tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2429560125838989988.post5442456135180074346..comments2024-03-17T11:17:53.826+00:00Comments on Authors Electric: Pay per (Re)view? Ali Bacon discovers how hard it is for small publishers to get press coverage.Katherine Robertshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17196712319655603442noreply@blogger.comBlogger11125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2429560125838989988.post-39073225049526523772019-01-24T19:51:43.123+00:002019-01-24T19:51:43.123+00:00Re Matador (who are my publishers) - their marketi...Re Matador (who are my publishers) - their marketing package includes creating a Press Release and sending it out to a good number of relevant publications. They clearly build up good relationships with some publications which makes them more confident of a possible review, and send them review copies straight off, but mostly it's just the press release with review copies sent out if requested. I got quite good coverage for both my books on some (not the elite!) children's book reviewing websites, and a couple of national magazines (Aquila, Juno) but no national newspapers. Some of the websites were definitely thanks to Matador, but mostly I did all the follow up emails/phonecalls myself - I've done enough work in publicity in publishing to know this is hugely time-consuming and not something I could expect Matador to do. If there'd been a question of paying for an advertisement/review, Matador would charge the author direct for that!<br /> For instance, I paid £300 to have Ante's Inferno considered by Amazon Vine reviewers - the top Amazon reviewers, did you know there's a cost for that? We are assured the reviewers don't get a penny, just a free copy of the book, and the fee is to cover Amazon's administration costs for sending out the 20 free copies the publisher (author, if you're self-published) has to provide. Nice little earner for Amazon, eh. That did get me half a dozen very positive reviews from those reviewers who presumably have more clout than others, and would have had no qualms in being negative if they felt the book deserved that - which was a good result, as I could have paid all that money and not got a single one. Did it help sales? I think it did, but not enough to offset so much outlay!Griselda Heppelhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/09207965148074302337noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2429560125838989988.post-25824561201724337972019-01-23T15:03:40.500+00:002019-01-23T15:03:40.500+00:00Many thanks for offering to read Umberto, and hope...Many thanks for offering to read Umberto, and hope it turns out to be up your street. Jonathan has made the same point abut reviews - though I think this particular mag does have a good record for sales take-up it's best to accentuate the positive rather than get stuck in the slough of despond! A. AliBhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/09611113709872287863noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2429560125838989988.post-14923415347045314662019-01-23T09:38:22.224+00:002019-01-23T09:38:22.224+00:00It is really depressing isn't it? The book tr...It is really depressing isn't it? The book trade has become industrialised at the expense of book lovers and small publishers. Good luck Ali! We need more publishers like you. Kathleen Joneshttps://www.blogger.com/profile/07645566938871914385noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2429560125838989988.post-24452701228461490702019-01-23T07:24:05.552+00:002019-01-23T07:24:05.552+00:00I'll get myself a copy and be glad to write a ...I'll get myself a copy and be glad to write a review. Just as a reassuring word about your reviewer access travails, BTW, they boost a writer's reputation and can provide nice cover line for one's next opus, but really don't sell all that many books. Better to build up one's base of followers... adding to one's list and discounting previous works as one goes along. Reviews used to be good for book store sales, but even Barnes & Noble is for sale now and it's all online, mostly Amazon. That's the bad news - and the good news in that we can display our books indefinitely giving time for sales to accumulate rather than appearing then disappearing from store shelves in a month. Good luck with your fine efforts. Umberto Tosihttps://www.blogger.com/profile/04939504157464234443noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2429560125838989988.post-20502982709003808222019-01-22T22:19:01.848+00:002019-01-22T22:19:01.848+00:00thanks for your support, ladies!thanks for your support, ladies!AliBhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/09611113709872287863noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2429560125838989988.post-8179733377665655232019-01-22T20:54:19.986+00:002019-01-22T20:54:19.986+00:00I know it has to be commercial, but does it have t...I know it has to be commercial, but does it have to be so brutally commercial? Probably yes (weeps).Enid Richemonthttps://www.blogger.com/profile/17218197995089241666noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2429560125838989988.post-53185777659872662432019-01-22T17:40:01.290+00:002019-01-22T17:40:01.290+00:00I can't remember the publication now, but I wa...I can't remember the publication now, but I was browsing through a xmas books round-up (a good selection with cover images and mini reviews) when I noticed the small print "sponsored content" at the edge of the page. I assumed that meant the featured books were paid for by publishers, though I guess non-publishing people might not pick up on this.Katherine Robertshttps://www.blogger.com/profile/17196712319655603442noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2429560125838989988.post-76805245839693005752019-01-22T16:29:48.213+00:002019-01-22T16:29:48.213+00:00Thanks Jonathan - sort of reassuring - or not! and...Thanks Jonathan - sort of reassuring - or not! and well done for The Independent on Sunday anyway. A.AliBhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/09611113709872287863noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2429560125838989988.post-10363051890316516652019-01-22T14:54:55.270+00:002019-01-22T14:54:55.270+00:00I'm slightly cynical about the whole big media...I'm slightly cynical about the whole big media review lark. When Dot Dash got a nice review in the Independent on Sunday (on the same page as George Saunders's Tenth of December!) I was monitoring Amazon to see if I could detect any new sales as a result. As far as I could tell, there was absolutely zilch. I think it only works if EVERYONE says how wonderful the book is, which means you've somehow got to persuade every single newspaper/magazine to take an interest, and that's a bit of a tall order if you're a small fish.jonathan pinnockhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/17865393294059636207noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2429560125838989988.post-41982146347227283612019-01-22T14:44:22.817+00:002019-01-22T14:44:22.817+00:00Thanks Kit - a harsh world indeed! A.
Thanks Kit - a harsh world indeed! A.<br />AliBhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/09611113709872287863noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2429560125838989988.post-66096474554052306152019-01-22T14:14:22.026+00:002019-01-22T14:14:22.026+00:00This little known fact about reviews and the media...This little known fact about reviews and the media is important and certainly one that the majority of self-published or small press authors do not realise. We regularly see books reviews in newspapers without ever giving a thought to the fact the publisher has actually paid to have the book placed in the publication by whatever means. It's a harsh world we writers work in as we strive for recognition. Thank you for bringing this to everyone's attention. Kit Dominohttps://www.blogger.com/profile/12325789826816127798noreply@blogger.com