Book Sirens

Books on a Budget

Posted on by Brenda Poulos
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As a kid, I often went to a thrift store to buy used books to read. Today, it’s still worth the trip to Goodwill or Salvation Army to find books for those of us who read a lot and/or are on a budget.

However, if you’re looking for new releases, you can find deals on websites such as Book Sirens, Goodreads, and Book Bub.

Most give readers free copies (usually e-books) in exchange for writing unbiased reviews. Authors furnish books to them in hopes of garnering reviews, which are “golden” to writers, increasing their rank on Amazon and other websites.

Think writing reviews takes lots of time and more skill than you currently have?

Next week, I’ll tackle that question.

Get That “BUZZ”

Posted on by Brenda Poulos
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Authors, you can use book reviews to build credibility and buzz about your book BEFORE IT IS PUBLISHED.

Here’s how:

1- Identify reviewers who read in your genre. (In other words, if you write mysteries, target people who read mysteries—or, better yet, other mystery authors who are willing to review your book for you.)

2- Offer to review their work, in exchange for their review of yours. (If they are not an author, offer them a free, signed copy of yours AND let them know their review will be published on the back cover of your book or inside page following the title page).

3- If you don’t have contacts of your own, you can use platforms, such as BookSirens or Net Galley, but they require a fee and the sending of free copies to their reviewers.

On those platforms, you are able to read reviews written in the past, and choose one or more reviewers (based on what kind of job you think they did) to review your book.

**Stay tuned. More information in next week’s blog.

FREE e-books

Posted on by Brenda Poulos
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Readers: Want to Get FREE e-books? It’s fast and easy. 

Simply sign up online at BOOK SIRENS. (Signing up is free).

They boast having books from 5,000+ authors and publishers to choose from.

As a reader, all you do is fill in a short questionnaire about your preferred genre, read a book from their library of available books, and leave a review.

Read as many as you want. No minimum or maximum.

You’ll be helping to support authors by writing your honest reviews on Amazon, Goodreads, and/or Book Bub. If you find an author you’d like to follow, you can easily add your name to their reader list after you read.

While you’re on the Book Sirens site, look for Remember Me: A Sonnet for Marigold by Mia Michaels. It’s a new Romantic Suspense Novel you won’t want to miss.