# The Fussy Librarian (now open for book submissions!)



## The Fussy Librarian (May 3, 2011)

As an author, I know how hard it can be to find affordable and effective book marketing. So I spent this summer taking notes and making lists, took out a loan (gulp), and hired some smart folks to create *The Fussy Librarian. 
*
We're going to offer the personalized daily email service that works so well and take it further by letting readers select their preferences regarding profanity, violence and sexual content. An example: People who love cozy mysteries -- and _only _cozy mysteries -- receive an email only when a mystery without sex, violence or profanity is being promoted. (Here's the answer to your first question: You rate your book on the content. It's an honor system with a short leash.)

Our book promotions will be FREE this fall while we build our reader list. But even after we start charging, we promise to keep them affordable.

You can read more about book submissions here: http://www.thefussylibrarian.com/for-authors/

And you can sign up for the daily email here: http://www.thefussylibrarian.com/

We're still a few weeks away from starting the daily service -- the programmers are still working on the book submission form and the database. Email me at [email protected] if you wish to be alerted when the author form is up and working.

So check out the site, kick the tires and let me know what you think. Thanks!


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## Quiss (Aug 21, 2012)

Always good to have a new service to try out. I'll give it a shot.


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## Cherise (May 13, 2012)

You might want to ask folks to comment here if they want to be notified when the author form is up and running. That would keep your thread live more often.   I would like to be notified.


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## Monique (Jul 31, 2010)

Will be watching this with great interest. Why no Kobo?


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## valeriec80 (Feb 24, 2011)

So, I was going to sign up, but I'd like to see the way the options are worded before I enter my email. From your description, it sounds like you're going to filter out the offensive stuff, but will it work the other way?  Is there a way I can filter out the sweet cozies and ONLY get the gritty, explicit stuff?


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## Gina Black (Mar 15, 2011)

I'm interested as well. Will be sending an email.


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## The Fussy Librarian (May 3, 2011)

That's an excellent idea. If you leave a reply in this thread, I'll contact you when the author submit form is live.

On a "gritty only filter," hmmm ... We will include the content ratings in the emails -- that's one way you can avoid cozy mysteries if that's not your thing.

On Kobo: We're certainly open to including links to Kobo.


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## The Fussy Librarian (May 3, 2011)

valeriec80 said:


> So, I was going to sign up, but I'd like to see the way the options are worded before I enter my email. From your description, it sounds like you're going to filter out the offensive stuff, but will it work the other way? Is there a way I can filter out the sweet cozies and ONLY get the gritty, explicit stuff?


I think the only thing that happens, Valerie, is we fill in your email on the reader signup form. I don't think any data is collected until you submit the whole form, but I'd have to ask the programmers to be 100% sure. You definitely don't get the email unless you submit the whole form.


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## Lionel&#039;s Mom (Aug 22, 2013)

I signed up as a reader and will bookmark for future as an author. I haven't done any promotions yet. Would you consider adding romance: time travel to your list? It is, ahem, not only the thing I write, but the thing I like to read the most as well, and it really is it's own category, different from historical, sci-fi, paranormal etc. Also, not to be a nerd, but romance: western? hee hee  

good luck on the site!


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## dalya (Jul 26, 2011)

I just have one tiny issue:



> Fair and reasonable prices. We will never charge you $1,200 because you want to sell a mystery novel for $2.99. That's crazy. You shouldn't have to take out a loan to buy a book sponsorship.


I wouldn't personally make promises like that. If all goes well, and I hope it does, you should be so lucky to one day be able to charge $1200 and also have it be a FAIR PRICE for the author. 

The main competitor in this field can command those rates because authors see the results.


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## Lynn McNamee (Jan 8, 2009)

Will you also accept titles from small publishers?


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## The Fussy Librarian (May 3, 2011)

Mimi said:


> I just have one tiny issue:
> 
> I wouldn't personally make promises like that. If all goes well, and I hope it does, you should be so lucky to one day be able to charge $1200 and also have it be a FAIR PRICE for the author.
> 
> The main competitor in this field can command those rates because authors see the results.


I'd guess I would rather leave a little money on the table if that means authors can start charging $2.99 and get the higher royalty rate. While some authors will recoup the expense, I suspect that far more drop their price so the rate is one they can afford and they feel confident they'll break even.


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## Andrew Ashling (Nov 15, 2010)

cassidycayman said:


> I signed up as a reader and will bookmark for future as an author. I haven't done any promotions yet. Would you consider adding romance: time travel to your list? It is, ahem, not only the thing I write, but the thing I like to read the most as well, and it really is it's own category, different from historical, sci-fi, paranormal etc. Also, not to be a nerd, but romance: western? hee hee
> 
> good luck on the site!


Goes for me too, except in my case I'd like you to add gay romance. Seeing you already have erotic romance as a category that shouldn't be too difficult.


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## The Fussy Librarian (May 3, 2011)

Lynn McNamee said:


> Will you also accept titles from small publishers?


Absolutely, as long as the books meet the guidelines. But we're not going to do discounts for publishers -- everyone pays the same price.


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## Lynn McNamee (Jan 8, 2009)

alexadena said:


> Absolutely, as long as the books meet the guidelines. But we're not going to do discounts for publishers -- everyone pays the same price.


Great! 

I'm not certain why a publisher would expect a discount, anyway.

I only asked because you have "For Authors" and no mention of publishers. 

When do you want us to start spreading the word on FB & Twitter?


