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Book Marketing: What works and What doesn't - NetGalley

7/15/2013

41 Comments

 
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As you may know, book marketing is a regular topic on my blog. I've been guerrilla marketing my books for almost a year now and have tried many strategies. To learn about other tips you can try part 1,  part 2, part 3, part 4, part 5 and part 6 at each respective link. 

I've waited a while to write this post mainly because I wanted to give myself some emotional distance from my experience at NetGalley. For the most part, I want these blog posts to be informative and help authors like myself to better market their books. I do not want this to be a rant post that is neither helpful nor informative. That is why I've waited a month to describe my experience with NetGalley. I will do my best not to rant. 

Before we begin, let me give you some information on NetGalley. Here is a blurb straight from their own website. 

"NetGalley is a service to promote and publicize forthcoming titles to readers of influence. If you are a reviewer, blogger, journalist, librarian, bookseller, educator, or in the media, you can use NetGalley for FREE to request and read titles before they are published. Publishers can upload their galleys, plus any marketing and promotional information, and interact with members in two ways: * By approving member requests from our catalog of titles * By inviting members to view titles using our email invitation widget. "

NetGalley for the last many years was limited to traditionally published authors, so when I learned they were opening their doors to indies I was very excited. Another door opened to my Indie brethren. (No longer would we be kicked out of country clubs or hissed at on the street. We were being promoted from the kiddie table to the grown-up buffet.) Not only do I like doors opening for indies, but I also like the prospect of real, vetted reviewers checking out my title and posting reviews. I know well the mantra "The more reviews you have, the more sales you have." I figured my new release would be perfect for this. I'd get lots of professional reviews posted to Amazon and it would help my sales. Voila. What could go wrong?

I signed up in a co-op with several of my writer soul-mates. We each paid $350: three hundred for the NetGalley yearly subscription and fifty for the moderator who would set it all up and manage our request for us. That is a steep price point and it was a hard choice, but I figured it was worth it. I'd have reviews pouring in and I'd see the money back in sales. So I paid my money, uploaded Eyes Ever to the Sky and waited. 

Reviewers quickly requested copies of my book. Over a hundred people were approved. But as the days ticked by and the reviews trickled in, I started to worry. Why weren't more of the people who requested the book posting reviews? Why weren't many of them posting to Amazon, the site where I make my money? Why were so many of the reviews short or grammatically challenged? 

Here's the main problem I have with NetGalley. They claim on their website that the readers you are giving free books to are all "reviewers". They are all supposed to have a platform with which to share reviews. They are all supposed to know how to write a book review. As a reviewer myself, I know that learning to review takes time. Anyone can blab a few minutes about their feelings on a book, but it takes a certain learned skill to convey what you felt and why you felt it in a way that helps identify if this book would be a suitable purchase. Sadly, with some of the reviews I was receiving, they were not deft in this skill. I'll admit some reviews were down right mean and hurt my feelings. Others gave away spoilers RIGHT IN THE TITLE of the review with no spoiler warning. The worst part is, out of the nearly two hundred books I gave away, only a handful of reviews have made it to Amazon. So in essence, I paid 350 dollars to give my book away for nearly nothing in return. Well, I did get some bad feelings and some mediocre three star reviews. Honestly the whole thing felt like a gut punch. From Mike Tyson. Into a tiger's den. 

To be fair, NetGalley does allow you to pick and chose who you allow to upload your titles. I should've been more selective, but it is very hard, given the limited amount of information you get on these reviewers, to know if they'll a) even write a review or b) write one that won't give away your whole book. There will never be a next time with me and NetGalley, but if the universe somehow worm-holes into a Bizarro World and I forget my rotten experience, the one thing I would do differently is be WAY more selective on who I give books to. If you're considering the service, please take that one piece of advice. 

A few weeks ago I asked our NetGalley moderator to take my title down. It had been up for about two months and I couldn't take the abuse anymore. Sadly, I've already paid my yearly fee and have to eat the 350 dollars. A monthly fee would be much more helpful to Indies. You live and learn, but one thing is for sure, I'll know better next time. 

