Comment

Comment by Shawn Lamb on March 23, 2012 at 9:37am

I can appreciate your stand, Carolyn, but I still don't believe Kirkus is worth $400 to $500. I'd have to sell a lot of books to make-up the cost.  I didn't pay for Harriet Klasuner, Amazon's #1 reviewer - who was also featured in Time Magazine as one of the nation's top reviewers - and she gave Allon Book 1 a 5 Star, raving review. Surprisingly, for all her clout, I didn't really see a bump in sales.

Comment by Carolyn Haley on March 23, 2012 at 8:37am

I review for Kirkus Indie, and I can assure you that we are required to write balanced reviews. They probably aren't truly unbiased, because it's darn near impossible to be a human being and not have your own tastes and preferences; but as far as evaluating and work and writing it up are concerned, Kirkus has strong standards and we are required to abide by them. Our submitted reviews are vetted and edited if necessary in order to maintain this standard, and we have to apply for the positions -- not just anyone can review for the organization, you must have experience and demonstrate your ability to write a fair review.

So there's no need to hesitate about this company. If your book qualifies for their regular (free to you) service, by all means submit it -- a review from Kirkus has industry clout. On the indie side, where you must pay, you'll at least get your money's worth in reliability. The fee is a self-preservation business choice by the company: There are just too darn many people self-publishing, with an inordinate number of them producing bottom-of-the-slush-pile material. Charging a fee forces this tidal wave of people to self-select out of the pile while providing a respected venue for their work to be reviewed and get exposure.

Comment by Jo Anne Valentine Simson on March 23, 2012 at 8:06am

I did pay for a Kirkus Indie review of my book (less than $400, though), published through CreateSpace, because I wanted a truly unbiased evaluation of the work, which is on a controversial topic. I was told I would get a fair evaluation and could accept it or not. It was quite positive, and was glad I had done it. Don't know how I'd feel if it were negative. The review (and a link to the book) is at:

http://www.kirkusreviews.com/book-reviews/jv-simson/god-says-i-am/

 

Comment by Shawn Lamb on March 23, 2012 at 4:09am

The Colorado bookstore's grand opening was a hit, and my Allon Series was the bestseller - 'flying off the shelf" according to the owner. In fact, customers started ordering book 5, which just came out this month. I need to ship an order to restock and include book 5! Fortunately, my printer was quick in getting the books to me.

Indie authors need more brick-n-mortar stores dedicated to us like Back To The Books. Online is helpful, but a physical presences is needful.

Comment by Clene` S. Elder on March 22, 2012 at 9:32pm

Great news Zetta!  Keep up the awesome work.

Regina, thanks for letting us all know.  That's very useful info.

Comment by Karma on March 21, 2012 at 10:32am

Congrats Zetta! You should convince your publisher to put a sunburst announcing your win on the reprint. Certainly worth an hour of their designer's time.

Comment by Regina Y. Swint on March 20, 2012 at 8:15pm

Congratulations, Zetta!
And thanks to everyone for the insight about Goodreads and librarything.  I'm still learning the ropes out here in cyber space.  I'm going to do my research on the giveaways and whatnot and see what's out there.  :)

Also, it's important that we don't confuse the Kirkus Reviews (free) with its paid program, Kirkus Indie (formerly Kirkus Discoveries).  That's the one that costs money to pay for a review.  Last time I checked, it was pretty steep ($425-$575). 

The parent Kirkus Reviews is pretty stringent in the selection for reviews, and I think they lean toward traditionally published works.  I'd have to read their page again to refresh my memory on it.

I've heard mixed reviews from different sources about the benefits of paid reviews.  I'm still up in the air about buying one from Kirkus.  I paid for a review from  Foreword.  It was a pretty good review, and it's nice to have someone who doesn't know me personally to offer their thoughts.  I considered it an investment, but I know others who would disagree.  Eh.  I'm learning as I go, and so far, no major pitfalls.

Ideally, I'd like to get reviews and visibility for free, but I'm still working on that part.  Maybe when my 2nd Edition is done and released, I'll have better luck with all of that.  We'll see!

Comment by Celine Keating on March 20, 2012 at 6:51pm

Zetta - that's just awesome! Congratulations!

Comment by Zetta Brown on March 20, 2012 at 6:37pm

2 out of 3 of our books won EPIC's eBook Award 2012 in San Antonio! One for Best Mystery and one for Best Horror!

Comment by Kat Ward on March 20, 2012 at 5:05pm

Barbara: Thanks for your shared experience in regard to giveaways on Goodreads. It's food for thought.

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