40,000 reviewers. I’m trying it out and will be comparing Booksprout to Book Sirens which I have already been using for some time.
Booksprout appeals to me as it links to many book buying sites, that BookSirens doesn’t, (Sirens only has Amazon, Goodreads, and BookBub,) whereas the sprout offers the possibility of reviews on Amazon, Barnes & Noble,iBooks, Google Play, Kobo, Smashwords as well as Goodreads and BookBub. Obviously, not all reviewers will post to all sites and you are limited in number to how many you can choose but still… it seems like a good option.
Also, it seems fairly easy to use. They claim that you can set up an ARC in ten minutes. I didn’t time myself but it seemed quick!
Also, the Sprout offers a free service – first 20 reviews for one ARC for free. Only downside is basic ARC Freeloader protection on the free version – there is a way to check a reviewer’s email for ARC reviewer’s blocks. This tool debugs why a particular reviewer may not be able to download your ARC. It will display any known or potential blocks that would prevent them from doing so.
So, try the free version at your peril. You can upgrade at a click of a button to pay for the full service including total piracy control. This starts at $10 a month for up to 50 reviewers per ARC.
Oh, and beware if you get any emails saying a reviewer couldn’t download your ARC. Ignore, or point them in the direction of the Sprout… all this is handled by the Sprout, this is a red flag.
Another reason for trying to increase my readership and reviews is the imminent release of Book 2, Golden Healer. The finished manuscript is awaiting edits with my publisher, the cover is done – and looks spectacular… cover reveal soon.
Let me know if you would like to be part of my release Team! For Book 2, Golden Healer.
If you are interested in reviewing Bloodstone on Booksprout, or perhaps if you’ve already read Bloodstone and are willing to add your reviews to sites such as Barnes & Noble, iBooks, Google Play, Kobo, and Smashwords, etc, please do! I need all the help I can get and am happy to pay it forward.
I do believe that Bloodstone and The Curse of Time series deserve a wider audience, like so many indie and small press books. And I hope you might help me to achieve that aim.
With regard to paying it forward, I recently starting a Bookstagram review account where I share my reviews. I’ve written close to 200, so not sure how long this will take me to catch up! So, please do follow, like and share to help me grow this and to encourage me to do so! I will mainly be sharing independent, small press authors with a few traditionally published favourites too. Plus some quotes celebrating my love of books, etc…
Once I’ve tried out the sprout and concluded my thoughts on the sirens I will give you the lowdown on my observations. And, I still have to try Voracious Readers… Next!
So, if you have any experience with any of these review garnering sites please comment below.
This is Lizzie Chantree’s debut non-fiction book about networking for writers. I’m familiar with Lizzie’s romance novels having had the pleasure of reading and reviewing Ninja School Mum and If You Love Me I’m Yours.
Did Networking for Writers meet my expectations? Absolutely. This is a clear, well-written and invaluable resource especially for those who are fairly new to writing, getting to grips with the marketing and business side can be daunting. It is also a great book to refer to for writers, such as myself, who have been blogging and writing for five years plus. I learnt new things and was reminded of aspects of networking that it’s possible to forget in our daily busy lives. It’s simple things that are so easy to do which make a difference.
Lizzie’s personality shines throughout this book. She is honest, helpful and caring in her approach to help you with your networking skills.
Soon, on Tuesday 5th of May, there is to be a Writers’ resources evening at Cambridge Writers, the group that I am a member of, so with this in mind, I thought I would do a little warm up, and type up some helpful website links for Writers, Bloggers and Book Worms.
I have been gathering the details of this list for some time so hope that it will be a useful resource.
So to kick it off my first discovery was Wasafari, who are they you might ask? “Wasafiri is Britain’s premier magazine for international contemporary writing. Published quarterly, it has established a distinctive reputation for promoting work by new and established voices across the globe.”
Cornerstones who have their very own publishing house http://threeharespublishing.com/#latest-work, and have written a self help guide, Write a blockbuster and get it published, authored jointly by Helen Corner and Lee Weatherly, “it offers not simply a guide to writing a novel, but an introduction to writing a plot-based, action-focused blockbuster.” http://cornerstones.co.uk/
Poetry Enthusiasts:
I’ve just recently rediscovered my love of poetry and with this in mind I would highly recommend joining in with Ron’s Weekly Haiku prompt challenge. It’s fun, and gets the old creative juices flowing on a weekly basis and that can only be a good thing! Ron has an excellent blog overflowing with all sorts of interesting articles so he’s certainly one to follow.
Switch your torch light on, don your spy costume, now on to the nasty business of finding agents, and publishers. This is when life becomes complicated, the writing is easy in comparison, I know I’m in this process and it seems to be a never ending slog of decisions, (which is utterly painful for someone like me who tends to be indecisive,) waiting, trying again, waiting. So with that in mind here are some resources to help my fellow wannabe authors out there who may be struggling like me to find a publisher or an agent. Never fear, help is at hand. Good luck!
Another way to approach agents is to meet them in person. There are many events which are organised with this in mind, conferences, workshops and talks are all good opportunities to meet agents and tell them about your story, so have a look for those – locally in the UK there is the Norwich Writers Centre http://www.writerscentrenorwich.org.uk/ and plenty will come up from a google search on the internet.
Guide to self publishing and promoting, click on the tab on the top left section of author E. Rawls blog, there are all sorts of writing tips too as well as haikus, book reviews, blog hops, author interviews. https://rawlse.wordpress.com/
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Today, I’ve decided to change the colour scheme on my blog a bit. I hope you like it, with that in mind here’s a share from the Fiverr blog, The Psychology of Colours in Marketing which I originally found on http://mmjayewrites.com/
Colour can have such a profound impact on us. So I hope you like my new colour theme? I’ve abandoned the Pink Dogwood, and, the possibility of the Forget-Me-Not blue, in favour of the exotic Tiger Lily.
