As an author, a reader, and a reviewer—what I refer to as my three book personalities—I occupy an interesting space in which I see books very differently from someone who is just a reader, just an author, or just a reviewer—although to be fair, someone who is an author or a reviewer is usually quite the avid reader as well. I look at books and all things related to them from these three perspectives at the same time, which can drive some people nuts—but which thankfully seems to be quite appreciated by Sahar’s Blog readers.
As a reader, I am always looking for books to read. As a reviewer, I am always looking for books I can review—i.e. books that have some form of meat to them which lends well to in-depth discussions (think book club for the written monologue). And as an author, I am always, always looking for a way to market my books.
I have been discovering books to review through services such as NetGalley and iRead Book Tours for some time now. As for books to simply read, I either spend hours perusing the shelves of the nearest Chapters (the Canadian equivalent of Barnes and Noble for all you Americans!) of skulking around my friends’ digital bookshelves on Goodreads.
I was recently told about a new service that’s in town that just might suit my three book personalities: BookGrabbr.
What does BookGrabbr Offer Readers
BookGrabbr is a social media-marketing tool that allows authors to share both full books and previews of their books with readers. Readers can have access to books of many genres by signing in through Facebook, Twitter, or LinkedIn and using their ability to share as a form of currency—this sharing is the payment, as sharing the book it will allow you to read it. Just click the “Grabb this book” button next to the book and the system will prompt you to share in exchange for reading.
What does BookGrabbr Offer Authors and Publishers
Through their unique marketing tool and platform, BookGrabbr helps authors connect to readers that they wouldn’t generally be able to connect to through their friends and their friend’s friends. The noise in the marketplace is deafening, and at times can be a bit overwhelming for authors trying to promote their books.
BookGrabbr created a way to generate some more buzz by harnessing the power of each individual author’s social media platform. Once an author creates his or her profile on BookGrabbr it allows potential readers to read a preview of their book or the full copy and then directs them to their site of choice to purchase the book in the format that the author desires. And since BookGrabbr doesn’t make any money on book sales, an author or a publisher can send them to a retailer, to their own personal page, or wherever they so choose. BookGrabbr’s purpose is to help sell more books, gain momentum, and generate exposure.
What Does iRead Book Tours Offer Readers
iRead Book Tours helps readers discover new authors that have put their profile and books on BookGrabbr through their BookGrabbr Promotion Service.
What Does iRead Book Tours Offer Authors
If an author doesn’t have time to dedicate him or herself to yet another marketing campaign, iRead Book Tours can take care of it. Through the BookGrabbr Promotion Service, they create an author profile, help share the author’s books on his or her social media and theirs, too. In addition, they provide authors with ideas and the support on how to best use the author’s BookGrabbr profile making it a cost-effective, efficient way to publicize books. The iReads team can be contacted here for authors interested in exploring how they can help spread the word about their book through BookGrabbr.
Some of My Thoughts
As an author, I know that I can sign up, fill out my profile, and upload my book to the site. I also decide how far readers are allowed to read into the book for free—referred to as an “extended preview” in exchange for sharing the book on social media. BookGrabbr then provides me with analytics: how many people have read, shared, and purchased the book through which social media channels.
As a reader, this means that I get to read extended reviews before committing to buying a book. I have to admit that I don’t feel attached to this idea as a reader—I usually know pretty early on if I am going to like a book or not. However, as a reviewer, it’s great to have access to an extended preview to see if there is, indeed, enough “meat” for me to dig into
While I have to admit that I am not planning on using BookGrabbr as an author anytime soon (I’m a little cynical when it comes to promoting niche books through such services), I do plan on discovering books through it both for reading and reviewing purposes.
Enter the giveaway below to win a BookGrabbr Promotion Service worth $75 and $100 in cash! Not an author? You can still win the $100 in cash. Giveaway starts March 14 and ends April 15, 2016.