So what about you? What have been your NetGalley experiences? 

Book Marketing Part 8 - The Anthology


41 Comments
Susan Ruszala link
7/15/2013 05:22:25 am

Katie, I’m sorry to hear that your experience with NetGalley has been less than positive---we work with hundreds of authors and publishers who have used the service successfully as part of a comprehensive marketing and publicity strategy for their title. Our team would be happy to talk with you further about your experience and I encourage you to contact us via email.

One point of clarification for you and other readers of this blog: We never claim that our community is made up solely of book reviewers---in fact over half of our members are not reviewers at all, but booksellers, librarians, media, agents, and educators who are using NetGalley to aid in purchasing decisions. On our site we clearly note that:

NetGalley does not prevent anyone from registering/requesting a title, since all publishers have different criteria for accepting or declining requests. The Profile is intended to provide adequate information about the NetGalley member who is requesting the title.

We cannot guarantee any reviews or requests for your title, since the NetGalley service primarily provides a platform for publishers/authors to connect with professional readers. But with a growing community of active members, it is likely that through listing your title in the NetGalley catalog, interest will be generated for your title.

We actively work with the portion of our member community that does provide reviews, to help them improve their book recommending skills, and provide more information in their Profiles when requesting titles, through initiatives like the NetGalley Wellness Challenge.

We’re always looking for ways to improve our service, so thank you for your assessment, and we do hope you'll consider working with with us in the future.

Susan Ruszala
President, NetGalley

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KatielFrench
7/22/2013 03:53:52 am

Thanks, Susan. I know that there's not a lot you can do to filter the qaulity of the reviews that are produced. Maybe I just attracted some younger and therefore less experience bloggers and reviewers. My one suggestion would be to allow people to pay for a monthly service instead of a year so that if the service doesn't work for them they aren't out so much money. Maybe for a publisher 350 isn't a lot of money, but for a small indie writer who makes a small wage on writing, it is a lot for one promotion. Thanks though for writing. I appreciate hearing from you.

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Tinley Innes link
9/25/2013 03:53:32 am

Thank you for this blog post! I am, right now, debating on whether or not to put my book on Netgalley.com. And I could not agree more about the monthly fee vs. the yearly fee. As an indie author, the landscape for publishing our books is constantly changing and it makes it difficult to know where to put our meager budgets.

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KatieFrench
9/30/2013 11:56:46 am

I agree Tinley. A monthly fee would help us all out tremendously.

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10/4/2013 03:46:18 pm

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Watches link
10/14/2013 06:13:16 pm

Net Galley does not prevent anyone from registering/request a name, since all publishers contain different criterion for accepting or declining requests. The Profile is intended to provide adequate in arrange about the Net Galley member who is requesting the title.

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Tom
12/7/2013 05:22:48 am

Katie,

Now that nearly 5 months have passed since your initial take on NetGalley, I'm wondering if you have a different perspective. You now have 40 reviews, most very good, averaging 4.2 out of 5. Has your experience evolved into what you initially expected? Did the process eventually build up steam and produce the results you were hoping for? Or do you believe your book would have reached its current marketing/sales/review status even if you had not used NetGalley?Thanks.

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Katie French
12/8/2013 11:43:15 am

Hi Tom. I am pretty sure that NetGalley hurt my book sales as it were. The first few reviews from NetGalley were not that great and seemed to be more negative than from my fans. As you know a three star review on Amazon is considered bad and I feel NetGalley's reviewers were a bit more harsh than say, just your average reader. Maybe I am wrong. Maybe I had an isolated experience. I still don't think that services if for me. For one it is expensive and you have to pay for a year's subscription no matter what. As an indie my marketing dollars come from my pocket and I just can't see spending on something that doesn't even guarentee reviews. A lot of people who downloaded my book didn't review. I mean dozens if not close to one hundred. So either people are just stealing books or they intend to write a review but never get to it. Or they never post it to Amazon which is where I make all my money. So, overall, I would not recommend the service to anyone IMHO. I am not using it for The Believers and think I will do just fine with reviews by letting fans write them. Hope this helps.