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## The Fussy Librarian (May 3, 2011)

Lynn McNamee said:


> Great!
> 
> I'm not certain why a publisher would expect a discount, anyway.
> 
> ...


We're on a real server now and not someone's laptop, so we can handle the traffic. Grateful for anything you can do to spread the word.


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## RinG (Mar 12, 2013)

I'm keen to give it a go. Would love to hear when the author form is available.


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## The Fussy Librarian (May 3, 2011)

P.S. I forgot to mention last night that readers who sign up are eligible to win an iPad Mini at the end of the month. It's our way of thanking our "early adopters."


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## Ashy (Jul 2, 2013)

alexadena, you may want to add way for folks to share to Google + from your website so us Plussers can share the love and spread the word!


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## Redbloon (Mar 27, 2013)

The for authors info stipulates 10 reviews and 4 star rating on Amazon etc. Is this a combined rating? IE I have 4 reviews on UK Amazon and 6 on US. Does that count as 10 or do you only accept 10 on each site? And what if I have 10 and an average of 4 stars on one site and 10 on another but the average is 3 stars on that site? 

Thanks


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## Writer1000 (Jul 28, 2013)

Have signed up as a reader. Will send an email for when the author form is ready. Thanks!


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## Ashy (Jul 2, 2013)

Also, why the price cap? I have no control over what my publisher sets for my epub prices.


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## The Fussy Librarian (May 3, 2011)

Redbloon said:


> The for authors info stipulates 10 reviews and 4 star rating on Amazon etc. Is this a combined rating? IE I have 4 reviews on UK Amazon and 6 on US. Does that count as 10 or do you only accept 10 on each site? And what if I have 10 and an average of 4 stars on one site and 10 on another but the average is 3 stars on that site?
> 
> Thanks


Combined is just fine. As for the average, your example would be 3.5 and 20 reviews, which also makes your book eligible.


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## The Fussy Librarian (May 3, 2011)

Ashy said:


> Also, why the price cap? I have no control over what my publisher sets for my epub prices.


We're marketing ourselves as a "good value" (but not cheap) site and decided that $5.99 is the upper limit of where most readers will buy. I would try asking your publisher to drop the price when you run with us -- more and more of them are starting to do that with sites like ours.


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## Ashy (Jul 2, 2013)

alexadena said:


> We're marketing ourselves as a "good value" (but not cheap) site and decided that $5.99 is the upper limit of where most readers will buy. I would try asking your publisher to drop the price when you run with us -- more and more of them are starting to do that with sites like ours.


Ah. Thanks.


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## quiet chick writes (Oct 19, 2012)

I signed up as a reader! I love the idea of the filtering system -- even though I like swearing and sex and all that, I think a lot of readers will appreciate having that choice. 

I am also very interested to hear when you have the author's sign-up ready. 

Are you also going to promote books that are not currently running a discounted promo? As long as they're still under the $5.99? (I hope, I hope, I hope! lol!) The others won't accept books unless they're deeply discounted, which in most cases for us means well below the 70% royalty barrier. There must be some readers out there who aren't just looking for 99c books.


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## The Fussy Librarian (May 3, 2011)

Laura Rae Amos said:


> I signed up as a reader! I love the idea of the filtering system -- even though I like swearing and sex and all that, I think a lot of readers will appreciate having that choice.
> 
> I am also very interested to hear when you have the author's sign-up ready.
> 
> Are you also going to promote books that are not currently running a discounted promo? As long as they're still under the $5.99? (I hope, I hope, I hope! lol!) The others won't accept books unless they're deeply discounted, which in most cases for us means well below the 70% royalty barrier. There must be some readers out there who aren't just looking for 99c books.


You can promote any book that is $5.99 or less. Doesn't have to be on sale. One of our goals, long term, is to get readers to value your work. Selling books at $2.99 and higher is much better for you, royalty-wise, and much better for us as an Amazon Affiliate.


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## beccaprice (Oct 1, 2011)

Please add me to your "I"m interested" list! I'd love to sign up with you.

Do you have a category for children 4-8?


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## The Fussy Librarian (May 3, 2011)

beccaprice said:


> Please add me to your "I"m interested" list! I'd love to sign up with you.
> 
> Do you have a category for children 4-8?


Yes, we have a children's/middle grade category. For those books the email blurb will include an age range guide to help parents.


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## Guest (Sep 4, 2013)

*sigh*

And yet ANOTHER site that is allegedly "pro-indie" that requires an arbitrary number of reviews in order to participate. Guess I need to go buy a dozen reviews first before I can take advantage of this.  

You know, some of us are HAPPY to spend money on advertising. But when sites refuse to take our money because we don't have their arbitrary required number of reviews, it makes one wonder where this "no gatekeepers!" myth comes from.


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## Midnight Whimsy (Jun 25, 2013)

Very cool! I really like the website design.

M.W


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## Ashy (Jul 2, 2013)

Bards and Sages (Julie) said:


> *sigh*
> 
> And yet ANOTHER site that is allegedly "pro-indie" that requires an arbitrary number of reviews in order to participate. Guess I need to go buy a dozen reviews first before I can take advantage of this.
> 
> You know, some of us are HAPPY to spend money on advertising. But when sites refuse to take our money because we don't have their arbitrary required number of reviews, it makes one wonder where this "no gatekeepers!" myth comes from.


Or when a value-per-book amount is set.


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## hyh (Jul 21, 2013)

Oh, I would like to be added to the "interested author" list too, please!  
And I would also be in the middle grade category. 

