Already got a book published? Whether it's self-published or traditionally published, you really need to get out there and query book bloggers. These amazing, wonderful readers can hold the key to your success and help spread the word about your book.
When I first started epubbing, I didn't query book bloggers. I assumed (making an ass mostly out of me...not you...lol) that they would only read traditionally published books. NOT TRUE! Many bloggers will read any book that piques their interest.
But how to approach them?
First, head to their blogs and read their guidelines. Seriously. It's exactly like querying an agent or publisher. Make sure you're contacting someone who will actually be interested in your work.
You need to treat bloggers with the same respect you'd treat an agent or publisher. Crafting a concise query letter is the first step to success. Oh, and before anyone assumes I have no success with query letters since I'm self-published here's my quick story: As a former freelance parenting journalist I spent seven years successfully crafting queries for article pitches. In the short time I queried agents, I had zillions of requests for pages, so I do know a bit about this. ;)
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| FREE on Amazon - click to download |
Forget prophecy. Make your own destiny.
Sheltered from the outside world with no hope for escape, slave girl Reychel dreads her fifteenth birthday - when her master’s symbol is burned on the back of her bald scalp. Her best friend disappears the night before, leaving her to face the branding ceremony alone. She soon discovers nothing is as it seems when people desperate for freedom beg for Reychel's help.
Can Reychel learn to believe in herself?
Would you consider reviewing my YA fantasy novel, Anathema? It combines a gritty fantasy world like Game of Thrones with the teen accessibility of Twilight. I can provide you with an ecopy for review from your choice of vendor: Amazon, Barnes&Noble, or Smashwords. Anathema has an average of 4.3/5 stars on Amazon.com and has been reviewed by many top bloggers.
Please feel free to visit me on my website, www.meggjensen.com, or on Facebook, www.facebook.com/meggjensenauthor. Thank you for your time and consideration. I look forward to hearing from you.
Best,
Megg Jensen
...contact info...
Now, this is a generic query. I always, always, always personalize my queries to each blogger. I mention something I find intriguing about their website, or a review of theirs I particularly enjoyed. It's not brown-nosing, it's common courtesy to show some interest in someone who you'd like to notice you. Often I will also mention that there is no hurry to review. Many bloggers have stacks of books that could fill a library. Don't pressure them or they'll probably just reject your book immediately. (This applies to regular reviews - not blog tours which is a whole other topic.)
Want me to critique your book blogger query? More info here on how to submit.
Megg, Miss Enchanted ePubber
3 comments:
Great post, Megg. Thanks for sharing :)
I like this post. It's not too long, and it gets right to the point. I'd actually like to get permission to re-post it, as I run an informative literary blog that deals mostly with the behind-the -scenes aspect of publishing a book, rather than straight forward book reviews. This post is just the type of information my readers would enjoy, and naturally I would give due credit and link the post back to your site.
Currently, I get between 6,000-10,000 visitors per month on my blog, so it's not huge, but it's not bad either.
I'd love to hear from you at yamina@yaminatoday.com.
Best to all of you ladies with what you're doing.
Yamina Collins
Yeah, Megg, until you mentioned this type of query, I had no idea that one would query book bloggers for reviews either! Yours is great!
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