[typeform url="https://form.typeform.com/to/Nxdee45u" heading="Should you become a book reviewer?" Writing And Scheduling Posts, What Tools Can Help Me Be An Organized Blogger? Waterstones:Once published, I will post my reviews to the Waterstones website.. If I DNFed, I say why. Now I am off to update my bio. Im still new to the book blogging world so this will help me out a ton. Below, I've curated some of the best real professional bio examples I've ever seen on Twitter, Instagram, Facebook, and the various websites. You can find a specific publishers Approval Preferences on their Publisher page, and the information there can help to shape what you share in your Profile. r/RomanceBooks is a discussion sub for readers of romance novels. This can mean the department you work in, the events or programs you plan, any purchasing youre in charge of, the outlets youve written for, and more. Netgalley is a site which is primarily used to get advance copies of books to industry figures so that they can take some action that will sell copies of a book when it comes out (like, writing a review that encourages people to buy books! Cause Im going to cover the ways you can make your profile reflect that youre awesomesauce an amazing and responsible blogger who will surely fulfil the publishers needs! I hope youre doing okay. Are you a member of an authors street team? I am frequently approved for ARCs and I think this is most likely due to my role as a librarian and person in charge of ordering books for my facility. Now dont forget to go read Lucys post about how to use Edelweiss, as well as the other posts I listed in this guide! Twitter:I use Twitter to post my book reviews, share bookish news and support other book bloggers. :). Pamela @ Reverie Society Educates! You can find them by navigating to a title's Feedback page or by clicking the purple gear icon on the right-hand side of the Manage Titles page. Requesting on both platforms is quite simple. What a publisher does then is to look at a persons profile. And that should cover you! Make your reviews thoughtful and honest. If you want to join the #NewBloggers support chat group, just drop me a comment here or a DM on Twitter. When a publisher looks at your Profile, they can already see all of the Categories that youve selected (under the. https://www.goodreads.com/user/show/43524129-bree This is me if anyone wants more friends! Or buying copies for their library or bookstore!). Marking that you listen to audiobooks or are a member of a book club helps ensure you get relevant promotional emailsincluding announcements of newly uploaded NetGalley books, limited time Read Now opportunities, and more. If youre a new reviewer whos apprehensive about the scale and competitiveness of NetGalley, wed recommend starting a bit smaller. First Second is a division of Macmillan Publishers. (Have you noticed theres a message at the bottom, saying that you should rather leave links in the links section than in the text? Do you host any online reading events? Will you be writing any reviews (even just a few sentences?) Join For Free! All Rights Reserved, 2010-2019 NetGalley LLC. And you have to handle all of these book requests, that, honesly, probably just drain the life out of you, cause honestly, there are just so many bloggers, you sometimes just feel the publishing industry is sitting on a huge anthill. TBR Spreadsheets, [NewBloggers 101] A Quick Guide To Bloglovin, [#NewBloggers 101] General Intro To Bookstagram, [NewBloggers] A (Mostly?) NetGalley has a feedback ratio, where publishers can see how many books youve read, out of the ones youve received. This is so helpful. Make sure youre opted into receiving those emails in the Account Security section of your Profile, under Subscriptions.. I am retired, and live in a rural setting. Yes! When you request there, you have the option to share why you're requesting a specific book, so that could possibly boost your chances. Any advice on what to put down for company when I am not working for a company? Where did you go?! When a publisher looks at your Profile, they can see the list of Categories that youve chosen, which means you dont need to worry about listing them in your Bio. Demonstrate your reach through your Profile and your feedback. So there is a little bit of guidance on how to write a Netgalley bio! Including important stats about your platforms, such as average monthly pageviews to your blog or social media following, is very helpful for publishers. Learn more about our use of cookies: Cookie Policy. As a reader I want more of those from people reviewing from ARC's. NetGalley is an incredible way to start receiving review copies of books. Your reviews can help an unknown author find their audience. Oh my goodness thank you! She has kindly agreed to help out our #NewBloggers group by posting one! Librarians, booksellers, and educators: make sure to indicate if you are a member of any professional associations. NetGalley proudly works with publishers and authors, large and small, throughout the world. Kelly Gallucci is the Executive Editor of We Are Bookish, where she oversees the editorial content, offers book recommendations, and interviews authors and NetGalley members. Sorry for the late response Anne! I have been trying to make my profile stronger. So if you want to get your hands or your eyes, rather on these