Thanks,
Hsin-Yi


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## T.C. Beckett (Aug 12, 2013)

Bards and Sages (Julie) said:


> *sigh*
> 
> And yet ANOTHER site that is allegedly "pro-indie" that requires an arbitrary number of reviews in order to participate. Guess I need to go buy a dozen reviews first before I can take advantage of this.
> 
> You know, some of us are HAPPY to spend money on advertising. But when sites refuse to take our money because we don't have their arbitrary required number of reviews, it makes one wonder where this "no gatekeepers!" myth comes from.


I have to agree with this sentiment. As someone who's just come onto the publishing scene, I don't really have many reviews (friends and family are out of the question). When I originally saw this topic I thought it could be a great way to finally get my stuff out there so people would actually see it. But with the required review policy it's like I have to have exposure before I can get exposure. I understand the reasoning behind it; you want quality books and reviews are one way to help determine that. It's just frustrating for people like me who don't have the resources to promote their stuff or entice reviewers as much as they would like to.

Otherwise, this idea seems pretty cool and I look forward to seeing how it works out. Hopefully one day I'll reach the required limit, haha.


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## The Fussy Librarian (May 3, 2011)

T.C. Beckett said:


> I have to agree with this sentiment. As someone who's just come onto the publishing scene, I don't really have many reviews (friends and family are out of the question). When I originally saw this topic I thought it could be a great way to finally get my stuff out there so people would actually see it. But with the required review policy it's like I have to have exposure before I can get exposure. I understand the reasoning behind it; you want quality books and reviews are one way to help determine that. It's just frustrating for people like me who don't have the resources to promote their stuff or entice reviewers as much as they would like to.
> 
> Otherwise, this idea seems pretty cool and I look forward to seeing how it works out. Hopefully one day I'll reach the required limit, haha.


Getting those first few reviews can definitely be frustrating. I've been there.

Other than reading every book submission ourselves, though, we have to do quality control. Readers will unsubscribe if they don't think they're getting quality titles each day.

Using your KDP free days, combined with the power of Twitter and Facebook, will help you land those early reviews.


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## quiet chick writes (Oct 19, 2012)

alexadena said:


> Getting those first few reviews can definitely be frustrating. I've been there.
> 
> Other than reading every book submission ourselves, though, we have to do quality control. Readers will unsubscribe if they don't think they're getting quality titles each day.
> 
> Using your KDP free days, combined with the power of Twitter and Facebook, will help you land those early reviews.


Or if you're not in Select, you can use LibraryThing to distribute review copies, Goodreads Giveaways (if you have a print edition), or contact book bloggers directly.


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## Guest (Sep 4, 2013)

alexadena said:


> Getting those first few reviews can definitely be frustrating. I've been there.
> 
> Other than reading every book submission ourselves, though, we have to do quality control. Readers will unsubscribe if they don't think they're getting quality titles each day.
> 
> Using your KDP free days, combined with the power of Twitter and Facebook, will help you land those early reviews.


But it is a false quality control.

I CAN totally meet your requirements in about fifteen minutes. All I need to do is ask a dozen people I know to go leave reviews. BOOM! Requirement met! I won't do that, because I have ethics. I could pay some people on Fiverr to write reviews for me. BOOM! Requirement met! I won't do that, because I have ethics. But there are hundreds of books on Amazon right now that meet this requirement that only meet the requirement because unlike me, the authors have no ethics.

And here you have further played gatekeeper by pushing Select. Those of us who don't use Select don't get free days. Many of us don't have marketing plans that require giving away 10,000 books first before we sell anything. Nor should an author feel forced to give away tens of thousands of books just to appease an arbitrary requirement that is easily circumvented by our less scrupulous counterparts.

I'm sorry to be so blunt because I realize you mean well. But there is a difference between activity and accomplishment. Nobody said you had to read every book. Do you think Publisher's Weekly or BookPages or the New York Times or any of the hundreds of publications that run book ads read each book before they cash the check for the ad space? Amazingly, people still read the NYT. Librarians still pay attention to ads in Bookpages and PW.

If nothing else, perhaps you would be able to position yourself by only accepting new releases? In truth, as your submission policy goes, you are just going to have the same books as every other service like this. How are you going to differentiate yourself from Bookbub and similar service when you are pulling your potential books from the same restrictive pool? I would think people would be more inclined to drop out once they see the same books they have already seen in their other newsletters.


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## Lionel&#039;s Mom (Aug 22, 2013)

> If nothing else, perhaps you would be able to position yourself by only accepting new releases?


This is a good idea, let people opt to see new authors or have a weekly new author blast. People can decide by the blurb if they want to read it. I would qualify for this site, but I couldn't do a bookbub because right now I have 3.9 average instead of 4.2. Wah.


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## Debbie Bennett (Mar 25, 2011)

Dropping by as an interested author....


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## David J Normoyle (Jun 22, 2012)

I'm up to 7 reviews with a 4.5 average on my latest. 8th one promised by a blogger. Getting close to having a book that I can advertise.


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## jsparks (May 18, 2013)

Andrew Ashling said:


> Goes for me too, except in my case I'd like you to add gay romance. Seeing you already have erotic romance as a category that shouldn't be too difficult.


Same here. One reason I haven't signed up with BookBub is because they don't have it, and I'm not interested in 'regular' romance.


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## Anne Frasier (Oct 22, 2009)

i've signed up and bookmarked this thread.
As others have mentioned we could really use something similar to Bookbub as a way to LAUNCH a title. I'm hoping promotional sites start including an area for new releases.


