Picture this: in the pile of yesterday's mail was a bubble wrap package from Bethany House Publishing -the largest Christian publishing house in the U.S.
Now, before you begin sending me letters of congratulations, read on.
Yes, there was a book in the package, but not my book.
So, there's this word out there that I learned recently: influencer. Every heard of it? Well, it was a new one to me when Karen Witemeyer asked if I wanted to be one. After she explained it to me and I actually understood the term, I wholeheartedly agreed. If you are like me, and have never heard of an influencer before, it's someone who reviews an author's new titles. The author gives your name and address to the publishing house, and shortly before the book is available to the public, they mail the book to you. You quickly read it, and review it. You can tell folks about it on your blog, on Amazon, Goodreads, etc. Pretty cool, huh?
Yesterday, in the bubble wrap Bethany House Publishing package, I received Karen's new book Head In The Clouds. The cover is beautiful! This will be the first book I'm reading as an influencer -hopefully the first of many.
Seeing as this blog is about everything writing/publishing, I thought I'd share this little tidbit as it became known to me. Oh, and to say that seeing a package from a publishing house escalated my excitement to get my manuscript rewrite done and hopefully published!
Here's The Question:
Have you ever been an influencer? If so, for which book/author?
Wow! That's really cool... nope, never even heard of it til now. Thanks for sharing. I've been schooled for the day. :)
ReplyDeleteExcellent. Its a way to get your foot in the door and to make a name for yourself maybe. I have never heard of the term "influencer", but I think I was aware of the process. Anyway, congrats to you.
ReplyDeleteThis is my first time visiting your blog and I love, love, love your photo. WOW! I also think "influencer" is a fabulous idea and look forward to your critique.
ReplyDeleteThat's neat! I had never heard of that. Will you get to review more books, or is this just a one-time thing?
ReplyDeleteHey, Rachel. Glad you got the book. How fun to be the one to introduce you to the world of books influencers! For those who have regular blogs for book reviews, it is also possible to get on a reviewer list for your favorite publishers. That way they approach you and you can pick which books you want to review for them. Word of mouth plays a huge role in the success of a book, so the more people we can get to talk about our books, the better. Thanks for being an influencer for me!
ReplyDeleteThanks Karen for the additional information. So, how does one go about getting on the reviewer list with a publisher? By the way, I'm really enjoying your book!
ReplyDeleteI know ladies, there's this whole other world out there that we're beginning to see. Taking a peak under the curtain so to speak. ;)
Tessa~ Well, I know Karen has another book coming out next spring (right Karen?) and I am assuming I'll be an influencer for that one. And I've asked Sarah Sundin to add me to her influencer list on her next book as well.
Jodeeluna~ Thanks for stopping by! Now, do you mean you like the package picture or the one up top of the beautiful leaf?
Hey, Rachel. I'm not quite sure how to go about request to be added to the publisher's review program. I looked around on the Bethany Web site and didn't see anything specific. I guess I would use the contact form and just ask. I don't know if they have perameter in place like how many hits your blog gets a day or anything like that. But I know they have a network of bloggers they work with for each book's release.
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