book clubs
Big Bad Weekly Tip: National Reading Group Month is Here!
October 5, 2009
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by GreenleafBookGroup
October is designated as National Reading Group Month by the Women's National Book Association. The mission of National Reading Group Month is to increase public awareness of the joy and value of shared reading. Special events are being held throughout the month in each of the association's 10 chapter cities: Boston, Dallas, Detroit, Los Angeles, Nashville, New York, San Francisco, Washington, D.C., Seattle, and Charlotte, N.C. These events are open to the public, so you might consider doing some mingling with reading group members if you live in one of these cities. If you do attend, consider preparing and bringing a discussion guide for your book, as well as some free copies of the book, to hand out.
As we’ve mentioned before, reading groups can be an effective way for authors to find a readership and build word of mouth. Reading groups love author contact and will be more inclined to select your book if you offer to participate in discussions in person or via audio/video conferencing.
If you can’t attend the National Reading Group Month events, here are a few other places to find and connect with reading groups:
- bookclub.meetup.com
- readerscircle.org
- your local bookstores
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First Rule of Book Club Is: Don't Talk About Book Club
April 11, 2007
by Aaron Hierholzer
When you think "book club," you may think of old biddies, crumpets, Aquanet, doilies, and a mystery novel. Or you may think of that blasted "O" sticker you spent ten minutes peeling off your copy of Bookspan from Time, Inc. The two companies joined forces in 2000, when Time's Book-of-the-Month Club and Bertelsmann's Doubleday Book Club combined to create Bookspan, which now operates over 35 book clubs.
According to the Beyond the Bookstore: to avoid making a hasty offer when negotiating with a book club; instead, ask them for standard terms and go from there. Follow these instructions when submitting a manuscript to a Bookspan club, and always submit at least six months in advance of your publication date.
It's also helpful to check out other titles in the catalog of the club you're considering submitting to. See if you fit in. Another helpful tip from Brian Jud: based on what you see in the catalog, draft some copy that you think would best sell your book to members.
Here are some examples of special-interest Bookspan clubs. For a full list, click here.
- History Book Club: Choose from a selection of books relating to all things history, from ancient to WWII.
- Equestrian's Edge: Books of all types for horse enthusiasts, including fiction, instructional books, and horse history.
- American Compass: Offers a catalog suited to today's conservative reader. Hot titles are from names like Bill "Culture Warrior" O'Reilly, Sean Hannity, and Ann Coulter.
- InsightOut: Books for LGBT readers on a variety of topics.
- One Spirit: A one-stop shop for books on yoga, spirituality, nature, and, of course, the Law of Attraction.
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