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## phil1861 (Dec 22, 2011)

count me in.


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## Steve Vernon (Feb 18, 2011)

All right - I signed up and I'd be VERY interested in seeing my books in there - if they fit - once you get it up and running!

Some of my favorite people are librarians!


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## Amanda Brice (Feb 16, 2011)

Looks like it could be a great site.


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## cinisajoy (Mar 10, 2013)

Authors please be careful with this.  3 things about this site threw up major red flags.  4 actually.
1. We aren't charging now but we will in the future.  (Major marketing ploy here)
(I may be totally off base but this sounds like let's suck these indies in then take them for all they are worth)
2.  We will only accept certain genres at specific prices.
(Sounds like they are wanting to base future charges off the 70% that Amazon pays the author)
(I noticed in one of the posts that she flat out told an author that she made more at $2.99)
3. You must have a certain number of reviews for us to even consider your book.
(Too arbitrary and some genres don't get near the reviews)
4.  Brand new site with multiple hoops to jump through to even look at their page.

Personal note: I am a reader and not sure I would trust this site with my e-mail.
Just my 2 cents and I hope my instincts are wrong.


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## Betsy the Quilter (Oct 27, 2008)

I signed up.  Cinisajoy--I didn't see multiple hoops?  The sign up process seemed rather straightforward...

I understand the concern from an author's perspective about requiring an arbitrary number of reviews or average rating.  As a reader, I'm not sure I want a flood of new releases that no one has vetted, either.  So I'm not sure what the solution is...but Julie's point about the value added and what makes you different from other sites are good ones to think about.

You might have an option for readers to be notified of new releases only.

As for the sign up, I found your filter levels for violence and sexual content curious.

Violence
  Send me all books in the genres I've selected above 
  Books with extensive violence don't bother me (includes both settings below) 
  A little gunfire is okay (includes setting below) 
  Only books without violence, please 

Sexual Content
  Send me all books in the genres I've selected above 
  Non-explicit scenes of sex are fine with me (includes setting below) 
  Only books without sexual content, please 

So, what's above "extensive violence" that you get if you select "send me all books in the genres I've selected" that you don't get if you select "Books with extensive violence don't bother me."  Snuff books? (Are there such a thing?)

And, the flip side of the, er, coin on the sexual content.  It seems to me there's a wide range between non-explicit scenes of sex and "Send me all books."

Betsy


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## cinisajoy (Mar 10, 2013)

Betsy,
I read that an author had a hard time getting through the site.  Not a reader.


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## Betsy the Quilter (Oct 27, 2008)

cinisajoy said:


> Betsy,
> I read that an author had a hard time getting through the site. Not a reader.


Ahhh....thanks for clarifying.

Betsy


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## The Fussy Librarian (May 3, 2011)

cinisajoy said:


> Authors please be careful with this. 3 things about this site threw up major red flags. 4 actually.
> 1. We aren't charging now but we will in the future. (Major marketing ploy here)
> (I may be totally off base but this sounds like let's suck these indies in then take them for all they are worth)
> 2. We will only accept certain genres at specific prices.
> ...


Oh goodness. Let me try to ease your fears. I wish I could take you out for a cup of coffee and assure you my intentions are good.

1. Of course we are going to charge in the future. But not until we have at least 50,000 readers. Even then, our fees will be very very reasonable. And until then I'm having to cover my costs to run the site and they are not insignificant. Building one of these sites is almost as expensive as buying a new car.

2. When we charge, there will be one flat fee for free books and one price for paid titles. If we don't have a large enough list for some of the smaller genres, they'll probably stay free until I feel authors are getting their money's worth.

The one thing we are not to do is charge more for a book selling at $3.99 than one selling at 99 cents. I want to encourage authors to sell at $2.99 or higher so they are rewarded with the higher royalty rate. (I also know how long it takes to write a novel and I cringe every time I see someone giving away their work.)

Some sites opt to charge a percentage of royalties and that's their choice, but I don't have any interest in doing that. The accounting would be a nightmare. We will be flat fees.

3. Reviews: A lot of discussion has already taken place and I don't have much to add other than 10 was the lowest number I could be comfortable with. Five is too few and 20 is too many.

4. "Hoops." Kind of baffled by this one. We really tried to make is as simple as possible. You visit two pages and you're done.

If anyone has any other questions, I'll check back in a little bit ...


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## EC Sheedy (Feb 24, 2011)

I'll give Fussy a try. (Sent an email) 

Sounds as if you've really got a lot of work ahead of you. Good Luck!


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## cinisajoy (Mar 10, 2013)

alexadena said:


> Oh goodness. Let me try to ease your fears. I wish I could take you out for a cup of coffee and assure you my intentions are good.
> 
> 1. Of course we are going to charge in the future. But not until we have at least 50,000 readers. Even then, our fees will be very very reasonable. And until then I'm having to cover my costs to run the site and they are not insignificant. Building one of these sites is almost as expensive as buying a new car.
> 
> ...


The fact that you took the time to answer my fears says a lot. Thank you for answering me. Good luck with this.


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## Al Dente (Sep 3, 2012)

I'm almost positive I know what the answer will be to my question, but I'll ask anyway. What if my book's combined reviews (US and UK Amazon pages) total 9 at a rating of 4.6 stars? I'm only one review away from being able to feature my book on your site. Are there any exceptions for being so close to eligibility? Either way, I wish you luck with your site!


