There is a book - The Men by Sandra Newman - which comes out on the same day and covers a similar topic as my own sci-fi XX - The History of Mankind.
I was in shock yesterday morning as I was not aware of this book at all (I do not live under a rock, but I am currently trying to manage an international move, so I'm hopefully excused for my ignorance). Reviews for The Men are mixed and it certainly got some flack from early reviewers, but also praise from journalists and book reviewers writing for established news outlets (e.g. The Guardian, The Spectator, Bookmunch, ...) So, what to do about that? Surely I cannot compete with a traditionally published book that already has a head-start in it's marketing campaign and stirred up a heated discussion about transphobia and feminism again. Or can I? Maybe I can hitchhike on the hype buzzing around The Men and get people interested in comparing our books? Best case scenario would be a boost for both of us. I do not want to read Ms. Newman's book, at least not at the moment, as my trilogy will edge even closer to her storyline in books 2 and 3, and I do not want to get influenced by The Men and later be called a copy-cat. But here is what I have gathered from the reviews I read in the last 24-hours: The Men is a sci-fi novel, some describing it as a gender apocalypse, where men, or rather every one with a Y-chromosome suddenly disappears. The remaining women, or XX carriers, grapple with the loss of their husbands, fathers, sons, lovers, and friends, but also adversaries and tormentors, whilst trying to rebuild society and a stable economy. The reason for the disappearance is apparently never fully explained, which is one of the points that readers criticized. On the other side, it is supposedly beautifully written and the struggle of women in our modern society well carved out. So far so good. XX - The History of Mankind is equally a sci-fi novel fitting into the sub-genre of gender apocalypse. It is mapped out as a trilogy which gives it more space to explore the different stages of the apocalypse. In the first book, the beginning of a silent pandemic that changes the way we reproduce is the focus, which explores a potential and scientifically sound scenario (with some fictional freedom) about how a gender apocalypse could start. As men do not suddenly disappear, the dynamic between people, couples, and strangers who realize what the fate of humankind will most likely be is the second driver of the story. It begs the age-old question: What is the meaning of life? I don't want to give too much away, but you can already see that the books are quite different despite having the same central premise. That is a relief for me and maybe an opportunity for you, dear reader, to add another book to your reading pile. I would love to see some reviews comparing and (probably) confirming my suspicion that The Men and XX - The History of Mankind are very different books indeed and each deserving of an audience.
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For a few months now I have come to enjoy the attention of book promotors on Instagram. It's exciting to get some attention from people who think that you and your book are worth some more attention, isn't it? You might have seen the serious bookstagram pages where dedicated readers stage their favourite books because they love and believe in them, right? Most often the insta-book-promotors that get in touch with you have very uninspiring post with flat book covers on unicoloured backgrounds and with a hodgepodge of genres that make the eye hurt. Moreover, I quickly realized that everyone and anyone charges a "small fee" for their services. Whilst I have nothing against paying for services - on the contrary, I think more people should actually do this rather than to expect freebies - most if not all of these Instagram pages are not worth your while or your money. Now, there are the really obvious bots who just comment that you should promote your book on xyz. XYZ might have an impressive following, but the boot is usually a newly created, often private account, with very few followers. And there are hundreds of thousands of them bugging you every day. Block them, ignore them, report them, what ever, not sure if they would interact if you actually contacted them. The mother-pages-of-book-scammers probably will get in touch if they haven't done so already. Usually, what you will see is a friendly message informing you that they have send you a message and to please accept it as they are really impressed with your page/book and would like to "co-lab". If you show interest, they usually let you know that they charge a "small fee for their services", but that it's totally worth it. I hear you say $20 is not much and what's the worst that can happen? By all means, go for it, but here are a couple of things to check out first: 1. Do they put in any effort in presenting the books? 2. Are they giving 5-star ratings for anything and everything? 3. Do they have a theme and promote selected genres that actually match your book? 4. Are they promoting books from the big publishing houses (I know it's nice that they give us self-publishers a platform, but it's still good to check out the crowd you are mixing with)? Drilling a little deeper: 4. How many likes do their posts generate? 5. How many comments do their posts get? 6. Are the people commenting genuine readers or generic (aka bots) travel/food/beauty/insert-other-trend bloggers? Still not convinced? 7. Check out any of their "reviewed" books on Amazon, Goodreads, or any other genuine book page (especially the ones they claim they are using), and see If the book has any noteworthy ranking, increased number of reviews since insta-book-promotion, and if you can find the review of the insta-book-promotor anywhere else but their own Instagram page. Last but not least ask them what their ROI (return on investment) is; in other words, how much does their promotion actually increase any book sales, which is what you want, right? They probably won't have an answer to it as they won't be able to measure it, but it's something to think about. Is your money really best spend on some dubious instagram reviewer or are there better ways to promote your book? But this is something for another post. Stay tuned. |
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March 2023
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