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Susan Ruszala link
12/8/2013 11:37:04 pm

Hi Katie, thanks again for the update on your NetGalley experience. I wanted to clarify a few points, specifically related to your activity on the site.

First, please keep in mind that just about half of NetGalley’s members are not reviewers at all: they are booksellers, educators, media, and librarians. For these types of members, a review might not be the logical conclusion to their interaction with your title. They may be looking for books to add to their collection or purchase for their store, for example.

Also keep in mind that NetGalley does not require members to share feedback through the site, so it’s possible that many of the members who read your title reviewed it elsewhere. We encourage members to share feedback through the site (many types of feedback, including reviews, but also how the member will recommend the title, if they want to connect with the author, etc.), but because we are not a review service, we don’t require this.

Through NetGalley, your title also benefits from overall exposure to a large, engaged community of enthusiastic readers and book lovers---this is why your Impressions number, which shows overall page views for your title, is so important.

Finally, did you use our email invite widget at all? The widget is a pre-approved link to view your title securely on NetGalley, and is a powerful way to connect with your own contacts as you are pitching your title. We host regular webinars which include examples of how the widget is being used creatively by publishers and authors alike---both to connect with new reviewers, and to follow-up with NetGalley members who requested your title.

Close to 20% of all members who requested your title chose to review your book through NetGalley. For your title, about 30% percent of members requesting were not reviewers, but other member types (librarians, booksellers, media, etc.). I would welcome your private feedback (concierge [at] netgalley.com) to understand what level of reviews you expected, and how you would gauge success, for the future. Thanks in advance.

Susan Ruszala
President, NetGalley

Susan Ruszala link
12/8/2013 11:37:10 pm

Hi Katie, thanks again for the update on your NetGalley experience. I wanted to clarify a few points, specifically related to your activity on the site.

First, please keep in mind that just about half of NetGalley’s members are not reviewers at all: they are booksellers, educators, media, and librarians. For these types of members, a review might not be the logical conclusion to their interaction with your title. They may be looking for books to add to their collection or purchase for their store, for example.

Also keep in mind that NetGalley does not require members to share feedback through the site, so it’s possible that many of the members who read your title reviewed it elsewhere. We encourage members to share feedback through the site (many types of feedback, including reviews, but also how the member will recommend the title, if they want to connect with the author, etc.), but because we are not a review service, we don’t require this.

Through NetGalley, your title also benefits from overall exposure to a large, engaged community of enthusiastic readers and book lovers---this is why your Impressions number, which shows overall page views for your title, is so important.

Finally, did you use our email invite widget at all? The widget is a pre-approved link to view your title securely on NetGalley, and is a powerful way to connect with your own contacts as you are pitching your title. We host regular webinars which include examples of how the widget is being used creatively by publishers and authors alike---both to connect with new reviewers, and to follow-up with NetGalley members who requested your title.

Close to 20% of all members who requested your title chose to review your book through NetGalley. For your title, about 30% percent of members requesting were not reviewers, but other member types (librarians, booksellers, media, etc.). I would welcome your private feedback (concierge [at] netgalley.com) to understand what level of reviews you expected, and how you would gauge success, for the future. Thanks in advance.

Susan Ruszala
President, NetGalley

Susan Ruszala link
12/8/2013 11:37:17 pm

Hi Katie, thanks again for the update on your NetGalley experience. I wanted to clarify a few points, specifically related to your activity on the site.

First, please keep in mind that just about half of NetGalley’s members are not reviewers at all: they are booksellers, educators, media, and librarians. For these types of members, a review might not be the logical conclusion to their interaction with your title. They may be looking for books to add to their collection or purchase for their store, for example.

Also keep in mind that NetGalley does not require members to share feedback through the site, so it’s possible that many of the members who read your title reviewed it elsewhere. We encourage members to share feedback through the site (many types of feedback, including reviews, but also how the member will recommend the title, if they want to connect with the author, etc.), but because we are not a review service, we don’t require this.