in-demand digital galleys as a new reviewer, you need to do everything just right. This was super helpful thank you so much for posting this!! You should worry if your ratio is lower than 50%. Which is why Im not going to just give an example of my profile. Booksellers who enter their ABA numbers are generally approved more quickly and often (including being auto-approved). Publishers are looking for thoughtful, professional reviewers and your Bio is the first taste of your writing that they get. How Do I Make A Good Edelweiss Or NetGalley Profile? I use NetGalley and have gotten 85 books (not all romance) but I think I've been rejected for every direct request I've made. My favourite genres include Mystery & Thrillers, Psychological Thrillers, Horror and True Crime. NetGalley is a service that provides digital advance copies aka galley proofs of books for members to read and review. Ive been wondering how I should update my profile since I started a blog. While youre in the About You section of your Profile, make sure to check out the options under Topics! If you apply for romance books, your preferred categories needs to have romance in it. Book recommendations come in many forms, and its helpful for publishers to see if the books they approve you for may also end up in a listicle, Booktube video, Bookstagram picture, or more! Last time, we talked about when you should start requesting ARCs (advance reader copies) at all, and today? So that is 5 in one week. I need a bio. Marking that you listen to audiobooks or are a member of a book club helps ensure you get relevant promotional emailsincluding announcements of newly uploaded NetGalley books, limited time Read Now opportunities, and more. https://www.goodreads.com/user/show/124102284-megan. https://www.goodreads.com/user/show/43524129-bree, https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/50706457-love-is-a-rogue, https://www.netgalley.com/catalog/readnow, https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/43438815-all-scot-and-bothered, https://www.goodreads.com/user/show/124102284-megan. Consider making it visible so that if publishers ever have a question or want to work with you on a specific campaign, they can reach out! Make sure to include the department you work in, the events or programs you plan, any purchasing youre in charge of, the outlets youve written for, and more. Chances are, youll want the profile youre reading to be: The list could go on, but I think this is roughly it. If I DNFed, I say why. Editing to add: I completely forgot that they ask about a company - I just checked my profile, and I just put my website link. Im going to revisit it now! Do you volunteer at your local library? Trust book recommendations from real people, not robots . Thank you so much! My bio on NetGalley is very very skimpy. Fill in your details below or click an icon to log in: You are commenting using your WordPress.com account. A lot of the time, this is a really easy decision! You can read. If you dont have one handy, snap a quick shot of yourself and a favorite book! Email and WordPress included, I also include all my social stats seperately, As for finding your stats by month, go to your my site/stats homepage bit and then in the top bar click months, and then you filter it by each month! But sometimes, its a much harder decision. You may not have a designated blog or publication that assigns you books, but you can still post literary thoughts on Twitter or Tumblr. Save my name, email, and website in this browser for the next time I comment. And while this doesnt mean you need to be a seasoned reviewer to sign up, you may still want to build your portfolio a bit first (more on that later). Were going to talk about how to start doing it. I actually I struggled when I first decided to get on board with netgalley because I had no idea what to put on my bio I have something similar but in a much smaller scale I still get denied a lot of times but also approved!! All Rights Reserved, 2010-2019 NetGalley LLC. Its where a lot of book bloggers get good as early as a half a year before they come out! The best books can go undiscovered. This is very helpful! No worries! However, you also have to fill out your company (presumably helpful if you work in publishing or for a magazine/newspaper) and your role. I don't have hardly any social media presence but I do post reviews on goodreads. From there youll be able to write a review, leave a brief opinion, or (in rare instances) note why you didnt finish the book. Are you a blogger? read tons of exciting new books before anyone else. Do: Share stats Complete Goodreads Tutorial. Change), You are commenting using your Twitter account. I hope to get more approval s from net galley. I have a third one out I havent gotten to yet that looks promising! You can filter for genre but there aren't that many ReadNow, I just look at it every few days and scan through the latest. document.getElementById( "ak_js_1" ).setAttribute( "value", ( new Date() ).getTime() ); Im Zuky, from the UK, and 26 years old. As a reviewer, if you have a logo for your blog or social media profiles, you can use that as well. Its also just a guaranteed way to suck all the fun out of NetGalley! First Second Welcomes Editorial Assistant Kiara Valdez. Despite the vastness of the NetGalley community, these other sites are much better-known