BookBub

     And now for my last book-focused site: BookBub. This site is similar to the Fussy Librarian. It has a subscription element for readers and a marketing aspect for writers. It’s a giant in the book newsletter subscription market.

     Readers, through a subscription to the newsletter, can get lists of discounted and free books either weekly or daily in a wide variety of genres. The website also displays current deals on the main page. Users can both receive emails about discounts or just view the site. (Great for keeping the inbox tidy.) Readers can follow authors and receive notifications when new or discount titles are available. Recommendations can be focused by type of book (digital, print, etc.), genre, and specific author. And all titles, other than the new releases, are discounted or free. A reader’s paradise!

     Authors can do well with this site. If your book is published, create an account, and put your profile out there. Again, use the same headshot from other social media. Add details like your book(s), but also write up a great bio. Tell what genres you write in.

     Then for the meat—favorite books.

     It’s best to keep your favorite lists to books within your genre and newer books.  This keeps your profile fresh and shows that you read in your genre. It can also help you connect to others of the same genre.

     Speaking of, follow those authors and other authors of your genre on BookBub. Not only will this assist you in finding great new books to read but also connect you with the writing community.  Following an author adds them to your notifications list. You will be notified when they have a sale or a new book.

     Now recommend books. Pick out half a dozen books (or more) in your genre and recommend them. Write up a great review and share it. Authors helping authors in this way can eventually come back to you. (Don’t expect other authors to automatically review/recommend your book if you do theirs. But it can’t hurt to share some love.)

     So why invest at BookBub rather than Fussy Librarian? For one, the larger subscriber’s list. But really, it’s the deals! Featured Deals can get you on a bestseller list if you play your cards right. They are like precious stones. Expensive, beautiful, and profitable (okay, the metaphor doesn’t work on that last one…) There are several kinds of deals: ads on the bottom of the page, a Featured Deals, and Featured New Releases. Featured deals can change an author’s career, but it’s not easy to grab one.  

     How to get a BookBub deal. Persistence is the key thing to winning a deal. They are difficult to get and you must be ready to really invest in your book. Book deals must meet certain criteria including: discounted at last 50%, be the best deal available for the title, error-free, a limited-time deal (with some perma-free exceptions), appropriate length for genre (150 pages for fiction), widely available, and not offered for the last six months on BookBub. Even if your book meets all these benchmarks, it still might not be chosen. Keep resubmitting unless there is an underlying problem with the book.

     Cost for the Deals. The pricing page here at BookBub can give you an idea of the cost for your book. Prices vary by genre and discount level. The list shows how many subscribers for each genre. Free books are less expensive. But if you don’t have a series to go with the free book, you won’t see much of a return on your investment. Book Bub Deals work best when you have a backlist to go with a free or deeply discounted book.

     Featured New Releases also has a cost based on the genre and subscribers list. All authors can help the New Release option. This will tell people who follow you that you released a new book. Featured New Release will go out to all BookBub subscribers, a huge audience. To be Featured, you must submit your title to the editorial team as you would with a Featured Deal. Even if you don’t get chosen, still use the New Release option to tell your followers you have a new item for purchase. (These do not have to be discounted.)

     Ads are more confusing (at least to me) because they work on an auction system. Ads, which end up at the bottom of the newsletter and on the webpage, are given to the highest bidder at the time of publication. I’m not sure how this boils down to actual cost. My thought is it’s an auction, you could pay anything. They are a great info section here about the content of ads. If I ever learn to do these ads, I promise to make another post.

     But Ginny! I’m not ready to spend that kind cash yet or I only have one book. No worries. Still create an account, follow other authors, make recommendations, get free books. Someday, you’ll be ready to launch a Featured Deal. For now, lay the groundwork!

Goodreads

Who hasn’t heard of Goodreads? It’s an extensive website and app for readers to log their reads, look at user-generated reviews, and find new books to read. But there’s so much more. Goodreads is huge. And as a writer, if you aren’t using it, let me give you a little push.

What is Goodreads? The site/app is owned by Amazon, but in its beginnings, it was a review site for books. Users can mark ones they’ve read, want to read, and are currently reading. Friends can connect on Goodreads through Facebook and see what everyone is reading. Users can rate reads with a 5-star rating system and post a review as detailed as they wish. Finding a great book was never easier. Readers can recommend titles directly to friends. Lists of every variety are easily accessible. Need a book about a teen frog?—boom, there’s a list for that. Goodreads also holds a yearly reading challenge. Users can create a reading goal for the year and track it through the app. There are also discussion groups on every topic.

