Rave Reviews Book ClubThe 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!