mainstream hubs. which categories you prefer. Do you host any online reading events? Do you review audiobooks as well as print/e-books? YES PLEASE. The two templates above serve only as a framework, so feel free to add or delete some sentences as you see fit. To maximize your chances of picking up good titles right off the bat, theres one thing you need to do: write some other stuff before you join. Im so glad this blog came in handy! Youll receive an email when your request is approved or declined, which usually happens within a few days. Litsy A Bookish Social Network, [NewBloggers] What Tools Can Help Me Be An Organized Blogger? Hi Jenna, sorry for the late response, Ive been on holiday! If you have a blog or other form of bookish social media, talk about the type of content that you create. If you post reviews on your website or blog, indicate which is the primary place you . Great post, and definitely a useful tip for anyone new in NetGalley, and I think I consider myself quite a newbie there. But now that I have a new iPad, I just signed up and took your tips for creating a profile! First of all, you should check out Lucys @ That Book Gal guide to Edelweiss. I blog about all sorts of topics in books empathy, culture, adventure cake. And I just requested stuff and eventually got my first approval. NetGalley helps publishers and authors promote digital review copies to book advocates and industry professionals. Good luck with getting book freebies! social media links are nice, but both NetGalley and Edelweiss have special spots to fill them into, so if the bio repeats them? Any kind of cohesive, thoughtful article that shows you can evaluate and articulately comment on a given issue will serve you well in authors and publishers eyes. On the other hand, if youve never reviewed books before, youll have your work cut out for you. Also make sure that you have the right categories in your profile. This may be frustrating to hear when youre eager to pick up tons of books, but believe this: authors and publishers care way less about the numbers than they do about the reviews themselves. Plus, set a recurring reminder for yourself to update those stats on a regular basis (monthly, quarterly, etc). If youre a bookseller whos a member of the ABA, a librarian whos a member of the ALA, someone who the publishing staff person knows professionally, the answer is obviously yes. Are you a member of an authors street team? So following all that, the question is: should you sign up to NetGalley as a reviewer? Basically I was hoping people could chime in with what to put in your bio and how they've had success getting approved. If youre picking up ten new books a week and rushing to review them, you might build up a decent reputation but youll soon find yourself hating the work, and your reviews will start to sound churned-out and dull. Do you review for Amazon VINE? I don't know about Netgalley but there have been several threads of people asking for Goodreads friends. Ive had a NetGalley account for a bitso long since I got it that I had forgotten it! Basically the only place my book love exists is Goodreads, where I have like 3 friends and substandard reviews because I was only really doing it for me before. I will also be redirecting you to content where this is talked about at the end of this post, dont worry! . NetGalley is technically free to join as a reader/reviewer. Well, youve come to the right place. Do: Share your favorite authors To become a NetGalley member, all you have to do is sign up. One of the top complaints from NetGalley authors is that giving away tons of free copies often only results in NetGalley feedback which may be useful to authors on a personal level, but not so much on a promotional level. If you are a bookseller, book trade professional, educator, librarian, reviewer, journalist or in the media, NetGalley is for you! Thanks for the information! . As for the profile text itself, you can keep it the same as NetGalley! I hope this post was helpful for you, Id love to hear your thoughts! No matter what your member type is, chances are that you write book reviews that you publish outside of NetGalley. While I dont have Netgalley, I want to get it because FREE BOOKS BEFORE THEIR PUBLISHING DATE??? arent necessary. for more insight into what you should include in your Profile based on your member type. But also don't do that BS marketing pitch fake sounding reviews. NetGalley has a feedback ratio, where publishers can see how many books you've read, out of the ones you've received. When you go to fill out your Profile, you can select the Categories you cover in your role as a professional reader. I just picked up three this week, The Undertaking of Lily Chen and Boxes and Saints box set. Im sure you could sneak on there if you wanted , Nice post, thanks! That's why We Are Bookish's Kelly Gallucci interviewed Estelle Hallick, Publicity and Marketing Manager at Forever, about her process for managing requests, and her advice to members looking to improve their profiles. document.addEventListener('DOMContentLoaded', (event) => { I use NetGalley. , Glad you could use it to update your bio! For example, if youre a blogger with your own regular newsletter, you might mention a relevant book to your own subscribers. Just like you. You basically have no time to eat and sleep. Awesome!! tab), so theres