When DreamPunk Press first published Dhampyr Heritage (by E. G. Gaddess), I tried to get ARC (Advanced Review Copies) that I could send to reviewers. I used Lulu to get the ARCs as you can’t get but 5 proofs from Creatspace at a time. They were okay, but they looked a little different from what I got from Createspace.
Once I had the ARCs, I had to find folks to read and review them. I searched book review bloggers, but I had a hard time finding bloggers that would accept independently published novels. Some sites were downright rude in stating it; others not so much. But I did find some, inquired if they would like to read the novel, and sent out the ARCs to those who relpied yes.
In all, I sent out 11 books; I got three reviews (all good – but only three.)
I had purchased 25 ARCs; so I offered giveaways on Goodreads and Librarything. I was more successful with getting reviews on these sites – but a word of warning, make certain the person receiving the book understands what an ARC is. It truly was an ARC; I sent my proofreader a copy of the book to use (at her request), and she caught some errors that were corrected in the final version. Some of my reviews on Goodreads slammed the few errors.
It was a learning process.
In January of this year, when DreamPunk Press released The Secret of Magik and Dragons (T. L. Frye), I tried a different route. I didn’t ask for blog reviews. I didn’t offer any giveaway (though we meant to – a family medical emergency got me off track.) I did get one review and interview for the author, and included a quote from the reviewer (who happened to be a fellow author) for the back cover.
The results were not so good.
Book sales of The Secret of Magik and Dragons are much lower than Dhampyr Journey; and it can be attributed to the lack of reviews.
So, make sure you get reviews for your book. Offer giveaways on Goodreads, Librarything, and Facebook. Tell folks about the giveaways; use Twitter. You need to get the word out as best you can. And the best way to do that, is give away books to readers who will tell others about it.