The more observant among you may have noticed a particular uptick in the number of Twitter mentions of Pearseus, my epic fantasy series, and The Power of Six, my collection of science fiction short stories. In fact, I would call it a downright frenzy, and it’s courtesy of the Rave Reviews Book Club (RRBC), which selected me to be their Spotlight Author. This is a week-long position, so there’s still five days of all manner of craziness going on, like a bunch of guest posts by me appearing on friendly blogs; an in-depth interview (to be posted on Thursday) and even a Radio Show (which I sadly had to decline, due to the time difference)!
How is this lovely attention faring so far? To talk numbers, my books had hundreds of Twitter mentions yesterday alone. Sadly, I don’t use further stats – but I do know what kind of numbers interest me the most: sales!
A week ago, I had paid for a $100 ad. I sold 20 books over my usual number, which, sadly, failed to cover the expense.
Yesterday, I matched that, with no other promotions going on than the RRBC Spotlight. Which was completely free! And I still have 5 more days to go!
So, what is the Rave Reviews Book Club? Well, it’s a virtual book club made up of authors and readers. Each month, the club selects the Book of the Month, members get their copy, read and then post their reviews. Members are expected to review a minimum of four book annually, which really translates into a book every three months. Since I review a couple of books each month, that wasn’t a problem.
So, where’s the catch? Simple: There’s only 12 months in a year, and the club already has over 400 members. Which means that each author has but a slim chance of being featured in any given year. Faced with this problem, the Board decided early on to promote authors using other means besides the Book of the Month, such as selecting a different Spotlight Author each week. Or the #PushTuesday tag to promote a couple more authors each week on Twitter. They arrange guest blog posts and throw writing contests. They have an incentive program, and a mentor one! In fact, they come up every week with new ways to promote authors, so that no one feels left out.
What’s even more amazing, is that last week, in addition to making me Spotlight Author, they asked me to join the Board in the capacity of Social Media Director – which is just a fancy title for helping the Club manage their social media platforms. Naturally, I accepted, and I will be focusing on Facebook and Goodreads, so I’m looking forward to seeing you there!
To find out more about the Rave Reviews Book Club, click here!
Thanks for the helpful post!
Thank you – and welcome! It’s great to have you here 🙂
Enjoyed your post and congratulations both on your uptake in sales (yeah RRBC!) and your new position on the board !
Thank you – and welcome. 🙂
I love your art. I’m particularly impressed by your boulder series. Your ability to not only see the beauty in something so mundane, but also bring it out and share with everyone is amazing!
So happy to have you on the board of Rave Reviews Book Club. For those reading this today, are you a member yet?
Aw, that’s so kind of you! Thanks! 🙂
Fantastic post, Nicholas! You’ve put a lot into this piece. Good work!
Thanks, Beem! 🙂
This is a great testimony, Nicholas! You’ve worked hard, and certainly deserve the recognition you’ve gotten at RRBC. Too bad I can’t vote for you! LOL
Aw, you’re too kind! Thank you! 🙂
Great post.
Thanks, John! Glad you enjoyed it 🙂
Congrats! Sounds promising in terms of promotion for your books and I wish you best of luck 🙂
Thank you dear! I’ll let you know how it goes 🙂
Nicholas. You are an excellent example of all the ways Rave Reviews Book Club supports its members. Congratulations on becoming our Social Media Director.
Thank you so much for everything, from the warm welcome, to the generous invitation! 🙂
Great news, Nicholas. I’m always happy to hear of a fellow writer’s success stories. I’m new to Rave. My social media time gets overwhelming (interferes with my writing) so I’ve decided to cut it back and alternate FB with Twitter with Google+ with Reddit rather than do daily posts on all. I do like Rave web site and the things happening here. Wishing you all the best. Social Media Director! Where do you find the time?!
Thank you, that’s very sweet of you! 🙂 It’s a good idea to pace yourself by cutting back on the social media, or we’d never get any writing done! As for time, I’m still new and they’re still going easy on me! 😀
Like an idiot, I’ve joined. I say an idiot because I will be extremely hard pushed to read 4 books a year… which is why I’ve held off after reading several other posts about it. Also because I have so little time that I feel guilty about receiving that kind of help from others and giving so little in return.
However, I’ve decided it might do me good to get my finger out of my arse and read more books. So I’m going to give it a try.
Cheers
MTM
Lol – it’s actually easier than it sounds; the secret is to pick a book that’s in a genre you enjoy! With any luck, you won’t be able to stop reading after that! 🙂
Hi Nicholas, thank you for your lovely post about RRBC. Even though as a Board member, you’re not eligible to win…I must say this was a wonderful tribute to RRBC. Congrats on your new release and I couldn’t be happier you joined the Board! xoxo 🙂
Thank you! I’m thrilled to be part of the group 🙂
Best to you, Nicholas! I aspire to be “spotlighted,” “pushed,” or otherwise so supported, some week!
I’m sure you will! I was pretty surprised when I received the email myself! 😀