Day 165--Interview with Book Blogger "Erik the Great" of This Kid Reviews Books

It is with great pleasure that I introduce to you ten-year-old Erik, a popular book blogger and childrens book reviewer, AKA "Erik the Great"! Erik blogs at This Kid Reviews Books.

After Erik reviewed The Pet Washer in July, I was so impressed with his professionalism that I contacted him for an interview. The following is that interview: Enjoy!

 

Erik

Jennifer: You are ten years old, how long have you been blogging?

Erik: First I want to thank you, Ms. Alvarez, for asking me to do this interview! I have been blogging since January 2011. I was 8-years-old when I told my parents I wanted to write reviews. It took me a couple of months to get my blog going, but my first post was on January 12, 2011 (I was nine then).

Jennifer: What is your favorite aspect of running your blog and reviewing books?

Erik: I think my favorite thing is “meeting” people around the world and “talking” about books and reading with those people! I think it is totally awesome that people across the world would want to talk to me about books.

Jennifer: Do you have a favorite book or favorite genre?

Erik: I really like the book “Redwall” by Brian Jacques. I think that is my favorite book. I like picture books of pretty much every genre, and middle grade books and YA books in pretty much every genre, especially Fantasy Fiction. I pretty much like anything…except horror stories and anything to do with vampires.

Jennifer: What do you like to do when you're not blogging?

Erik: I really love to build with my LEGOs. I am always trying to build onto my LEGO collection. I am a part of a LEGO robotics team in the First LEGO League. I also have been studying Taekwondo for close to five years. I was just awarded my first degree junior black-belt in TKD. I have just started to train Karate and Jujitsu too. I like the martial arts a lot. I like to swim, fish, camp (especially roasting marshmallows on a campfire and making s’mores), play outside, ride my minibike and bike, draw and think about books.

Jennifer: What are your submission requirements?

 

Erik: I review picture and middle grade books. I do review some YA books, but I have to let my parents look at the content of them first before accepting a book. Books sent to me should only have minor bad language, no graphic violence or anything else a ten-year-old shouldn’t be reading. It takes about 7-8 weeks from the time I get a book to review, to when the review is posted (it might go quicker in the summer when I don’t have school). I can only accept a certain number of book to be on my “to be reviewed” list at once. My parents put limits on the number of books I can accept and they also told me to just post 3 times a week (I was posting almost every day) because it was taking too much time away from everything. I like my schedule now, but I don’t like to tell authors when I can’t accept their book to review right now.

People can send review requests through my website (there is a button to click). I like to know a little bit about the author and a description of the book. Although I like “real” books more to review, I have a kindle to review ebooks. I usually let authors decide which one they want to send. 

I appreciate every book review request I get and I really wish I could read every one, but I am only one kid! I do often refer books I can’t review to other kid book reviewers.

Jennifer: Do you aspire to be a fiction author one day?

Erik: Yes, I would like to be a fiction author one day. That day might come soon because I am already writing a book about these small aliens (an average of 4-5 inches) who accidently crash-land on O-HI-o on the strange planet Ear-th. J They must learn to survive and get along (bad aliens on the ship meant to get rid of the good guys, but they come along too) on this unknown planet. When my book will get finished and published? I do not know, but I am having fun writing it!

Jennifer: Is it ever hard to fit in blogging with your schoolwork?

Erik: At the moment, no, it is not hard because I’m on summer break (HA HA!). During school I usually write my posts/reviews way ahead of time so I don’t get backed up. I am usually a month ahead in my posts. That way I don’t get rushed at the last minute.

Jennifer: You mention on your blog that you refer out some books when you get busy to other kid reviewers. Who are they?

Erik: I usually refer books “too old” for me to Audrey of “Audrey’s Read It Or Not” blog and/or Daniel of “The Readers and Writers Paradise”. I am ten and my parents think a lot of YA books aren’t right for me. I also send authors to other kids like Fami-Lit, Sir Books-a-Lot, and Mother Daughter Book Reviews. There is a bunch of kids reviewing books. I have links to a lot of them on my blog roll. 