no need to list them again in your Bio. After being approved for a book, you can either download a protected PDF or send the galley proof to your Kindle. This is what Ive mentioned before!) Check out our list of 17 sites where you can get paid to read and review. Congratulations to :01s New Associate Art Director, Andrew Arnold! When a valid ALA, ALIA, ABA or BA member number is added to a NetGalley account, you will see the relevant logo next to their name when they request a title or when you view their Profile. This is what I wonder about, because I don't use social media. Whats the thing you want to see? , talk about the type of content that you create. Another wonderful post, Zuky And so helpful! Dont: Get too personal Once you start picking up books, you have to provide feedback for most of the titles you read. Your suggestions are very helpful. Thanks for this. In my opinion, your Netgalley bio should lean toward the professional over the personal. Now, consider youve just received 76 book requests. So, what does a top-notch professional bio look like? How was your holiday?! However, theres no such thing as a free lunch NetGalley members are expected to provide frequent reviews to retain access to its titles. Publishers make digital review copies and audiobooks available for the NetGalley community to discover, request, read, and review. Your email address will not be published. But as a publisher, were actually putting our books up on Netgalley so that they get in the hands of people who specifically have a career in loving to read people who have become booksellers or librarians or teachers, and who are in a position to affect the sales numbers of a book. Make sure to include the department you work in, the events or programs you plan, any purchasing youre in charge of, the outlets youve written for, and more. Publishers can see which genres you prefer to read and review, and by also sharing your favorite authors, you can help provide an even better understanding of the types of books within those genres you most enjoy. Booksellers can add their ABA member ID number to their NetGalley profile. I love middle grade, womens, scifi and some literary too. Publishers make digital review copies and audiobooks available for the NetGalley community to discover, request, read, and review. So for every book, carve out some time to read write up your feedback on it. Do you run a book club? Im Evelina and I blog about books that made an impression on me. I have a huge passion for reading. OMG, This is wonderful! with a book publicist to learn more about the stats theyre looking for. requests a title from a publisher via Netgalley, that publisher has to go through by hand and approve each request. Provide links to your preferred platforms Try to stick to 3-5 authors to keep things simple. With a my new profile pic and bio, I used this to help, thanks SOO Much! I am starting to post my book reviews on Netgalley, but Im noticing that they arent separating into paragraphs and are just combining all togetherwhich looks ugly. Here are a few tips to help you optimize your NetGalley reviewer experience. Hello, thank you for this it is really helpful for anyone setting up a netgalley profile! Join Reedsy Discovery and help us find great new books . One of the problems I have is that when I try to post my review on Goodreads, I get a message prompt from them stating that they cannot locate the ISBN#. Great post! Plus sub-genre preferences. Your Profile includes a section titled Where I Share Reviews. This is a crucial place to provide links to any websites or social media where you share your book reviews, the media outlets where you cover books, or the bookstore, library, or school where youre employed. You can also do a few read now books to get your stats up. Also does having a profile pic help? That 80% figure is no joke; authors and publishers rarely approve reviewers with spotty feedback histories. And youre done. NetGalley members are always curious about how they can get publishers to approve more of their requests. https://www.netgalley.com/catalog/readnow Sometimes there are just samplers or previews of the first 4 chapters or so, which make for very fast reads. Good luck with all your Netgalley requesting . A picture of yourself on your NetGalley Profile can help show your vibrant personality to publishers. Are you an OwnVoices reviewer? Add your school's website. There is also Edelweiss (I think that's the spelling? does this blogger run some groups, participate in some street teams? Make sure youre opted into receiving those emails in the Account Security section of your Profile, under Subscriptions.. For some reason, I get approved on Edelweiss quite a bit..? Do you belong to an organization like SCBWI or PEN? Mine shows 351 but technically only 136 are from WordPress. Im also experiencing a major change in my personal life that is the worst negative possible I suppose. Just add any social media/sites where you discuss books (even if it's just Goodreads!) I don't give an ARC to people who write one-line reviews. If youre a reviewer, clearly state where your reviews appear. If you do have a website even if its just to host the main pieces of your portfolio add a link to that too. As it gets new views every day I thought it could do with a little update. Your Bio is the perfect place to share this information