2013 was a banner year for Goodreads, the reader review site. It doubled its membership again (just as it did during 2012). It now has 25 million members, many of which are interested in fiction much than nonfiction.
Here’s a cool infographic with other tidbits about the site’s activities over the previous year.
The Career Press publishes books for adults that helps readers improve their careers, businesses, and related topics. Prospective writers can submit a book proposal with sample chapters. Note that unlike other publishers who accept partial manuscripts for many types of nonfiction, this publisher notes that a complete manuscript is preferred for all its subject areas.
Shebooks, http://www.shebooks.net, launched as a new publisher. It focuses on books written by women for women. All its titles are available on a subscription basis, so be sure that kind of payment structure is acceptable to you before submitting.
Reader reviews are an important to boost book sales. On specific sites, you’ll find lists of top reviewers…individuals who are so prolific with their reviews that they have achieved top ranking on that site.
It might not sound like much but it’s important. Top reviewers have followers…some of them tens of thousands of followers. When one of the top reviewers pays attention to your book, their followers discover your work. Good or bad, the review can introduce you to individuals who otherwise might never come across your stories.
Over the holidays, one of my novels was reviewed by an Amazon Top 50 reviewer. The post is fairly long and detailed, and can be read here. The reviewer is Grady Harp, who commands spot number 41 in the reviewer ranking. I’ll be following the sales numbers and will report back in a month on any developments.
Writer's Resource/Sunspot Lit 