Jennifer: What's the most exciting thing that's happened to you as a result of your book review blog?

Erik: I think the most exciting thing that’s happened to me because of my blog is getting to meet authors in person. I can’t believe how nice children’s book authors are! I really love going to events to meet them.

I also was excited to get a column in my local free paper (The Upper Bucks Free Press). The content editor saw my blog and I met her at a book signing. She asked me if I’d like to write for the newspaper! I now have a monthly column that I am very excited about!

Ms. Alvarez asked me to come up with a question to ask myself and then answer it! Here is my question to me. If you could go into any book and meet the characters and live the story, which book would it be?

Erik: I would go into “Into The Gauntlet” by Margaret Peterson Haddix (the tenth book in the 39 clues series). I’d love to meet Amy and Dan Cahill because they seem really cool and I would also like to memorize the Cahill serum (and DOMINATE the WORLD MWA HA HA HA… (my best evil laugh)). OK I really don’t want to take over the world, I just love the 39 Clues series and to be in any book of the series would be an honor.

Author Profile (in his own words!):

I’m a ten-year-old kid who started a book review blog (This Kid Reviews Books) because I love books! My blog has grown over the past 1 ½ years and I am grateful that I get to “talk” to people from all over the world about books, reading and writing.

This Kid Reviews Books

 To Do: If you write childrens or middle-grade books, submit to Erik today!

Chocolate Chunky Munkie Book Review Site

Chocolate Chunky Munkie is a lovely book review blog named after the owner's chocolate Labrador retriever. The reviewer, Jenny, is swamped with book reviews, but she's not closed to submissions. Her site is easy to navigate and her submission guidelines are clear. She posts her reviews on Goodreads, Amazon, Barnes and Noble, Smashwords, the Book Depository, and on her blog. She does review self-published books!

She did not choose to review my middle-grade title The Pet Washer (and to be fair, childrens books are not listed as one of her genres) due to the huge amount of submissions she has in her preferred genres. However, she offered me an author interview which I gratefully accepted!

Read my interview and check out Chocolate Chunky Munkie HERE!

Email Jenny if you are interested in providing a guest post or doing an author interview. She's a UK blogger! Author interviews are great ways to build exposure and links back to your author website. Jenny also provides links for readers to purchase your book. She has great interview questions too!! 

To Do: Read Chocolate Chunky Munkie's submission guidelines and submit your novel for review or yourself for a guest post or author interview!

Book Spark: A Website That Reviews Indie Books

I found another book review site I feel I can recommend, it's called Book Spark. I haven't submitted to this site yet, but I like the review policy. Book Spark accepts indie books, promises an honest, slam-free review, and cross-posts all reviews on Amazon, Goodreads, Barnes and Noble, and Shelfari to name a few.

There is no charge for a review on Book Spark--and please authors--don't ever pay for a review! The only time I could see doing it is if the book reviewer is so popular you believe the exposure is worth the money. But if you're paying, let's call a spade a spade--it's an ad, not a real review. Amazon won't allow paid reviews to be posted on their site because they're biased. Some site's charge a "reading fee", this fee counts as paying for the review. Don't pay it!

Why? Fans flock to review sites that are honest. They learn to ignore sites that give every book under the sun a glowing review. It's worth risking a bad review to go somewhere that has a trusting audience. When you visit a site, go straight to the bad reviews and read them. As long as they aren't slamming authors, go for it.

There is one caveat regarding Book Spark. Due to overwhelming requests to review books, they are not accepting digital copies. I am a huge advocate of putting your book into print, and this is another reason why you might want to consider it if you haven't already. I believe authors should publish everywhere and in every format! Don't limit yourself. Publishing through Createspace is 100% free! (unless you order a proof of your shiny, new paperback--which you should!) So the cost is minimal and the reward is unlimited.

Don't be discouraged if you only have an ebook! Book Spark also offers author interviews, guest posts, giveaways, and blog hops!

Click HERE to check out Book Spark!

To Do: Submit your paperback to Book Spark today (and check out Createspace or one of the other publishers if you don't have one!)