Through NetGalley, your title also benefits from overall exposure to a large, engaged community of enthusiastic readers and book lovers---this is why your Impressions number, which shows overall page views for your title, is so important.

Finally, did you use our email invite widget at all? The widget is a pre-approved link to view your title securely on NetGalley, and is a powerful way to connect with your own contacts as you are pitching your title. We host regular webinars which include examples of how the widget is being used creatively by publishers and authors alike---both to connect with new reviewers, and to follow-up with NetGalley members who requested your title.

Close to 20% of all members who requested your title chose to review your book through NetGalley. For your title, about 30% percent of members requesting were not reviewers, but other member types (librarians, booksellers, media, etc.). I would welcome your private feedback (concierge [at] netgalley.com) to understand what level of reviews you expected, and how you would gauge success, for the future. Thanks in advance.

Susan Ruszala
President, NetGalley

JL Greger link
12/10/2013 09:22:08 am

Thanks for posting this honest review. It helped me understand what NetGallery could and couldn't do for me.
Jl Greger, author of the medical thriller Ignore the Pain

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Ben Manning link
1/25/2014 12:07:08 pm

Many thanks for saving me from spending on what seemed a dead cert. very grateful as I very nearly signed up!

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Kris Bock link
4/4/2014 08:33:07 am

I clicked through on your link from the Underground Book Reviews e-mail. Thanks for sharing your numbers.

I was able to try NetGalley for only $40. It was part of a co-op someone else had set up, and that was for one book for three or four weeks. I still didn't find it particularly helpful. The person in charge was more selective, and accepted 40-some requests, I think. Maybe five turned in reviews through NetGalley. None of them went on Amazon. I saw no sales bump of any kind. I did feel that the reviews were a little harsher than what I've gotten from other random strangers, though I didn't have any nasty ones. Even with my low investment, I wouldn't try again. That's not to say it wouldn't work well for some books and some circumstances, but I can't guess what those would be.

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Katie French
4/12/2014 11:38:27 am

$40 a month sounds much more reasonable than an up front cost of over $300. That way you can try it out and see if you like it. I agree about reviews not making it to Amazon and sales getting no bump. I had the same experience.

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Tom
4/5/2014 03:34:45 am

I just finished a run on NetGalley with nearly the exact same numbers as Kris. With my genre (Children's and Fantasy), I wasn't expecting to make a big splash, and I was fortunate that a couple of my reviewers posted their reviews on Amazon. Beyond getting reviews for commercial purposes, I really wanted to learn what readers, with whom I had absolutely no connection, truly thought of the book. So overall, while certainly desiring more reviews, I've been quite satisfied with the results.

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Katie French
4/12/2014 11:39:47 am

Tom, I'm glad you had a good result. I do think that reviews from random people can be helpful. It's just too bad we have to pay so much for them. Cheers.

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Liz
4/24/2014 04:38:08 am

Did you check anywhere else for the reviews? A lot reviewers use sites such as Goodreads and LibraryThing by preference, but may also cross-post to Amazon if the author specifically requests it.

I also note that Netgalley keeps track of certain numbers on a per-reviewer basis: specifically, how many books they have been approved for, and how many books they provided feedback for. It should be relatively simple for you to only allow downloads from people with a high feedback-to-approval ratio.

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Craig link
8/12/2014 12:27:21 pm

Something to consider...if 30% of those requesting your title were not reviewers but booksellers, libraries, etc...and your title was only on Amazon or 'published' through Createspace, you lost a tremendous opportunity to get physical copies of your book into bookstores. Indie bookstores will NOT order a title that Amazon/Createspace is listed as the publisher. I use Lightsource which is part of Ingram. It's a better option in my opinion to have your own ISBNs and not use Createspace's ISBN. I think to get the most value out of NetGalley, you need to have a physical product that indie bookstores can order from Ingram. That way you get reviews and indie bookstores ordering your books. Food for thought.