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## The Fussy Librarian (May 3, 2011)

cinisajoy said:


> The fact that you took the time to answer my fears says a lot. Thank you for answering me. Good luck with this.


Thanks for the kind wishes!


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## The Fussy Librarian (May 3, 2011)

David Scroggins said:


> I'm almost positive I know what the answer will be to my question, but I'll ask anyway. What if my book's combined reviews (US and UK Amazon pages) total 9 at a rating of 4.6 stars? I'm only one review away from being able to feature my book on your site. Are there any exceptions for being so close to eligibility? Either way, I wish you luck with your site!


Your hunch is correct ... I'm sure that 10th review is coming real soon.


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## The Fussy Librarian (May 3, 2011)

We are now open for submissions, which are free.

http://www.thefussylibrarian.com/for-authors/

Please read the guidelines on the authors page prior to submitting.

We are probably a week away from completing the scheduling software in the website, so please be patient. We won't be able to assign dates until then. "Opening day" for our daily email will likely be the first week in October.

I'll stop back throughout the weekend to answer questions and give you updates.


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## Randy M. (Aug 8, 2011)

Sounds interesting. An e-mail is on the way.


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## The Fussy Librarian (May 3, 2011)

Please be sure to limit your synopsis to 600 characters and to paste plain text. We're seeing synopsis get cut off in mid-sentence. 

If you've already submitted, don't worry -- we'll be in touch with you to get things worked out.

But if you have yet to submit, please take a second to check your number of characters in Word or other software. 

Thanks!


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## CEMartin2 (May 26, 2012)

Filled out the submission form. Here's wishing us both good luck!


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## momilp (Jan 11, 2010)

Submitted the form, followed you on twitter, already liked your page. What else? Good luck!


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## KaryE (May 12, 2012)

Hi, Alex,

I would love to see a venue where short stories are welcome. So many of the promo sites refuse to take them. Since you're doing so much reader matching, perhaps it wouldn't be too difficult to let readers indicate that they'd be interested in shorts.

Do you think you might go easy on the reviews while you're ramping up? I'd like to submit my newest release with 4.8 stars, but only 6 reviews.

This actually dovetails with the interest in short stories. Because they're so difficult to promote, they often don't get the exposure necessary to generate reviews.


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## Doctor Barbara (Aug 17, 2010)

Greetings Alex.  I submitted one novel.

Thanks for all the hard work you're doing in getting this off the ground.  Lots of luck!


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## The Fussy Librarian (May 3, 2011)

momilp said:


> Submitted the form, followed you on twitter, already liked your page. What else? Good luck!


Maybe share a link to us on your Facebook page? (Hey, you asked. We answered 

Whatever you feel comfortable doing, we appreciate it. Have a great weekend!


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## The Fussy Librarian (May 3, 2011)

KaryE said:


> Hi, Alex,
> 
> I would love to see a venue where short stories are welcome. So many of the promo sites refuse to take them. Since you're doing so much reader matching, perhaps it wouldn't be too difficult to let readers indicate that they'd be interested in shorts.
> 
> ...


I sympathize but if I were to lower the number it would lead to a lot of other requests for exemptions.

That said, I'm looking to post new release info on the blog and I won't require a number of reviews for that. Send me your email address either through here or the website and I'll add you to our authors mailing list. I'll put something in the next newsletter.

As for genre, I think I would include them in literary fiction.


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## Cherise (May 13, 2012)

I submitted a book, and I tweeted the site.


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## Edward W. Robertson (May 18, 2010)

Yeah, just to second earlier suggestions, new releases and shorter works are two things few of the other sites will promote. Dunno if it's worth your while, but they're both market inefficiencies right now.


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## jdcore (Jul 2, 2013)

I see you said you won't charge until you have 50,000 readers signed up. I realize you're still in beta, but can you give us any idea how many readers you have to date? Thanks.


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## Steve Vernon (Feb 18, 2011)

Shucks - just submitted, but I goofed on the review count.

I only have seven.

I'll start rattling a few doorknobs and see if I can find at least three other reviewers - and then I'll re-submit. Looks like it's going to be a GREAT site!


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## Linda Barlow (Jul 5, 2013)

Hmm...first newsletter in October...I'm submitting a book that is not currently on sale, but probably will be in October, although I haven't nailed down exactly when yet. Since the guidelines say we can resubmit the same title every 30 days, I'll probably plan a sale for about a month from now


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## shel (May 14, 2011)

The site looks great! Just submitted and thank you for this opportunity.


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## 68564 (Mar 17, 2013)

Sooooooo how do we check on a book we submitted? Put one of mine in this AM but I see no way to check on it...


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## Tim_A (May 25, 2013)

A quick question about your profanity rating. "Extensive profanity" suggests quantity rather than type. To me it implies that there are f-bombs or c-bombs left right and centre (I've read a few books like that, which I certainly wished maybe I'd known about beforehand). But I'm sure there are many books that maybe just one or two f-bombs placed carefully. Strong yes, but not extensive.

So what I'm thinking is maybe you need two categories here, one for Some strong profanity, and another for Lots of strong profanity. 

(for now I've submitted under 'extensive' on the grounds that it's better to be over cautious)


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## The 13th Doctor (May 31, 2012)

Just submitted a book. Can't afford to use Bookbub so I thank you for the opportunity to do this.


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## Lynn McNamee (Jan 8, 2009)

I tried to list a book we have going on sale. 

1. I received an error message, but it didn't tell me what the problem was. When it sent me back to the form, most of it had been reset.