 

Day 124--Oh My Gosh Beck!: Book Review Site

I stumbled upon a lovely book review site yesterday called Oh My Gosh Beck! This site has over 18,000 Facebook fans, over 10,000 Twitter followers, over 4000 subscribers, and over 17,000 unique visitors per month--wow!

This site offers a lot of services for authors. Free services include book reviews and giveaways. They are interested in reviewing YA fiction, Chick Lit, Children's Books, Christian (fiction and non-fiction), Thrillers, Sci-fi, Mysteries/Suspense, Non-fiction, and Self-help. There is an approximate 8 week turn around for reviews. They accept paper and ebook formats.

I contacted Oh My Gosh Beck! today for a book review. Until my re-formatted paperback is ready I don't want to enlist it in giveaways.

This site reviews all sorts of books and products that are family-friendly. The primary readers of this blog are women between the ages of 25-34, have children, some college education, and browse the site from home. If you have written a book that would appeal to this age group or their children, I highly recommend submitting your book for review.

Having said that, all book are fair game as people also buy them as gifts for others. I think knowing the demographics of the site is incredibly useful in gauging the kind of response you might get.

This site offers paid blog promotion services and paid advertising as well. 

To Do: Submit your book to Oh My Gosh Beck! today.

Free Book Reviews and Author Interviews

Today I completed an interview at Free Book Reviews. Any author can do it. Click here and fill out their pre-determined questions. I could not find information on when my interview will be posted. I assume they operate on a first come, first served basis like they do for their book reviews. This site is affiliated with Great Indie Reads.

Free Book Reviews does, of all things, free book reviews along with author interviews. In fact, I sent The Pet Washer to them on 12/29/11. Their book reviews are completed and published on a first come, first served basis. It's been three months and there are about 50 books ahead of mine! I don't believe they turn anyone away, so you have to be patient.

This site offers inexpensive marketing packages for authors which are displayed on both websites and, potentially, in their email newsletter. 

This is their reach as of August 2011:

"We currently have 35000 visits per month to this blog and 8000 per month to Great Indie Reads. Our newsletter goes out to 883 readers twice per week. We have 123 followers on the blog and 2500 email subscribers." Free Book Reviews

I also interview authors for free. Click here to answer my predetermined questions. I am booked into April. All interviews include links to your websites, blogs and books. If you would like to schedule your interview to coincide with a blog tour, please let me know and I will try to accommodate you! 

To Do: Complete an author interview today!


Jennifer Lynn Alvarez
Author of The Pet Washer
a novel for children aged 8-11

Day 68--Inexpensive Book Promotion Site for Authors

Via Twitter, I discovered World Literacy Cafe. I'm just getting to know this site. It's reputable and offers a lot for authors and readers.

World Literacy Cafe offers free and paid promotions from author interviews, character interviews, social media blitzes, book reviews, new release promotions and more.

The philosophy of the site creator, Melissa Foster, is generosity and reciprocity. Any successful person who advances themselves by helping others is on the right track as far as I'm concerned. I'm impressed enough by her site to recommend it and to use it myself.

Their stated mission is to bridge the gap between authors and readers.

To Do: Join the World Literacy Cafe today!

Melissa Foster's Best Selling Books

Jennifer Lynn Alvarez
Author of The Pet Washer
a novel for girls aged 8-10

Day 37--Young Adult Book Central

I spent over thirty minutes today looking for sites that review childrens books. I found quite a few but some charged a fee and some don't review self-published books. This left me feeling like a second-class citizen.

I understand why some reviewers choose not to review self-published books. The quality control on them is low. They can be flawless and well-written or downright shabby and riddled with typos. But I didn't choose self-publishing, I feel like self-publishing chose me! I guess I'm a control freak because I love it. I own all of my rights and I keep all of the profits (granted, that's not saying much right now!). My book has been professionally edited and the cover features original art. I'm proud of my little, purple book. When I encounter a shut door, I will find a window!

Today I contacted Young Adult Book Central or YABC. My goal was to submit The Pet Washer for review but they are one of the sites that doesn't review self-published or POD books. However, they do offer a valuable, free service for authors!!