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Sharon L link
9/7/2014 07:31:17 pm

Hi, I just came across this post while searching for other experiences of Netgalley - I'm not an author, but I do request books from Netgalley. I get so overwhelmed sometimes because I feel duty bound to write a long, detailed review without spoilers - so that's what I do. I write long reviews on Goodreads, I post to Amazon UK, and I include everything I read in a detailed monthly round up post on my blog. I also promote books I really love with their own blog post, on twitter and in book clubs. But yet - I see "big" book bloggers post one or two lines and then celebrate about getting more new releases. I can't figure it out - I think there should be a ten-line minimum review set. The same with the "Top Reviewers" list on Goodreads - I read on average 6-10 books a week, always have, ever since I was a child. Some people watch TV, I read. The "Top Reviewers" are the ones who post the most reviews - and most of the reviews are "good book". or "Would not buy but was ok". It absolutely infuriates me, sometimes I have 3 or 4 tabs open PLUS a page of notes in order to write accurate book reviews. So although I'm coming from the other side, I feel your pain!!

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Katie French
9/7/2014 11:02:53 pm

I could not agree with you more. I felt that if I gave you a full length novel for free that took me a year to write, the least you could do was write more than three sentences. It would be easy for NetGalley to enforce more strict regulations on length of reviews. That wouldn't account for quality, but it could be a start.

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Mat Clarke link
1/5/2015 10:50:30 am

I think because we are indie publishers there are many people out there that are seeing us as a money making machine for them, rather than them trying to create a service for us.

Maybe that's a business idea in itself. Maybe there should be something along the lines of such a review website (along the lines of Net Galley), but creates a place where the service can be charged monthly and does have to have a minimum text entry for a review.

Maybe even the review needs to be approved by two other readers before it is allowed to be published. Kind of like a safety net process.

Lastly, maybe the "reviewers" need to pass a critiquing test before they are allowed to review, so that they understand how to review said work.

Now that I think about it, I might create such a website myself :)
This may take a while!

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John Khoury link
2/3/2016 12:19:01 pm

So, Mat, did you make it?? I did... And it did take a while... I too was frustrated in looking for reviews and in my little journey, I passed up on NetGalley. I did, however create my own site with just some of the features mentioned here.
- you can upload an epub and reviewers can read your book onine
- you can to accept who reviews your book
- in that decision process, you can see how many books the reviewer DIDN'T review, plus see their previous reviews
- specify minimum nr of words for the review
- you tell them where you need your reviews posted (Amazon, Goodreads, and one more)
- how long they have to review OR exactly what date you want the review posted by
All stuff we authors like to control.
Have a look, and see if it suits your fancy. Oh, it's $40 usually, but free with a coupon for now. Just write to me and I'll share.
www.paperbackreviewer.com
All the best,
John

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Katie French
2/4/2016 07:59:55 am

John, I checked out your site. I'm curious. You spoke of a coupon. email me at Katie@KatieFrenchBooks.com.

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2/19/2015 03:16:50 pm

Even in a social media, Marketing books are very popular, because social media is one of the center now of earning money easy. Keep it in mind that whenever you have Facebook, twitter or even IG it’s a source of marketing. Yes, in giving information through your post to your friends is a way of now that you launch this book marketing “what works netgalley” for sure this is made all marketers happy and very enthusiastic to their jobs to earn more money. Informative page like this deserve more followers.

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Elizabeth Gates link
12/10/2016 01:56:25 am

A timely piece. My novel is just released and I recognise that - introvert though as a writer I am - marketing is down to me.

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Eleanor link
12/31/2016 06:36:38 am

I'm grateful that you posted this, Katie. I've been researching Netgalley (I even watched a long video on the IBPA website about it) and I was still up in the air. Your post helped me decided not to use them. Too expensive and kind of a crap shoot. I just indie published my first novel, and I'm still navigating the marketing waters. Your insights are very helpful.

I bought your Monster 3 book bundle. These aren't the kinds of books I normally read, but I will read them and post an honest and thoughtful review on Amazon.

Best of luck in your indie pub and writing endeavors.