How does the site differ for writers? I’m glad you asked.

As a writer, you should have a presence on Goodreads. You need to have a published book to create an author profile, but that does not stop you from using the site as a reader. To begin, create a profile with your author name. Add books you’ve read (lots of ’em) or want to read. Add reviews, specifically those in the genre you write in (without trashing your peers). Give people a taste of your voice through those reviews. You can also link your blog to the site or create a book blog easily. Join discussion groups about books in your genre. Talk and listen to other readers. Build that rapport.

Once you are published, create an author profile. You will need to link your account to your actual books for sale. Make sure the site has the correct cover, blurb, and sale links. Be sure to add a professional headshot to the account. Use the same picture you use on your author pages from Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, and/or Amazon. By using the same pic, readers become familiar with your mug. Next, answer some of the generic questions Goodreads suggests to start a dialog with readers. Add book signings and appearances to the events section in your profile. You can also add readers’ questions, another great way to interact with fans.

A word of caution. Goodreads has a great Author Guidelines page to help you navigate the site. It lists many of the things I’ve mentioned above. But most importantly, it covers professional behavior. The site reminds authors not to spam readers with requests for reads (when they have indicated an interest in their book.) It also cautions authors not to interact with reviews. It’s fine to put a heart or a smile on a good review or click the Like button. But do not engage with people who gave a bad review. The site is user-run. Everyone and anyone can post. If you see abuse, report it. This is NOT the place to take on your critics.

When you are ready for bigger things, check out Goodreads giveaways. (Ads are no longer an option on Goodreads…crossing out that section of the blog.) Giveaways are for Kindle direct authors only or publishers. They also cost a bit to get up and running. But they are a great way to get reviews and new readers.

Standard Giveaways price out at $119. It includes several perks. Anyone who enters the giveaway has the book added to their “Want to Read” shelf, which is visible to all their Goodreads friends. It also anyone who follows you to get a notification about the giveaway. Anyone who has the book on their “Want to Read” shelf is asked by email if they want to participate. Also, the title is listed on the Giveaways page for Goodreads, so any readers perusing the list might stumble on your contest and jump in. There is also a Premium Giveaway package for $600. With this option, you get everything listed above, plus premium space on the Giveaway page, emails to the winners to remind them to review, and personalization of messages sent out to contestants.

Goodreads is a great tool for authors to find new readers, establish themselves as an author, and find wonderful books to read.

Book+Main Bites

Book+Main is a self-proclaimed matchmaker for readers and romance authors. It’s actually a great marketing tool for romance authors. Their site is designed to bring readers and authors together on a separate URL, Book+Main Bites. Authors can post small excerpts from their novels (bites) with a picture.

Readers can search the site based on categories such as heat level, tropes, and subgenre. They can favorite authors who appeal to them and receive notifications about new bites. And they can follow authors. Best of all, bites are linked to booksellers. Readers can instantly click to buy a book that interests them.

For romance writers, it’s an excellent way to promote a book regardless of its age. Occasionally, authors can have a hard time selling older books. New books and sequels are easy to market on social media. But no reader wants to see ads for a two-year-old book. Plus, with social media marketing, many times ads display to the same audience.

Book+Main keeps those older titles fresh. Since the reader is establishing the criteria for searching, they focus on the content, rather than the release date. In fact, date isn’t a search option (other than a new bite). A reader who loves a Runaway Bride trope won’t care if the book is three years old. They love the trope and will want to read it. Readers come to you.

Currently, Book+Main Bites has about 60,000 readers subscribed. The site and app (on both Google Play and the iTunes store) are free for readers. For authors, the cost is $10 a month or $99 for a year. Authors can post unlimited bites, but there is a three-day limit for posting. But post three-a-day every day, if you wish.

Anatomy of a bite: The content should include actual words from the book—a scene, a chapter, a good paragraph. They also allow bonus material or deleted scenes. The excerpts can be as long or short as you wish, with 500-1500 being the sweet spot for readers. (A bite of the content, get it?) Authors use stock photos rather than their covers for the bites. (See my post on stock photo sites for ideas.)