It's an author/book directory. I submitted my bio, an author interview and the ISBN for The Pet Washer to their directory today. The site will verify my book before they list it. I will check back in a week and see how things are going. I was pleased with the author interview. I was able to select the questions I wanted to answer. I also uploaded my author photo and a link to this website.

While this directory may be huge and I will be hard to find unless you are looking for me--I still think it's valuable to be listed there. I want the name Jennifer Lynn Alvarez and the title, The Pet Washer, all over the net. The more place I am, the more the search engines will notice me, and the easier it will be for someone to find me. Like a Who on a speck of dust--I need to make a BIG noise for any hope to be heard. My Horton is out there and someday, he'll hear me!

Kid Lit Reviews

Today I submitted my book, The Pet Washer, for review at Kid Lit Reviews. This is the eighth website I've submitted to in two months. Most sites, including this one, take reviews in the order they are received. A few weeks to a few months is an expected wait time. I'm still waiting on ALL of them! (Kindle Book Reviews, The LL Book Review, Odyssey Book Review, The Kindle Nation, The Childrens Book Review, Janette Fuller.Com, and POD People).

Kid Lit Reviews is a site for childrens books. They also host a site for teen and tween books called just that, TWeen and TEen Books. Middle-grade novels can be submitted to Kid Lit Review but, at the site's discretion, they may end up featured on the Teen site.

The submission policies are simple. They have a contact form on their site. They let authors know the details they want included in their request. There is no charge for the reviews. They will consider reviewing ebook formats but they prefer paperbacks. Once the review is completed, the paperback is not returned. It is donated to their local library. This is also a common practice.

When the review is posted, the book title is linked through their Amazon Associates program. This allows the book to be purchased directly from their site. At no cost to the author, a small commission is generated by Amazon for Kid Lit Reviews to help fund the site. I believe this is a fair trade and I appreciate the site being up front about it. Again, it costs the author nothing.

Some review sites won't post negative reviews. If they don't like your book, they will spare you the pain of public humiliation and you won't get a review at all. One must be brave to submit to Kid Lit Review because they post negative and positive reviews. They have a five star system with five being the best.

I read a few of the posted reviews and I was impressed. They are thorough and well-written. I read some negative reviews and was equally impressed. The reviewers backed up their decisions with details. As an author, I feel I can trust this site to produce a fair review of The Pet Washer.

As a reader, I feel I can trust this site to find new books for my own kids to read! If you have a book for children or teens, consider submitting them to Kid Lit Reviews or TWeen and TEen Books for a comprehensive and fair review!

Kid Lit Reviews ended up accepting my book for review--please click HERE to read it!

Jennifer Alvarez
Author of The Pet Washer
Novel for girls aged 9-12

Book Marketing: Back to Basics

Book Marketing: Back to Basics

by Shannon Yarbrough  
of The LL Book Review

First, a big thanks to Jennifer for asking me to guest post on her blog today.  I know Jennifer has been working very hard on marketing her own book, The Pet Washer. As an independent author of three books myself, I know how discouraging that can be.  What I mean by that is as an independent author, we wear many hats. Not only are we the author, but we are often the editor, the book cover designer, the formatter, the distributor, the salesman, and the book marketer too! All of this can be quite a struggle. So, when Jennifer asked if I'd provide a few marketing tips for her and her readers, I was happy to help!

Before any author considers publishing independently, if they asked me for one piece of advice it would be to make sure their book is available as an Ebook and is formatted properly for E-distribution. Many reviewers these days use an Ereader and will accept a free PDF, mobi, or epub file so that you don't have to mail them a physical copy.  This saves you postage and saves you from having to invest in lots of physical copies. And with E-Publishing being the mainstream these days, your book should be available for all devices.  Kindle and Nook are the main two, but you can also make your book available on iTunes and other platforms just by publishing through www.smashwords.com. 