2. There's no place to put in the start date of a sale.


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## Barbara Morgenroth (May 14, 2010)

I got error messages as well.  It wasn't happy with the ASIN number, said there needed to be 10.
I copied it from Amazon.
It wasn't happy with the image even though I resized it.
It wasn't happy with...well anything really.


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## dmburnett (Feb 4, 2011)

Just submitted and super excited to see how it goes.  Best of luck to all of us  
Also....Just sent some Facebook love!  ♥


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## 41352 (Apr 4, 2011)

removed


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## Bookside Manner (Aug 24, 2013)

Have submitted both of my books. Still a bit uncertain about the profanity level, but I figure if my grandmother could read both books without getting offended, they're not that bad.


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## Randy M. (Aug 8, 2011)

Error messages both time I tried submissions.


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## The Fussy Librarian (May 3, 2011)

Edward W. Robertson said:


> Yeah, just to second earlier suggestions, new releases and shorter works are two things few of the other sites will promote. Dunno if it's worth your while, but they're both market inefficiencies right now.


We're growing every day and expect it to accelerate once we start the daily service. But I think it may be at least three or four months until we get to 50,000. Hopefully, I'll be proven wrong!


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## The Fussy Librarian (May 3, 2011)

VydorScope said:


> Sooooooo how do we check on a book we submitted? Put one of mine in this AM but I see no way to check on it...


We don't have an author login, if that's what you're asking.

If you want to double check on something, use the contact form and we'll be glad to check.


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## The Fussy Librarian (May 3, 2011)

Unfortunately, about a half-dozen people have gotten error messages while trying to submit. We went live at 4 pm Friday and I don't think I'm going to be able to get a tech person to start troubleshooting until Monday morning. (If the site went down totally, I'm confident they would respond immediately. But not with this.)

We have received 145 books in our first 22 hours, which surpassed even my wildest expectations. I know that's of little comfort to anyone who got an error message and I apologize for any inconveniece -- I promise we'll get it figured out and get your book into the system and scheduled.


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## Saul Tanpepper (Feb 16, 2012)

Subbed my perma-free. No problems (well, other than I forgot to add an image). Looking forward to reaching a wider audience.

How rigid is the $5.99 ceiling? I'd love to include my 8-book, .5 million word omnibus (4.6 rating over 37 reviews), but unwilling to lower the price from $9.99. It's already bargain priced.


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## rmbooks (Sep 19, 2011)

Just signed up!  Thanks for the opportunity!  Will help to spread the word!


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## B.T. Narro (May 30, 2013)

Please consider raising the synopsis character cap to something closer to 300 words (or 1600 characters), and I would be happy to submit my novels.

600 characters, which include spaces in this case, is just too low. I've already spent hours upon hours working on my blurbs to make them as concise and intriguing as I can. The last thing I want to do is spend more time on that instead of writing.


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## Bookside Manner (Aug 24, 2013)

600 characters includes spaces? Oops.


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## BellaRoccaforte (May 26, 2013)

Sent the info to my publicist and she said there was no error message! Thanks so much I wish you all the best.


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## Pauline Creeden (Aug 4, 2011)

I got a DM on twitter about this, so I was curious when I saw this thread. Didn't know you were in charge of it Alex! I feel much better now 

Will go give it a try, too!


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## JRTomlin (Jan 18, 2011)

Does archaic or foreign language profanity count?


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## The Fussy Librarian (May 3, 2011)

JRTomlin said:


> Does archaic or foreign language profanity count?


Only if you provide English subtitles


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## The Fussy Librarian (May 3, 2011)

Just a quick update: We're about a week from "opening day" and we have nearly 600 books submitted! Looks like we are booked in contemporary romance for paid titles through the end of the year, but the waiting list for other genres isn't as long.

We're still accepting submissions in all genres and there's still no charge - even if your romance title submitted now doesn't run until January and we're charging a (small) fee. In particular, we're looking for action/adventure, historical fiction, religious fiction, horror, women's fiction and all nonfiction.

We can also help you on your KDP Select free days -- just submit your book at the website, www.TheFussyLibrarian.com

And if you want to receive our weekly authors newsletter, just email me at TheFussyLibrarian (at) yahoo.com


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## 68564 (Mar 17, 2013)

Any way yet to check on books already submitted?


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## The Fussy Librarian (May 3, 2011)

VydorScope said:


> Any way yet to check on books already submitted?


We hope to start scheduling Wednesday or Thursday and will email people as we set dates for their books. Your book is in sci-fi and we have about 35 titles there, so it should run in the next month or so.


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## Jo Clendening (Apr 9, 2011)

Sounds like it will be a great service to readers. I look forward to receiving my lists of books!


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## The Fussy Librarian (May 3, 2011)

jclendening said:


> Sounds like it will be a great service to readers. I look forward to receiving my lists of books!


Thanks!


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## Carolyn J. Rose Mystery Writer (Aug 10, 2010)

Count me in - interested in knowing when the author form is up.


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## The Fussy Librarian (May 3, 2011)

Carolyn J. Rose said:


> Count me in - interested in knowing when the author form is up.


It's up now -- go to the bottom of the home page and click on the "for authors" link. You'll find it there.


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## Sophrosyne (Mar 27, 2011)

I'm trying, but I can't get on the site at all. I keep getting a server error.


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## The Fussy Librarian (May 3, 2011)

Sophrosyne said:


> I'm trying, but I can't get on the site at all. I keep getting a server error.