Other bits: Authors can also create Posts. These usually contain cover reveals, teasers, giveaways, etc. for readers. Books do not have to be discounted to be used on the site. All romance authors are welcome: all genres, Indy, Traditional, and Hybrid.

Book+Main is a great way for readers to find their next romance read or for authors to connect with new readers.

The Fussy Librarian

The Fussy Librarian is a website that provides a newsletter to readers with customized lists of discount and free eBooks. For writers, the site is an email marketing service. There are other services such as BookBub, which is a huge one and merits its own post. I’ll be talking about BookBub at the end of the week.

For readers, the Fussy Librarian has three ways to save on books. On the site, there are lists of free and discounted titles for Kindle and Nook. Readers can also subscribe to two email lists—one for bargain books and one for free books. The bargain newsletter arrives daily with discount and free eBooks. The other, only for free eBooks, can be customized to arrive on days chosen. Once a reader subscribes, they receive both a confirmation and a practical email detailing how to use the links on the newsletter. Titles link to Amazon, Barnes & Noble, Apple, Smashwords, Google Play, and Kobo.

For writers, the Fussy Librarian offers a way to get your books in front of readers. This is not a free service, but a paid advertiser. The site offers its pricing right up front. Free books have one set of prices depending on genre, and the bargain list has another set. The genre list is huge and includes nonfiction. They even list how many subscribers to a particular list allowing you to judge if the cost is worth it. I won’t put them all here because of space. As a contemporary romance author, my cost would be $20 for the Bargain for almost 80,000 subscribers and $43 for the Free for 230,000 subscribers. The cost would get me into the newsletter and database for 30 days. These are all readers looking for books! No spam here.

Note: The Fussy Librarian makes no guarantee of sales.

What to Submit

• The first novel in a series is a good way to entice readers into your writing. If you can get a discount or free cost for the book, readers are more likely to grab the second one. I have a friend who made the first in her series perma-free (Indy author) and now can use it here and at other discount newsletter sites easily. 
• If you have a new book coming out, use that one. Many times publishers will discount the price of a new book during the first few weeks of sales. Take advantage.
• Run with holidays. If you have a holiday-themed book, cash in on the holiday itself or something like Christmas in July.

How to submit.

• Click on the Advertising menu. Choose from the options: Submit a bargain eBook, Submit a free eBook, and Check bargain book openings. I suggest if your book isn’t free, to start with Openings. The website has a calendar showing available times to add your book to the list. Click on your genre and then click Schedule a Book. Make an account (if you don’t already have one). On the dashboard, click on the Submit a book option.
• Fill in book details including the title, a synopsis (basically, the blurb), the number of pages, audiobook link (if you have one and I think there’s no extra cost), free or discounted with original price and new price, dates of the sale price, ASIN number, ratings from Amazon or Nook (number of and average), cover image (recommended sized of 200px x 300px) and bookseller links to Amazon, Barnes & Noble, Apple, Smashwords, Google Play, and Kobo.
• Next, choose your primary genre. The site itself recommends using only one (there may be an additional fee for a second genre.) The form automatically adds the price and type of newsletter you choose. Then schedule a date by checking their calendar for availability. Best to plan ahead if you know you have a sale coming up. Add a reminder to rerun the ad if you choose. Select the language of the book and any notes.
• On to Content. Select the language. Here it means how much swearing can be expected. Select violence level and sexual content. These options may limit the number of readers who get your book in the newsletter. BUT it’s better to remove readers who won’t like your cussing or who wanted a sweet story. There’s nothing worse than a 1-star review because the reader didn’t realize they grabbed an erotica book. There are also checkboxes for Sexual Violence, Animal Cruelty, and Torture. (My guess is that The Fussy Librarian does not want those books on their list.)
• Then hit submit and see if they accept your book. According to the site, it takes about twenty-four hours for submissions to be processed. You may not get chosen right away, but keep submitting. You never know!

Also, I realize many authors are with publishers, and obtaining sale prices for their books is not always easy. It may be tough to coordinate the publisher’s sale with a Fussy Librarian newsletter. My advice is to plan ahead—way ahead—to get the most out of your sale.  

The Fussy Librarian is an excellent way to start small with these newsletters. The prices are reasonable and the audience is sizable.