I'm not saying you shouldn't invest in any physical copies at all!  I'm a big believer in having copies of your own book on hand.  When I started marketing my most recent book, I went to www.goodreads.com and offered 5 copies as a give away. Almost 900 people signed up to win a copy!  And although the give away was in 2010, my book is still on 142 to-read lists at GoodReads to date. If even half of those 142 people eventually bought and read my book, and maybe posted a review of it on GoodReads, then I'd say the investment in those 5 copies was well worth it. For more tips on what to do with physical copies of your books, read this article I wrote for LL Book Review called Top 26 Places Where Your Book Should Be.

Speaking of GoodReads, if you aren't a member already then you should sign up.  It's like Facebook for readers and authors!  Authors can create their very own fan page and even Q&A forums for their readers.  Social networking sites like this, Facebook, and Twitter are essential when it comes to connecting with readers these days. My only advice here is to be interactive with your readers and subscribers, post regularly, and don't try to be a pushy businessman who’s just trying to sell books.  Keep things fresh and exciting to make your book stand out! Post about the writing process. Do interviews with your characters. One of my author friends tweets as the lead character of her YA series. Jennifer here has devoted her site to blogging about a marketing endeavor every day. Ideas like this definitely help to keep readers interested in you and your work.

Let's not forget that dreaded word: REVIEWS! Getting reviews for my book has always been a top priority on my list when it comes to marketing.  I've actively sought out reviews by contacting friends and colleagues, offering them a free Ebook or hardcopy.  I've also regularly contacted book blogs and reviewers at sites like bookblogs.ning. Whether they post their review on their own site or at Amazon, every review provides you an opportunity to tweet about the review, mention it on Facebook, or post on your blog.  In turn, you’re sending traffic to that reviewer's site and they are sending traffic to your book!

Based on the ideas I've given you today, I know what you are probably thinking: "We sure are giving a bunch of books away!" While marketing can be discouraging, an independent author should not get discouraged if they don't see an immediate return in sales. The joy of publishing your own book, first and foremost, should be that you've gotten someone to read it. As one of my favorite authors, W.H. Auden, once said, "A real book is not one that we read, but one that reads us."  Nothing excites me more than getting an email or talking to a reader who had a connection with one of my books or characters.  That's fuel enough to keep me going and it's nice to be reminded that you are a good writer. And that's a good enough reason not to give up.

Shannon Yarbrough is the author of three novels: The Other Side of What, Stealing Wishes, and Are You Sitting Down?.  He is also the founder and lead reviewer of The LL Book Review, an indie review site dedicated to self-published authors. Visit him online at www.shannonyarbrough.com.

Click the images above for more details about Shannon Yarbrough's books or to purchase!

The Kindle Nation

I submitted The Pet Washer to Kids Corner @ Kindle Nation Daily today. Kindle Nation Daily partners with educators and authors. They provide free kindles to classrooms. Authors donate their ebooks to the classrooms and the students review the books. The students earn credits toward more free books.

Their mission statement, to paraphrase, is to encourage a love of reading, empower children to employ critical thinking and to reward them with more books.

I support all of those things! I exchanged a few emails with Candace Cheatham, the Associate Editor. She explained that the books are donated to classroom kindles only. Students choose which books to review and the reviews are posted on their website. Satisfied, I sent her a digital copy of The Pet Washer. 

I'm not sure how much this will help fuel The Pet Washer fire, but if it fuels a passion for reading--then so be it!

The Children's Book Review

Today I queried The Children's Book Review! They review children's books for no charge! They host author interviews and book giveaways also.

There is a fee for the site to operate the book giveaway. The author interviews run from free up to $105, depending on how much information you want to include. 

I will be submitting the book to the free dedicated page which does not include an author interview.

Breaking news--the kindle version of my book is now on sale too! 20% off.

The LL Book Review

Today I queried the LL book Review formally, LuLu Book reviews. They are a reputable book reviewer and they don't charge for reviews. They review all kinds of books, including childrens books!

They are booked for January and February but they are accepting queries for March and beyond. They accept books in electronic and physical formats. They also do blog tours and author interviews.

I will admit, I don't know how to inquire about either of these. I've searched the site and I don't see any information on how to contact them for anything other than a subscription, a book review or a comment. This is probably user error! I'm not sure what I'm missing!

