Date
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Booksprout
How many of you use Booksprout?
I came across a thread about increasing reviews, and someone was warning not to use this site because she said that trolls found her through Booksprout. Thoughts? Has anyone had this sort of issue? Thanks, Kari
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Victoria Jayne <AuthorVictoriaJayne@...>
I've used it for all three books and have no issues with trolls. Not everyone does a review :-( but such is life You do get their email addresses which means I sent a polite reminder, and when people did do a review, I sent them a personal thank you and asked if they were interested in joining my mailing list
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Thanks! I'd never heard of it before. Just considering my possibilities, but her comments about trolls gave me pause. Kari
On Sun, Sep 20, 2020 at 10:18 AM Victoria Jayne <AuthorVictoriaJayne@...> wrote:
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Mary Caelsto
Hi, I use BookSprout and have no problem with trolls or piracy for that matter. In addition, the support staff is very responsive. You are welcome to block reviewers and if you feel that someone has violated their reviewer guidelines, PLEASE email it to support and they will look into it. I recommend BookSprout all the time. Thanks, Mary Are you a Muse Star? Join me for free stories + extras Check it out at www.marykitcaelsto.com Owner/Founder
of Epona Author Solutions. Helping authors who just want to run free with technical, administrative, and coaching assistance. Get your free gift at EponaAuthorSolutions.com
On Sun, Sep 20, 2020 at 10:16 AM K.A. Raines <karispencer80@...> wrote: How many of you use Booksprout?
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I’ve used booksprout many times and my experience with them has been positive. And their customer service/support team is very responsive and friendly. Trolls are called trolls for a reason. They will find you one way or another and I find it hard to believe any troll activity could be placed on the responsibility of booksprout. Lastly, IMO the word troll is overused. An occasional constructive review/criticism does not make that person a troll. Nicole
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Charlotte O'Shay
I’ve used Booksprout for 4 books. It’s a great site and getting better all the time. No trolls. There are always ppl looking for freebies IMO that will never change. Booksprout gives you a mechanism to weed out non reviewers from receiving future books.
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CHARLOTTE O’SHAY Happily Ever After in the City of Dreams
On Sep 20, 2020, at 11:26 AM, K.A. Raines <karispencer80@...> wrote:
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I use it. I found a few followers that joined my private arc group because of it. They ate also my “street team” that helps promote me. Others read and review. If they don’t review they can’t get another book until they do so you do run the risk of someone not liking it and leaving a bad review. I leave a note that if they can’t leave a positive review to contact me instead. I was told you can remove them so they aren’t forced to review but didn’t have to fo that route. Trolls suck but they find you anywhere if you are controversial. I write dark romance so its risky. There is a group of trolls we call the “safety gang” that hit goodreads with negative reviews without even reading because they don’t like the dark stuff.
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I found booksprout hard with my 2nd and 3rd in series because of cliffhangers. If you don’t have the same readers for all books they are lost. I plan on using it for my next series but they will be stand alones.