I just noticed that, too. Am trying to get ahold of the website host. I'll post an update when I have one.


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## Kathy Clark Author (Dec 18, 2012)

The site is experiencing some Obamacare issues....throws error messages 10/2/13 @ 9:22 PM Central]


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## jdcore (Jul 2, 2013)

Kathy Clark a.k.a. Bob Kat said:


> The site is experiencing some Obamacare issues....throws error messages 10/2/13 @ 9:22 PM Central]


Must have been affected by the government shutdown.


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## DaveinJapan (Jun 20, 2013)

Intriguing. I like the UI, it's pretty friendly and inviting for authors and readers alike. I signed on as a reader and entered my book as well.

Good luck on the launch!


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## The Fussy Librarian (May 3, 2011)

Kathy Clark a.k.a. Bob Kat said:


> The site is experiencing some Obamacare issues....throws error messages 10/2/13 @ 9:22 PM Central]


We went back up overnight. Server problem after hours -- sigh.

Come visit!


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## O_o (Aug 6, 2013)

Thanks for the opportunity! Have submitted my book and tweeted  

Good luck with the site!


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## Shalini Boland (Nov 29, 2010)

Just signed up - thank you!!


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## hardnutt (Nov 19, 2010)

I'm interested. Would like to be notified as soon as the author form is available.


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## The Fussy Librarian (May 3, 2011)

hardnutt said:


> I'm interested. Would like to be notified as soon as the author form is available.


The author form is available now. At the bottom of the page you'll find a link for it.


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## 69959 (May 14, 2013)

I just signed up. Thank you very much for the opportunity!


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## James Bruno (Mar 15, 2011)

I received an email from you informing me you accepted my book. Thanks!

One question I have which I don't see addressed is just how long do you promote a book? A day? A week? Other?


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## The Fussy Librarian (May 3, 2011)

James Bruno said:


> I received an email from you informing me you accepted my book. Thanks!
> 
> One question I have which I don't see addressed is just how long do you promote a book? A day? A week? Other?


It's a daily email service. Most of the clicks happen on day one, but we're also seeing some on days two and three.


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## ElisaBlaisdell (Jun 3, 2012)

alexadena said:


> It's a daily email service. Most of the clicks happen on day one, but we're also seeing some on days two and three.


A question regarding the reviews. I have six reviews on Amazon.com, and four reviews on Amazon.co.uk, two of which are unique to the .uk site. Would I need four more reviews to qualify, or two more reviews?


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## The Fussy Librarian (May 3, 2011)

ElisaBlaisdell said:


> A question regarding the reviews. I have six reviews on Amazon.com, and four reviews on Amazon.co.uk, two of which are unique to the .uk site. Would I need four more reviews to qualify, or two more reviews?


Just two more reviews, Elisa.


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## henryliedtke (Nov 13, 2013)

Service sounds great. How many reader subscriptions do you have at this point? Thanks a ton!


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## The Fussy Librarian (May 3, 2011)

Henry -- We have a few thousand subscribers now, so we're where we hoped to be after our first 30 days.


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## Quiss (Aug 21, 2012)

I just got confirmation about my title being listed on the 17th.
For some reason I'm tickled pink about that. It's exciting to try a new service, even if it's new.


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## Seanathin23 (Jul 24, 2011)

Site looks really cool, quick question of the needed reviews, I've got 7 at amazon and 10 on B&N (unless people did a lot of rewriting none are crossover) would that meet the criteria (They are both sitting over a 4.0 average). If so you will be hearing from me on the 7th when Fantasy reopens. Love the look of the site and of course signed up.


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## The Fussy Librarian (May 3, 2011)

Sean -- Those 10 reviews at B&N are all you need. It's also okay to have 10 divided between Amazon US and UK, for others who are reading this.


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## Seanathin23 (Jul 24, 2011)

Sweet that is a great thing to hear, too often those ten B&N reviews mean nothing when counting how many a book has.


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## KristenDaRay (Aug 4, 2012)

A new question about reviews. Because goodreads has now been integrated into kindles will they now start coming into play for reviews for this service as well?


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## The Fussy Librarian (May 3, 2011)

Not at this time. I'm not ruling it out, though, especially if Amazon integrates GR ratings into their book pages.


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## AmsterdamAssassin (Oct 21, 2011)

I filled in your form, but while I get the emails, I didn't see my book featured. How does this work? Did something go wrong with the form?


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## The Fussy Librarian (May 3, 2011)

AmsterdamAssassin said:


> I filled in your form, but while I get the emails, I didn't see my book featured. How does this work? Did something go wrong with the form?


Books are scheduled for different days for the email. How long it takes depends on the genre -- literary fiction might be two weeks while mystery might be two months. We currently have 843 books approved and waiting to go in the email, which has up to 35 books each day. (How many are in your individual email depends on how many genres you select and which content choices you make.)

You'll get an email when the book is accepted and then again when it's been scheduled to be included in the email.


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## AmsterdamAssassin (Oct 21, 2011)

alexadena said:


> You'll get an email when the book is accepted and then again when it's been scheduled to be included in the email.


I didn't get any emails except the ones listing books...


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## NicWilson (Apr 16, 2011)

I have some questions about the timeframe to submit and get scheduled, especially as it concerns limited time discounts. I notified you of on in December, so if it works out, great. If not, all the best. Looks like a fun site, and I'd definitely love to see you guys promoting what makes you DIFFERENT- the ability to filter varying content levels, to appeal to more than the most conservative readers.


