As a reader, you sign up for free and they send the deals to your inbox. You list what genres you like to read, and they only send those deals your way. If you see something that interests you, you click either the Amazon or B&N or smashwords link and go straight to the source to get your book bargain.
Book Bub is not a middle man or reseller in the traditional sense. I've clicked through and gone straight to Amazon, where I sign into my 1-click account and instantly download the book I'm interested in. They list previously released best sellers or Amazon favorites that are being offered at steep discounts, perhaps to draw interest to an author's latest book. They also have new authors that publishers are trying to promote with flash sales, or special discounts to boost release day.
Founded in 2012, they claim over one million email subscribers, so it's a good way for publishers to get attention for a book they want to push.
If you're an author, you can sign up to have your sale book listed with them - well, you can submit a form and they decide if they will promote your sale. There is a fee, but I can't find it listed on the site. Here's what the site does say by way of explanation:
1. You submit a title for consideration. You start by filling out an online submission form outlining the details of your price promotion.
2. We review your submission. Our editorial team reviews your book and decides whether they’d like to select it for a feature. If your title is chosen, you’ll receive confirmation and an invoice. (If it’s not selected, we’ll let you know within a few days.)
3. You coordinate your promotion with all retailers. We recommend partners contact distributors and/or retailers directly for detailed instructions on how to implement a price promotion.
4. We prepare the listing. You don’t need to provide us with any additional materials for your feature. Our editors write a blurb for your book and our production team assembles all other creative.
5. We send your book to our readers! On the morning of your promotion, we verify that your deal is available at all the retailers you selected. As long as everything is in order, the deal goes out in that day’s email and appears on our website.
Has anyone tried this for themselves to promote their book? I've heard from one author who was over the moon with her Book Bub promotion...
I've been a reader subscriber now for about a month, and scroll thru my daily email from them with interest. So far, I've downloaded 14 of the *Free* books offered. One was a Harlequin KISS story that was cute and well-written. I will look for that author again. One was a fantasy set in medieval Ireland that had some issues but was a good story and kept my interest.
Four of them were romantic suspense novels that I started and Just. Can't. Finish. Not well written, jumping the shark, poorly edited, no likeable characters... yeah, some might say you get what you pay for, but really? Someone thought these should be books?
But it's fun to get the daily email and see what bargains there are to be had.
Have you tried it yet? What do you think?
I made the attempt, but was not accepted. It made me a bit sad because it looked legit. It still is, rejecting me did not make it illegitimate. :)
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