…First, you want a cover and blurb that makes readers want to read your story.
You also want to create rules for your reviewers. There are a few ways to do this but generally, you’re giving them your book or story for free, prior to it being published. Then you want to encourage them to buy your book the day it publishes and leave you an honest review.
Kiersten Modglin, award-winning/bestselling queen of twists and also one of the coolest writers I met at Killer Nashville had this to share with me about how she finds ARC readers and having rules.
“I start by reaching out to book influencers (bookstagrammers, booktokers, booktubers, etc) who are actively promoting books similar to mine on their pages. I don’t have any follower count requirements, etc, I just want to see that they’re actively promoting. I ask them if they’d be interested in receiving an ARC copy of mine in exchange for an honest review. If they are, I send them a digital copy. If they review it positively and on time (within the timeframe I’ve given them), I ask if they’d like to join my official review team. I run my review team through a private group on Facebook and have strict rules for everyone on the team. They have deadlines they agree to before they sign up for each ARC.
ARC teams should make your job easier, not harder, and if you set yourself up for success by enforcing the rules from the beginning, you’ll be so thankful you did!”
Thank you Kiersten.
You need to decide on a goal number of ARC readers. And then find and connect with readers who like your genre. That could be via social media, you could also check out groups on Facebook for readers looking for ARC books in your genre, or there’s a space on Reddit for ARC books.
OR do an ad on FB targeting readers of your genre.
Kiersten uses a Facebook group to organize her ARC readers, you could also create a Google form to collect their information and keep track of them.
And then make sure to follow up with your ARC readers to let them know the day your book gets published.
When you book is four weeks out, start looking for ARC readers, have a way to organize them, give them rules, and keep them updated.
Notes:
Kiersten Modglin – Queen of the Twist! Find her books here: https://www.kierstenmodglinauthor.com/
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