…And what I’d do differently with review copies for my next book
First, before you ask, I’m not working on another book.
But now and then, I come across content (like the Tim Ferriss/James clear interview) and realize what more I could have done during my second book launch. This blog by Stephanie Chandler of the Nonfiction Authors Association on “Where to Send Review Copies of Your Book” was really insightful, and I thought I’d recap the info and let you know whether I did the task.
What are review copies?
Advance review copies are what you send before your book comes out. All podcast hosts who interviewed me before my book launch date got a link to download my ebook. There was one fellow who asked for a hard copy, so I sent him one of my proofs. It landed me an interview, so it was worth the shipping.
You can (obviously) send review copies after your book launches. Chandler lists the opportunities:
- Acquiring reviews on Amazon and beyond
- Attracting media coverage, podcast interviews
- Building word of mouth
- Gaining exposure with influencers through blogs, social media, etc.
- Enticing a new prospective client to work with you
- Getting your book considered for bulk purchases
- Being invited or hired as a speaker
I definitely sent review copies of my book to media/podcasters, influencers who I hoped would read and post about my book, and all my clients in 2023. Of the three places where I was asked to speak since the book launched, one leader had endorsed my book and one leader contributed to my book. I would have given the ebook to the third (a Meetup organizer), but she didn’t ask for a copy.
It’s a good idea to get in the habit of giving away your ebook, but it just wasn’t in my nature then. I did not offer ebooks to readers for online reviews, nor did I offer them to bookstores I pitched.
Who to send review copies to
Here’s the rest of Chandler’s list and whether I sent to them:
- Anyone mentioned in the book: I sent hard copies to all my local contributors. Had my book price been cheaper, I would have sent to all 47 contributors. I also should have sent ebooks to the other 44 companies who approved examples for me to include and the other ~50 companies who just got shoutouts. The downside of publishing a book with multiple contributors or names is that not all will promote your book equally; a selfie or video was a tough ask for most folks. But in a perfect world, anyone in the book should get a free hard copy so they can post a photo to social and post a review online.
- Endorsers: No. Should have sent ebooks at the very least.
- Beta readers: No, but I should have sent ebooks.
- Amazon reviewers: As mentioned, recruiting readers wasn’t a part of my strategy, but if I wrote another book, I’d hire a VA to make a list of, say, 25 top Amazon reviewers of similar books and reach out to them. That’s helpful in getting Amazon bestseller status.
- Bloggers: Bloggers weren’t really part of my media strategy, but if they needed a book, they got an ebook.
- Book review bloggers: See above.
- Podcasters: Yes.
- Social media and YouTube influencers: I didn’t approach many of these folks as my book was focused on business, but I offered my book to 12 vegan biz influencers, only one of whom posted a social review on LinkedIn.
- Media pros: Yes. My very first article came out 24 hours after I sent the editor my ebook.
- Online groups: Since vegans were my target reader, I didn’t offer this in online groups, but next time I’d offer 10–25 spots for folks to get free ebooks for an online review. Again, this would help with bestseller status online.
- Association and nonprofit leaders: I reached out to all the vegan & vegetarian associations I could find about my book, but I really should have sent them ebooks too.
- Prospective clients: All clients get my ebook (or a paperback if they run a vegan company in North America), but I’d offer it to prospects on a case-by-case basis.
- College professors: No, but for my next book I’d get a VA to compile a list of college professors across Canada; maybe the US too if doable.
- Specialty retailers: There aren’t very many physical vegan stores, but had my book been cheaper, I would have definitely hit them all up. I got feedback from my university’s bookstore that my price was too high for them and they’d have to mark it up over $38. (Note: Colour interior drives up your book price!)
- Corporations: No; these were my target readers. Perhaps next time I’d add the top 10–25 global vegan companies to a freebie list.
- Speaking opportunities: As mentioned above, two of three organization leaders who offered me a speaking gig already had copies of my book. This is something I should put into practice, though.
- My tribe of influence: I certainly sent marketing messages to my networks, but did not offer them freebies since they were my target reader.
Ways your network can help
Chandler makes the following 9 points on other ways your network can help you promote your book:
- Buy your books in bulk for the company they work for or introduce you to someone who could make a bulk purchase. I offered this to all the contributors and companies in my book and to my network, but no one asked about buying in bulk. One reader (a client) said she bought 4 copies to give away to friends. (So nice!)
- Invite you to speak at an event, in-person or by webinar. Most of these opportunities happened because I launched this book.
- Post a positive review on Amazon, Goodreads, or another online retailer. Anyone I gave a comp copy to I sent my goodreads link (because Amazon might not publish if you didn’t buy there) and that’s why I have more reviews there than on Amazon.
- Announce your book via social media or an email list. Done. This is a given!
- Introduce you to media contacts. In my emails to contributors & companies in the book, I asked for connections to specific vegan media, none of which I received, but it’s definitely a good thing to ask.
- Connect you with a podcast interview opportunity. Same as above.
- Host a contest or giveaway with a key target audience. My aunt sponsored three copies to give away, so it was fun doing that on Instagram and LinkedIn. No one enters LinkedIn contests, so rethink that (one person entered there; she had a 100% chance to win).
- Interview you for a blog or print publication. Same sentiment as media & podcasts above. I offered to write blogs and email messages, but no one took me up on that offer.
- Connect you with a corporate sponsorship opportunity. Although I offered sponsorship opportunities on my book page, I didn’t push this because it might literally involve changing your book to mention the sponsor. This should actually be done before the book gets published. If you want to do another version of your book with different pages &/or ads in it, you might need a new ISBN and it feels like it’d be a hassle to do all that. But if a sponsorship deal helps you sell more books, by all means, go for it and do what makes the sponsor happy while not compromising your content.
The post also says to set aside 100 review copies. I purchased 64 hard copies to sell at events and give away, which was a bit more than I needed. Next time I’d do 50 (unless I had the opportunity to, for example, include a copy in every swag bag for a conference) and then give ebooks to everyone else. You can always order more later.
What about audiobooks?
My audiobook files are split up by chapter. I sent a folder with these files to one person mentioned in my book, as she seemed to imply she wouldn’t read a hard or ebook copy. The downside is they’ll need to download all the separate files. No one requested this format, so unless you have your entire book in one file, I wouldn’t readily offer it.
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