They have a long list of reviewers but I didn't choose one directly. Sometimes a site will ask you read about each reviewer and pick one to submit to. This site didn't insist upon that. I decided they will know best who should review the book--if they select The Pet Washer for review at all.

In the meantime, I continue to struggle with my blurb. I have posted a thread on the KDP community and I'm hoping for feedback. It's hard, I think, for the writer to be objective regarding a blurb. I know too much about the story to stand back and sift out a teaser. I'm trying though!

JanetteFuller.Com

The challenge I've set for myself is keeping me motivated! Reporting my efforts each day is not only keeping me on track, it's tracking everything I do! There are two more books in the Pet Washer series for which I need to lay a foundation.

Today I submitted a query to Janette Fuller.Com for The Pet Washer. I mentioned yesterday that I'm not sure if Odyssey reviews childrens books, but Ms. Fuller does review childrens books! This doesn't mean she'll accept me but I'm grateful to have found her.

Ms. Fuller also provides author promotion services like video trailers and expedited reviews. I mentioned that authors should not pay for reviews--but the practice of paying for an expedited review is fine as long as a free review is also available. An author is just paying to be put at the top of the list. I have requested a free review. 

Ms. Fuller's primary area of interest is adult non-fiction. She was an elementary school librarian for thirty years so she does accept childrens books as well. Her expertise excites me! She not only knows childrens literature, she knows children!

Odyssey Book Review

Today I queried, Odyssey Reviews, and requested a professional review of The Pet Washer. Like a lot of book reviewers, they are backlogged. They ask authors to query first. If a reviewer is interested in the book, they will email and request a paperback or an electronic copy.

Odyssey Reviews prefers science-fiction, fantasy and mystery novels. Books must have basic editing at a minimum, an ISBN number and be for sale on Amazon or another major bookseller website. I don't know that they review many childrens books, but I decided it can't hurt to ask!

I recommend this website for the following reasons:
1) They don't charge for reviews.
2) If they don't believe it deserves even two medallions, they don't publish the review at all.
3) If the book receives 5 medallions, they will add it to their Listmania list on Amazon called, "Notable Self-Published Fiction."
4) They publish the review on the book's Amazon page at the author's request.
5) Select books in the five medallion category earn their Indie Award of Exellence!

Authors should steer clear of any book review sites that charge the author for reviews. This is an unethical practice. Amazon knows these websites and they won't allow paid reviews to be posted on your book page anyway. Only un-paid reviews hold water so don't waste your money!

Breakout Books Fan Page

I discovered a Facebook page called Breakout Books. They allow authors to promote their books in a post with a link to the book.

Here are their guidelines for posting:
"Authors: Feel free to post your books for our readers to see. I don't limit the number of posts that an author can put up, but do try to keep it reasonable."

This is their mission statement, so to speak:
"For authors and readers alike. The authors here are new or self-published and looking for an audience. Readers that are looking for something new have the opportunity to help bring these books to life. Read them, discuss them and spread the word. Help these authors get noticed!"

(Excerpts taken directly from the public "info" Facebook page at Breakout Books).

They have 714 fans--most likely a mix of readers and authors alike. This Facebook page "gets" the indie publishing world. Great books exist by indie authors but we don't have the big league advertising budgets to promote them. So many wonderful reads are waiting to be discovered. 


They host a website as well called Breakout Books. They review indie books but they are currently closed to new submissions. Their website indicates to come back at a later date.

The organizer of the Facebook fan page is Dawn Judd, the author of Reining In. Click here for a description of her book on Amazon.


Check out the Facebook page and post your book. It's free!

POD People!

I spent most of my "free" time today working on my young adult novel. Yeah!! A writing day is always a good day in my book. I also hiked with a friend and did a bunch of laundry (not to mention everything I did to get my three little pigs--kids--to school :).

Day two of The Experiment. What did I do to promote The Pet Washer? I submitted the book to POD People for an independent, free review! Their submission guidelines require that I query with a short email. If one of their reviewers chooses to review my book, they will contact me.

Click here to check them out!

I will post an update if or when they respond.