In 2018, I was contracted by a first time, self-published author of African fantasy. Honestly speaking, I shared with the author that I had no experience in this genre and, to be really honest, I didn’t even have the desire to read it. Fantasy for me, is best executed on screen (my opinion). To my surprise, the author didn’t mind my lack of experience in this genre. He believed in me. He’d seen my body of work and believed I was the person for the job.
His book would be a trilogy, another cause for pause in my head.
His main request was book reviews. He didn’t want to get on Oprah or Good Morning America (you’d be surprised how many first time authors want these two placements). I explained the approach we would take, we did a virtual handshake (contract too) and agreed to move forward.
I offered my feedback on his cover and, once finalized, we would start the outreach.
After reading the manuscript, which I enjoyed (4) stars, I looked through my blogger list to see who would be interested in fantasy. This was the season of Tomi Adeyemi’s Children of Blood and Bone and Marlon James’ Black Leopard Red Wolf, which by the way I attempted to read. I got about 250 pages in.
Not many of my contacts were interested in fantasy and especially from a self-published author writing for the first time. I get it. For avid readers, it’s a risk to read something by someone who considers it a hobby versus a passion. However, I found a few opportunities for the author to participate in Comic-Con style events and blerd (black nerd) podcasts to share about his trilogy and writing process. But getting those reviews was a challenge.
We ran a Goodreads giveaway and that helped a bit.
As someone who has been in the industry for close to 20 years, what I didn’t know at the time was that NetGalley accepted self-published books. NetGalley is a platform used by the publishing industry for the distribution of digital early review copies. The audience is composed of librarians, bloggers, traditional reviewers, media, book clubs, and avid readers who will leave reviews on NetGalley itself, Goodreads, Amazon, and other sites. This is the place where the readers reside and they accept self published debuts.
How to Acquire a Literary Agent
The teacher has learned something and I’m sharing with you. Here are five reasons you should create a NetGalley account and submit your self published book:
- Get your book in libraries
Chances are you may not know many librarians personally, but they are using NetGalley as a place to find books that they can order into their branches. While libraries are the place we go to borrow books, readers will still leave reviews on platforms where people purchase. Book sales really do move quickly when positive reviews are circulated.
- Early reviews from NetGalley have proven themselves to be a beneficial way to begin your launch campaign.
Hiring a publicist is a financial investment in relationship building to further your goal for your book(s). Too often authors are focused on hiring someone before they have done their due diligence and explored more cost-effective ways to introduce their work to readers. That was not the case in 2019 when I connected with then self-published author Jayne Allen, Black Girls Must Die Exhausted.
She did her research. When we spoke, she had already placed her debut book on NetGalley and had reviews I could use during my outreach. Boom! And that is how I found out that indie authors could submit their titles to NG. She used a series of promotions over the course of months and hired me to reach out to her targeted audience. We connected with bookstores, libraries, media and Bookstagrammers.
The campaign was such a success and she wore her author and publisher hat very well that, this year, Harper Collins Paperback will release Black Girls Must Die Exhausted under their imprint. Jayne is now a traditionally published author.
9 Keys to Building an Author Platform that will Help You Sell More Books – Independently
- Audiobook reviews
Last year, NetGalley launched their audiobook enhancement. The sustained growth of the audiobook market over the past several years has led audiobook publishers to seek new ways to promote their books and increase the discoverability of the format. NetGalley’s existing platform allows publishers to efficiently distribute review copies, and audiobook publishers can now benefit from the robust tools, reporting, and engaged community.
- Connect with your target audience
Identifying your target audience is important to the success of your book promotions. If you are unclear on your audience, how will you know where to spend your resources to market to them. NetGalley allows its users to specify what type of books they are interested in by genre. This means that your memoir can be included in a newsletter shared directly to readers who have come to NG for the purpose of reading memoirs. It’s really that simple. You can find your ideal reader here. And if you are like self-published, New York Times bestselling author Claire Contreas, you can find a brand new audience when you start a new project.
- Bookstores
Wouldn’t it be nice to have a bookseller contact you and express interest in carrying your book in their retail store? Well, NetGalley can help with that too. Booksellers are also tuned into NetGalley and looking for the best titles for their customers.
Publicists and book marketing professionals appreciate the early buzz they can receive from NetGalley readership and this is available to self-published authors as well. Whether you are publishing in hardcover, paperback, e-book, or audio, I suggest checking out this platform and learning how you can best use it to launch your next book. Now, when I am working with a self-published novelist, NetGalley is one of the first platforms I mention during our onboarding call.
Lesson learned!
To see some additional platforms that can support you in garnering book reviews, check out my post on Instagram, Platforms for Early Reviews.
Stay up to date by subscribing to Dawn’s newsletter below. Also follow her on Instagram @theliterarylobbyist.
