Rave Reviews Book ClubYou may remember how a few weeks ago I wrote a post about my stint as Spotlight Author of the week by the Rave Reviews Book Club.  With the month of May now over, how did that work out for me?  Well, pretty well, actually, thanks for asking! 🙂

Let’s talk numbers, though.  You may remember that I spent $100 for an ad. Sadly, that generated all of 20-odd book sales. Then, the Rave Reviews kicked in, and the month closed with a total of 116 sales. Not bad, especially considering some 96 of these were with no additional promotion. In April, I had almost 200 sales (plus another couple of hundred free downloads), but that was achieved through a Countdown Deal.

More importantly, though, I got five new reviews in my science fiction short story collection, The Power of Six; and two in Year 18, the first book in my epic fantasy series Pearseus. Since it’s only been a couple of weeks, I fully expect more of these.

I also surpassed 3,000 Twitter followers this month (why aren’t you following me yet?). I estimate that over 200 of them were introduced to me by the Club. I also got a dozen or so new Facebook Likes. And my books’ rank rose significantly!

Anyway, I received an announcement today from the Club, which I felt I should share, as some of you may have joined because of my earlier post. You can check it out in its entirety on the Rave Reviews Book Club website.

Beginning June 1, 2014, RRBC has a membership fee.  This annual fee has been set at $25/per year, but for a limited time only it is offering its membership for only $15/per year!

Because of that, the Club changed its recent policy of a 30 Day Probationary period for all new members, during which new subscriber names would not be listed on the online roster, nor would their book(s) be listed in the Club’s online catalog for members to seek, purchase and review (they were still allowed each and every other privilege that current members are entitled to).

How about those who are within the 30 probationary days, but joined before the introduction of the membership fee? Their free membership is good for a full year from their join date, and they have two options:

  • Option #1:  Remain on the 30 Probationary period, without having their name put on the roster to be followed by the Club’s 450 plus members and not having your book(s) listed, so that members can purchase, read and review for the full 30 days.
  • Option #2:  They may opt to pay the $15 discounted membership fee and become full members right away. They will merely go here, check out all the benefits to New “PAID” Members, and make their 15 Membership Fee payment.  Their membership join day will change to the day they pay the fee, their name will be immediately added to the roster and their book(s) will be added to the BOOK CLUB SELECTIONS FOR REVIEW page (the Club’s online catalog).

Having said all that, what perks do members enjoy? These are the ones I can remember off the top of my head, although the Club comes up with new ideas on a daily basis:

  • Reviews,
  • Spotlight Author of the Week (every week, a different author is taken on blog tours and is promoted heavily within social media),
  • #PushTuesday (every Tuesday a book is selected for Twitter promotion),
  • Book of the Month (each month, one book is heavily promoted),
  • RTs and Shares,
  • The listing of up to 3 of your books in the Club’s online catalog (right now, members are allotted only 1 listing, with the ability to add one additional in the near future),
  • The ability to add book covers to 2 of your titles,
  • Free participation in the Mentor program: 3 months of one-on-one consultations via phone calls, email or e-chat with your very own Mentor; a critique of your partially completed manuscript, which includes helpful hints and suggestions about what could make the writing better (right now, this service has a fee of $10 on its own),
  • Free entry into the Club’s fee-based writing contests,
  • For approved works, inclusion in the upcoming RRBC Anthology,
  • Discounted rates to the Club’s future Writer’s Conferences and Book Expos

I hope you find the above information useful! You can find out more information on the various perks and policies on the relevant Rave Reviews Book Club page. If you’re considering to join or have further questions, please feel free to ask me, and I’ll answer any questions as best as I can! 🙂