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Denise Rago link
4/19/2017 11:58:05 am

Hi Katie,

I am on the verge of publishing my third novel through Createspace and I am once again contacting reviewers. I am researching sites such as Net Galley and Book Funnel and if I was hesitant before I am really leery of using them now. Indie authors have such limited budgets and if we put out work up on a site such as Net Galley I would hope to get a lot of reviews. I hosted a book giveaway for my second novel on Goodreads. I mailed copies all over the world it seems and I got very few reviews for all of my efforts.It was disheartening.

Thank you for this post. Denise

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Alicia Bayer link
3/14/2018 01:07:23 pm

I have experience on both sides, since I am a self published author of four books and also use NetGalley often. As an author, I decided right off the bat that I was not going to pay to list my books on NG. For one thing, that price is WAY too steep for independent little guys like me. For another, I do not think it's a good way to get good, thoughtful reviews from the people likely to read and promote a certain type of book that won't have mass market appeal.

My books are very specific and they are for a certain type of reader. I write books about homeschooling and nature studies, and also write foraging books (elderberries and acorns so far). If the random NetGalley reader read my book on how to process and cook with acorns, I'm not sure he or she would really plan to go through the process and do it, but would probably just read it out of curiosity. I would much rather select reviewers through a process where I could find foragers or those interested in foraging and homesteading (or gluten free food, or frugal money ideas, or similar side interests) and then personally invite some readers to review my book. I do plan on doing this but haven't yet. I only have a handful of reviews on any of my books but they are all 5-star reviews and I think that's because the type of people who want this kind of information really appreciate all that I put in my books. If you want to know how to forage, process and cook with acorns, my book is over 200 pages of information and recipes so you're likely to be happy and leave a great review. If you're just reading it for free because you can... Who knows.

Now, as a NG reviewer myself, I do often leave less than stellar reviews. I feel absolutely no obligation to leave good reviews just because I get to borrow a digital version of a book for 53 days, which is basically what 80% of the books on NG are now. I don't know if you gave your book away via Kindle on NG or used the "protected PDF" version, but that does play into more negative reviews IMO. You don't even get a free book. You get an Adobe Digital Edition that expires and is unreadable after 52 days, and it's crap to try to read in many cases because it's a scan of a PDF file and you can't set text size and stuff like that the way you can on Kindle.

That also leads to the reason I didn't review some of the books I've requested at all. While I have had things come up in life and have gone back to NG Kindle books I downloaded and forgot about and left detailed reviews on my blogs much later (sometimes with rave reviews and recommendations), I can't do that with the Adobe files because they just say expired. So this process amounts to basically a library system where I get the "privilege" of reading a hard to read digital version of a book on my computer before it's released and writing a detailed review of it (because I do try to do that) before the book is yanked off my computer. Honestly, I'm more likely to leave a good review of a book I drove to the library and got out in person than that. At least I can read that in the bath. :)

None of that is the author's fault, but I think it does explain why many reviewers are less than glowing when they review NG books. There is this perception that we reviewers are getting something out of this process, but basically we just get to read a book, maybe a little early, and then we're barred from opening it even if we haven't finished it yet. And even in the cases of Kindle versions we can keep, if we don't enjoy the book we're not getting something out of it. I think many people probably think if they didn't like the book and gave up after the first few chapters, authors would prefer no review over "hated it and stopped reading." There's even a thread on Goodreads where some NetGalley reviewers asked how much of a book they should slog through before stopping (the general consensus is 30%). I tend to keep reading and then leave negative, real reviews, but I'm also really busy with 5 kids, writing, homeschooling and taking care of my home, so it's not like I'm getting something great out of this process at the expense of the author there. It often feels like another obligation, especially when my queue fills up and I feel responsible for reading and reviewing a ton to catch up.

Basically, I think NetGalley kind of screws over both the authors and the readers in these regards. I keep reviewing but I am thinking of stopping. Right now I'm reading a 400 page book that I do really like, and I have to read it fast before it disappears. I plan to write a very good review of it on my blog and Goodreads. I don't always post my reviews to Amazon but will try to more after reading your thoughts here about that. I will do all of that work and then, since that book is over $30, I can't even afford to get my own copy after all the good press I'll give it. So as a reviewer, I do not think I'm necessarily getting a great deal out of this process either.

