ReBlogs: How to Get Book Reviews: 50+ Resources to Generate Book Reviews

Stephanie Chandler, founder and CEO of the Nonfiction Authors Association, is the author of several books including Own Your Niche and The Nonfiction Book Marketing Plan. She recently discussed the benefits of book reviews and how to solicit them.

50 Ways to Generate Book Reviews

Book reviews are essential because they help potential readers make a purchase decision. Sending out review copies for potential review is something every author should include in their marketing plans. The more people who know about your book, the better the chance of building word of mouth buzz. Plan to send out 50 to 500 review copies of your book in both print and digital formats.

If you've been wondering how to get more book reviews, below you will find a comprehensive list of book review sources, including both free and paid options.

A note on paid options: We do NOT advocate paid services that promise to churn out X number of manufactured book reviews based on how much money you spend with them. However, we have included a listing of reputable services that offer quality reviews.

Read the remainder of Stephanie's article

ReBlog: What Good Sales People Know About Personal Branding That Everyone Should

The words "brand" or "branding" bring images grocery store shelves or maybe memories of a trip to the mall pop to mind first,  not writing, not your work. But writers have to be sales people to sell their work and themselves to clients and readers.  A strong personal brand helps to grab people's attention and keep it all on you. 

Joanne Tombrakos is an author and expert on building one's digital profile and personal branding. She recently published these tips for personal branding on the Huffington Post's "The Blog."

"Personal Branding is not a new concept.

"We used to call it building a good reputation and being clear on the direction you wanted your career to go. Then the age of digital dawned, and personal branding was taken to a whole new level. It's no longer just about the real life version of you. It's also about the digital version of you.

"Good salespeople have always been masters at this.

"The best ones have adapted their strategies to these new tools. Unfortunately there are not that many really good salespeople out there. I see too many using the new tools to automate instead of personalize and applying pushy tactics -- the kind that have always given sales a bad rap -- to technology that if used properly can enhance their image."

Read the remainder of Joanne's article.

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Last Minute Submission Information

Hey y'all! I know we usually post about submissions and contests well before the deadlines in order to give all of you plenty of time to write and edit your stories/poems before you send them in. 

Well, this is not one of those times. But! If you have something ready to go and you would like to submit your short fiction or poetry to a contest where you might win £500 and either an agent consultation  for your fiction or a mentorship for your poetry, as well as publication in the respected Aesthetica Creative Writing Annual. For more information, click that link up above and get cracking on those submissions! The deadline is this Sunday (the 31 of August), so you only have a few days to enter! 

If August 31 seems too soon, how about September 1? That gives you a whole extra 24 hours to prepare something to submit to Dancing With Bear Publishing's October anthology that will be specifically about breast cancer in honor of Breast Cancer Awareness month. They are looking for stories both from survivors and from family members and friends of those who have had the disease. If you have been affected by breast cancer, please think about submitting to this anthology. For more information and how to enter, click the link above. 

We do hope that everyone who is able to submit does, and we'll be sending you all well wishes this holiday weekend! And, if any of you are chosen for either anthology, let us know! We'd love to post about that, or any other exciting news you may have here on the blog. Send any and all emails to swapurplepros@gmail.com. We look forward to hearing from you and good luck!