When entering the writing industry, there is almost always one big concern about publishing books. How do you know if people will see it, let alone read it?
This was my concern when I wrote my first book, Never-Ending Nightmares, and still is one of my greatest concerns as I continue my writing career. Sometimes, if you don't know enough people, self-marketing just isn't enough.
I saw an ad for Voracious Readers Only while scrolling through Instagram one day, and I was thinking what a lot of you are probably thinking as you're reading this. I read pretty extensively, as you can see from my Goodreads account, but I was pretty skeptical about this ad promising free ebooks only in exchange for reviews.
Until I made an account, ironically, on New Year's Day of 2022.
Ten minutes after receiving a confirmation email for my account, I received my first book to review.
I was impressed, especially after successfully downloading said book and starting to read.
A year later, and I am still using Voracious Readers Only, and still leaving reviews via Amazon and Goodreads.
Around early July 2022, I entered the 20-book giveaway for Never-Ending Nightmares, as it had no reviews. All 20 copies were given away successfully through BookFunnel, and I was excited to see the results. Now, Voracious Readers cannot guarantee that a reader will actually leave a review on the books they get copies for. This came to light as, out of 20 copies, I've only received one review back. Personally, I expected as much. Not everyone will be in it to support the authors.
However, there will be people who are willing and looking to read and support authors. Luckily, the review that I'd gotten definitely boosted my morale, but it still bugs me that there were so many copies given, and not many reviews given. Maybe that could change with a little more time.
Overall thoughts:
As a reader who is still in the early stages of being an author, I love that Voracious Readers are helping the little guys. As an avid reader, who is dedicated to supporting other small authors, it works for me. I am always willing to review and be honest about other people's writing so they can grow, but not everyone feels the same. Hopefully, there are others like me who are using the site to give honest support rather than gaining free books.
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