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5/18/2018 06:47:44 am

I know your marketing books are very good and authorized. But i mostly bought books from online shopping store in pakistan. Review gomeri.com

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6/29/2018 02:38:13 am

Hi Katie,

We have developed a platform for budding indie authors to get the necessary reviews and feedback on their book easily and affordably.


Here's our website https://lovewriting.co.uk/. Thank you.

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8/13/2018 04:43:47 pm

Thank you for sharing your story. It's much appreciated :)

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Kristin
2/12/2020 11:06:41 pm

I am a reviewer on Netgalley and I was googling to try and improve my reviews. I'm a blogger and cross-post my reviews on my website, Goodreads, and Amazon. I HATE spoiling anything so I feel like my reviews are somewhat vague. I was also trying to figure out the preferred length of a review. If you have any advice, I would love to hear it!

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Chris
3/9/2022 06:33:55 pm

It's ironic that this thread was started in 2013 as -- nearly 9 years later -- I had a nearly identical experience. NetGalley was a very negative experience for me as an Indie author.

My book has been out for about 4 months now and I have accrued around 50 customer reviews across sites, almost all 4 and 5 star reviews. Guess where every single 1, 2, and 3 star reviews came from? You got it - NetGalley! And the 1 and 2 star drivel all made its way to Goodreads.

I became interested in NetGalley after reading Dave Chesson's article promoting NetGalley as a great source of reviews, which he claims are posted on Amazon. Well, I got about 108 downloads after 3 months, and 12 readers left reviews. The results? Half favorable and the other half unfavorable, if not sharply critical. Of the 6 critical reviews, ALL made their way to Goodreads (lowering my rating to below 4.0 there), but only 2 of the favorable reviews made their way to Goodreads. Only 1 favorable review made its way to Amazon.ca and 1 sort of odd/critical review made its way to Amazon.com. So 2 reviews made their way to Amazon (which may be a good thing, in this case!) But it's not what Dave Chesson promised in his article - that NetGalley reviews make their way to Amazon. I reached out to all the favorable reviewers, but a few were unresponsive and one noted she can't leave reviews on Amazon.

To be fair, I did enjoy seeing my book listed in the "Reader Recommended" category for most of its time on NetGalley as some early reviews were favorable....and I should share that I purchased the Booksgosocial discounted service offered via Dave, so I was unable to vet potential readers, as Booksgosocial allows every potential reviewer to read my book. This was a definite con for me in using this service. If I was able to vet readers, I probably would have prevented certain readers from reviewing my book who left the most critical reviews; I could tell from their profiles they would not be a good match for my book.

I'm not sure if these Goodreads reviews hurt my Amazon sales or not, as I have a mixture of positive and negative reviews on Goodreads, with only positive reviews at Amazon. (I know critical reviews can be helpful, too, but the abundance of negativity from NetGalley was a bit over the top.) I sure wouldn't recommend using their service to any Indie author!

If one is looking for ARC readers, better services are: Book Sirens, Hidden Gems, Booksprout, and authorsxp. Although I have not received as many reviews from these services (so far), I can tell you the reviewers have all been very positive or - if they know they would not like my book - at least they would have the courtesy to not review it.

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6/9/2022 12:36:14 am

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Lis McDermott link
8/3/2022 01:21:40 am

Thanks for this article Katie. I wish I'd seen it earlier. I have paid for Netgalley, and after only a short time I'm beginning to wish I hadn't. I've so far received absolutely no reviews, and yet people have downloaded my book - so I feel as though I'm paying out a lot of money for nothing in return. I wrote to Netgalley, and they have responded, but basically, they are putting all of the blame onto me, so not doing this or that or the other- things, which I thought they were doing! So I was interested that you asked them to take your book down. Good luck for your future writing.

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10/10/2022 12:06:21 am

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    Katie French is the author of The Breeders, a Young Adult dystopian adventure and Eyes Ever to the Sky, a sci fi romance. Nessa: A Breeders Story, a prequel novelette is available on Amazon for FREE. Sign up for notifications, or like her on Facebook. 

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