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## Amyshojai (May 3, 2010)

So glad to see you here! My books have been featured a few times now (got in early) and I know it'll get better and better going forward.


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## The Fussy Librarian (May 3, 2011)

NicWilson said:


> I have some questions about the timeframe to submit and get scheduled, especially as it concerns limited time discounts. I notified you of on in December, so if it works out, great. If not, all the best. Looks like a fun site, and I'd definitely love to see you guys promoting what makes you DIFFERENT- the ability to filter varying content levels, to appeal to more than the most conservative readers.


It all depends on the category, Nic. For mystery, thriller, contemporary romance the waiting time is significant. Contemp. romance is filled up through late February. (I have added more related categories, though, so hopefully that will help in the future.) But if you write in lit fit or historical fic the wait is usually no more than a week or two. Nonfiction has no waiting at all.

I have a weekly authors newsletter that goes out and lists the number of books in each category so you have an idea of which categories have a long wait. If you've submitted a book, you'll start getting it after your book is approved.


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## A. S. Warwick (Jan 14, 2011)

Signed up as a reader - and one of these days I'll have the reviews to sign up as an author too.


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## The Fussy Librarian (May 3, 2011)

Catherine Gardiner said:


> I am confused as to whether I am eligible or not.
> 
> What it says on your website:
> 
> ...


If my math is right, that's 19 reviews and an average of 3.96 or so. I would round up and consider that 4.0, so to ahead and submit!


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## The Fussy Librarian (May 3, 2011)

Catherine Gardiner said:


> That is great. Thank you! I have just gone on the site to submit and one question stumped me,
> 
> Amazon OR Nook Book Ratings: Total Ratings Average Rating
> 
> This is between both Amazon US/UK, right? Just want to double check.


Right -- B&N or Amazon Us/UK/CA etc. just don't add B&N and Amazon together.


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## Windvein (Sep 26, 2012)

To Alex Adena,

I was looking at your categories and was a little perplexed as to where to place my book Unicorn Bait. You have:

Fantasy-steampunk
Fantasy-epic
Fantasy-urban

I would class my book as Fantasy-general. I submitted it as Fantasy-epic, but I know that isn't the best category for it. Would you consider adding the Fantasy-general category? 

Thank you, fingers crossed that my book is accepted.


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## The Fussy Librarian (May 3, 2011)

Windvein said:


> To Alex Adena,
> 
> I was looking at your categories and was a little perplexed as to where to place my book Unicorn Bait. You have:
> 
> ...


Fantasy/steampunk was one of our original categories and it's now basically "fantasy-general." I added epic and urban a month ago. I can move it over to fantasy/steampunk .. Not a problem.


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## psychotick (Jan 26, 2012)

Hi,

I just entered my book Maverick and found the process simple enough. And one of the things I liked about it (apart from the price!) compared to Bookbub was that I didn't have to have my book on sale - which is good since it's such a hassle changing prices across various venders.

So is there an email you guys will send out when the add is ready to go etc? I'm looking forward to seeing if there's a jump in sales or traffic after.

Cheers, Greg.


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## Windvein (Sep 26, 2012)

alexadena said:


> Fantasy/steampunk was one of our original categories and it's now basically "fantasy-general." I added epic and urban a month ago. I can move it over to fantasy/steampunk .. Not a problem.


Ah! I didn't pick up on the slash mark. I would definitely like it in fantasy/steampunk then, if it is accepted. Thank you!


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## Patty Jansen (Apr 5, 2011)

I was going to submit one of my books that has been discounted, but your form doesn't have a Kobo field. Kobo is my biggest selling venue.


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## The Fussy Librarian (May 3, 2011)

psychotick said:


> Hi,
> 
> I just entered my book Maverick and found the process simple enough. And one of the things I liked about it (apart from the price!) compared to Bookbub was that I didn't have to have my book on sale - which is good since it's such a hassle changing prices across various venders.
> 
> ...


Hi Greg.

Yes, I'll send you an email when it's approved and then again when it has a date to run.


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## FictionalWriter (Aug 4, 2010)

I should have done a search before posting my question.  Thanks for this and I'm all signed up.  Will there be a new adult section? Am I to assume YA is where you're sticking new adult romances or are they going under contemporary romance? When will you be open again for contemporary books?


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## The Fussy Librarian (May 3, 2011)

romanceauthor said:


> I should have done a search before posting my question. Thanks for this and I'm all signed up. Will there be a new adult section? Am I to assume YA is where you're sticking new adult romances or are they going under contemporary romance? When will you be open again for contemporary books?


New adult romance is really the author's call -- either contemporary romance or YA. Or romantic comedy, romantic western, or romantic suspense if you feel it has those elements.

Contemporary romance will reopen late February. Ya will reopen in 2 weeks.


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## FictionalWriter (Aug 4, 2010)

alexadena said:


> New adult romance is really the author's call -- either contemporary romance or YA. Or romantic comedy, romantic western, or romantic suspense if you feel it has those elements.
> 
> Contemporary romance will reopen late February. Ya will reopen in 2 weeks.


Thanks!


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## psychotick (Jan 26, 2012)

Hi,

Thanks. I'm really looking forward to seeing how my first ever add works.

Cheers, Greg.


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## 68564 (Mar 17, 2013)

HEY!!! You were featured in a LifeHacker article today!! CONGRATS:

The Fussy Librarian Recommends Books in Daily Emails
http://lifehacker.com/the-fussy-librarian-recommends-books-in-daily-emails-1487359897


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