On Sep 20, 2020, at 11:16 AM, K.A. Raines <karispencer80@...> wrote:
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Kari, I went through Reedsy and found a marketing expert who I paid to do an hour phone call with. She advised me that with her clients one of the first things she does is sign them up for reviews at one or more of three different places. One of them is Booksprout. The others are AuthorsXP, and Hidden Gems. She told me not to use other sites because they are not reputable and that she has used these three sites exclusively and they are trustworthy. (This was actually one of the things I was going to do a post about today). I signed up one book for BookSprout and one for AuthorsXP. The one I signed up for Hidden Gems won't be done until next April because that's the earliest I could get in. BookSprout is free. I put a screenshot below so you can see what they offer. I put up The Fury and put up a deadline for the reviews. I requested 20 reviews, 7 copies were claimed and I got 5 reviews from that. You check back every so often and can send out automated emails to remind people to post the review. To date, I haven't had any problems with them and my request is completed. This is the only experience that I've had with them. I've seen no suspicious activity nor have I received any weird emails. (see first screenshot) I put up Dangerous Heat with AuthorsXP at the same time. I figured I'd try all three and see which one I liked best. It cost me $50 at AuthorsXP for Elite Read & Review. They start with sending it to 20 people. You are guaranteed 8 reviews. I set up the book in their library and they send it to their Elite readers. For the end date, I asked Amy what I should use and she told me to put out a ways because they keep sending the book out until it gets 8 reviews. I have also used their daily promo deal ($10) twice. I don't know yet how successful these ventures are yet, but I've got my fingers crossed that for the money I've spent on re-releasing "Highland Stone" and the deals I was running to get eyes on my books, that it works out. Amy (from AXP) was very helpful when I had questions, and responded pretty quickly. They offer other services as you can see in the screenshot. (see second screenshot) With Hidden Gems I don't really have much information. It cost $20 to hold the date you pick. That $20 is for the first 10 readers. They send your ARC out to 100 reviewers. They have a standarde of 80% reviews being posted. You can pick how much you want to spend. They charge, I believe, $3.00 for every reader over what the $20 covers. I think I agreed to pay $75 total. Because the calendar was so filled up I couldn't get in until April 2021, which works out since I am using my new book which I plan to be out in February 2021. They also do blogs and they offer other services. (see third screenshot) Well, sorry for the long post, but I wanted to give information about all three services. There is also a group on Goodreads called Advanced Copies for Review & Book Giveaways. I did join the group about a week ago but I haven't participated in it as of yet. Well, I hope this helps. SLOAN MCBRIDE ~~Love Spans All Time~~
On Sun, Sep 20, 2020 at 10:16 AM K.A. Raines <karispencer80@...> wrote: How many of you use Booksprout?
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Victoria Jayne <AuthorVictoriaJayne@...>
This is all super helpful information
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No, thank you! This is good information! I'm completely new to this and will take all the advice I can get. Thank you, everyone! I love how open and helpful this group is. Cheers, Kari
On Sun, Sep 20, 2020 at 2:32 PM Sloan <sloan.McBride@...> wrote:
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Carol Barreyre
Hi Kari,
I used Booksprout for the first time for my June release and learned a few things. If you go into it with the right expectations, you won't be disappointed. 1) Don't expect miracles. I used the free version, got 3 downloads and no reviews. As you see from others, they did get results. 2) Booksprout has spam, and they can help. Here's something I copied from one of their email responses: "We're aware of emails from "Debbie Miles", which are attempts to get author email addresses to spam. We are aware of this person and have actively taken steps to stop her. n the future, know that you never have to answer a solicitation for files. If someone has requested an ARC and is having trouble--that's what we're here for. To help! You can reply and refer them to the help desk if you wish." 3) And the biggest point, Booksprout (nor any reputable services) does not overtly ask readers to leave reviews. Good luck! Addison Brae/Carol Barreyre
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Mary Caelsto
Hi Carol, If I can update, I've spoken with their developer and they have taken steps that has since about late July cut down or completely eliminated those spam emails. The important point is that authors are aware that ANYTIME they get an email from a reader thorugh BookSprout (With their logo, etc.), that they can reach out to the help desk if they have questions. Take care, Mary Are you a Muse Star? Join me for free stories + extras Check it out at www.marykitcaelsto.com Owner/Founder
of Epona Author Solutions. Helping authors who just want to run free
with technical, administrative, and coaching assistance (including
editing & book formatting). Get your free gift at EponaAuthorSolutions.com
Hi Kari,
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Patricia Bates
I use it, love Booksprout. Good customer service, and haven't had any issues with it. No problems with trolls or pirates either.
On Sun, Sep 20, 2020 at 10:16 AM K.A. Raines <karispencer80@...> wrote: How many of you use Booksprout?
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I hope it helps. SLOAN MCBRIDE ~~Love Spans All Time~~
On Mon, Sep 21, 2020 at 4:49 AM K.A. Raines <karispencer80@...> wrote:
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