Part 6 in a Series of Book Marketing and Publicity Tips from Smith Publicity
NetGalley is an online venue where we upload digital books and make them available to over 100,000 reviewers, media, librarians, booksellers, bloggers and educators. NetGalley delivers digital galleys and promotional materials to professional readers and helps promote new and upcoming titles. It’s a great way to get exposure and recommendations for a book!
1. NetGalley saves everyone money.
The average book costs about $5.00 to mail within the U.S., which means authors have to factor postage costs into the price of any media outeach. Now that media professionals are using e-readers and computers to review books, NetGalley is an outstanding tool to quickly get our books in the hands of the right people, anywhere in the world. When NetGalley users request copies of titles we’ve uploaded, we’re able to instantly and easily approve their requests. This saves authors and publishers postage fees and book printing costs! This fast delivery means your book will be fresh on their mind and likely at the top of their “pile” instead of waiting days to get the book in hand.
2. Reviewers love going digital.
While nothing is quite like the experience of turning the pages of a physical book, we’re seeing more and more requests for digital review copies rather than their printed brethren. It’s easy to see why. Reviewers and journalists don’t have to wait by their mailbox, and their homes and offices can remain free from the clutter of stacks of review copies. Reviewers can easily take books with them on laptops or e-readers.
3. Your book is safe in their hands.
The number one question we hear from authors about NetGalley is: “Will my book be safe from digital piracy?” The answer is always: “Yes!” Not only do we control who has access to the book, but we also control what they do with it. The files we upload are protected, meaning that users can’t print or forward the books they request. The community also works to foster feelings of trust between users and authors/publishers – we’re sharing something with them that they want and, in return, they respect the privilege of getting access to these materials.
4. We’re able to reach additional professionals interested in your genre.
The NetGalley community—100,000 and growing—reaches librarians, booksellers, educators, media professionals, book reviewers and highly influential online book reviewers and bloggers. If you’ve heard any news about the publishing industry recently, it’s that the blogosphere can launch an obscure title to the top of the bestseller list when something catches their eye (*ahem* Fifty Shades of Grey.) NetGalley becomes a valuable tool by allowing online reviewers and bloggers to discover our titles based on their interests. Many successful blog tours have started by contacting bloggers who requested our titles through NetGalley.
5. NetGalley isn’t for everyone... and that’s a good thing!
While NetGalley welcomes all types of professional readers–from librarians and booksellers, to bloggers and freelance reviewers–not just anyone can upload their book. Because of how NetGalley is set up, authors or small publishers with a limited number of titles likely would not want to sign up for NetGalley (last we checked, there is a 20 title minimum fee price). We, however, can upload single titles. When we add an author’s book to the NetGalley library, it will be in the company of HarperCollins, Penguin, Random House, and Yale University Press, just to name a few!
For information on getting your book on NetGalley, email Smith Publicity.