with publishersas long as youre comfortable, of course! NetGalley was developed as an alternative to the production of paper galleys and has since evolved into a key marketing and publicity platform for publishers and authors. Once youve submitted your feedback, you can request more proofs, and the whole cycle begins anew. Your Bio can help to give publishers insight into your role and how you can best work with them. Takes 30 seco Its an exciting time to be a book reviewer. It can also be a good opportunity for reviewers who already have a platform and want to bolster their reputation even more. Make sure your links work. Netgalley makes a big deal about the fact that having a good bio will make publishers more likely to accept your requests, however, they don't really give you a lot of support in terms of what publishers would like to see there, so you're left to your own devices to make something up. Thank you so much for writing this! There are six member types on NetGalley (reviewer, book trade professional, librarian, bookseller, educator, journalist or member of the media) and publishers have different goals for working with each one. Get started by signing in or joining for free. As with your preferred categories, it might seem like you should hedge your bets by going big, but its actually better to be selective yes, even as a new reviewer. Thank you so much for all the advice! Totally agree with the bit about updating stats regularly and setting it out clearly so it makes it easy for the person at the publisher responsible for approving requests. Welcome! Typos and links that arent working can be a sign of a lack of attention to detail, so be sure to give your Bio a final proofread every time you update it. Nicole @ FYFA To The Rescue! Authors use NetGalley to obtain reviews for upcoming releases, while reviewers get to be the first to read and comment on them. You can either Review or Give Feedback. Links Hi everyone! Reading should still give you joy rather than it being a chore. . I blog about all sorts of topics in books , The Greatest Book Blogging Myths Ive Encountered, Real Publicist Advice On How To Get Review Copies Approved, #NewBloggers 101 comes back! Increase the visibility and value of your reviews, and make your review process more efficient, by connecting your account to your blog and social platforms. First, youll need to wade through a deluge of other titles some interesting, some not-so-much to prove youre a committed and high-quality reviewer. What you need to keep in mind when requesting, though, isto not let it get out of hand. Anyway, I found a new book Id like to read on NetGalley, but its not published yet. So you want to move from Blogger to (free) WordPress? Goodreads: I post all of my reviews on my Goodreads account which Im an active user of. Reading Habits thanks for the tips. This here is her NetGalley profile: I hope Heena does not mind me borrowing her profile for a bit, but also, go check out her quite extensive list about what to tweak on your NetGalley profile, which includes putting your email on it (although Id make sure to remove @ so you dont get spam botted! And when selecting your preferred Categories, its helpful to stick to the genres you cover in your role as a professional reader. There are six member types on NetGalley (reviewer, book trade professional, librarian, bookseller, educator, journalist or member of the media) and publishers have different goals for working with each one. This is especially true if you find yourself requesting books from the same publishers time and again. Well, it all depends on what you want, as well as what you can realistically expect. Is there any reason you don't leave reviews on GR for those less than 4 stars? Not a Member? So that should help you figure out the ins and outs of requesting books on Edelweiss, and let me talk about what you should do about your profile. When she's not working, Kelly can be found color coordinating her bookshelves, eating Chipotle, and watching way too many baking shows. I saw that your profile picture updated on Instagram, which I really love! [1] [2] Publishers that offer e-galleys include Hachette , HarperCollins Publishers , Penguin Random House , Simon & Schuster , and many others in the US , the UK , Australia . , Wow, how come I missed this post? Glad its fixed though. #TheStruggleIsReal. When you request books on NetGalley, publishers will see the ABA logo near your name, allowing them to easily identify you as a confirmed ABA member. If youre a reviewer, clearly state where your reviews appear. Just started my Netgally account and I had no idea what to put in my bio. XD (But theres the age thing where you have to be eighteen but Im not but I know some people who are younger than 18 and are still on Netgalley??? Finally, set your reading preferences on NetGalley, i.e. Keep requesting - once you get a few approvals and leave reviews on the site, you'll establish yourself and more publishers will approve you. I love using ReadNow to find books I wouldn't have encountered otherwise, I don't mind not getting advance copies of the huge buzzy books because I know my library will buy them anyway, but ReadNow has helped me find some indie or small press authors I've really taken to. For Netgalley I suppose a follower count doesnt matter so much if you would prefer not to include it.