# Update on my NetGalley co-op experiment



## Amanda Brice (Feb 16, 2011)

A couple of weeks ago I mentioned that I'd joined a NetGalley co-op with 19 other authors. I own my "spot" in the co-op for a year (instead of the normal 6 months if you go direct) and I can swap out my title throughout the year (which I plan to take full advantage of, since I expect to have approx. 6 new releases this year).

I also volunteered to help out with the approval process for the 20 of us in the co-op (so that the author who organized the entire thing wouldn't get swamped), so I have admin privileges and can see statistics in the account.

I've just passed the 2-week mark, so I thought I'd shared what has happened so far in the very short time I've been in the co-op. I don't know if this is average, below average, or above average. I honestly don't know what to expect. But it's interesting at least. (No, I'm not going to share actual titles -- keeping this quasi-anonymous, although I don't care if you know my own stats.)

Of the 15 titles currently being managed (a few spots have been paid for but the author isn't ready to submit yet), the title with the least number of requests was a spicy contemporary romance that has been requested 55 times, but I don't believe it has been actually live on NetGalley for the full two weeks, so this might not even be a relevant statistic. (My book, a YA contemporary, had the second least number of requests, with 80. It was also the only YA in the sample.) The book that has been requested the most is a New Adult, which has been requested 214 times. The second-most requested book was an erotic romance with 190 requests. (The mean number of requests in our sample of 15 is 105.)

As for my own YA, of the 80 requests, 66 of them were approved (with 18 of those reviewers being added to the auto-approve list). 2 have already resulted in Goodreads ratings (one of which also has resulted in blog reviews and Amazon reviews -- my very FIRST Amazon review, mind you!). Several have resulted in Goodreads TBR adds, and a few have resulted in mentions on their blog as "up next in my TBR pile!" with a picture of the cover.

Here is the breakdown of my own approvals. Of the 66 that have been approved:
24 are *book bloggers* (who also review on Goodreads and most cross-post to retailers as well)
12 are *Goodreads reviewers* with large networks
11 are *educators* (mostly high school and middle school teachers)
11 are *librarians* (about split evenly between school libraries and public libraries)
5 are *booksellers*
3 are *media professionals* (magazines, newspapers)

So there you go. Like I said, I don't know how these results compare to others who use NetGalley, but I thought that was pretty good for 2 weeks and VERY little effort on my own part.

Of course, whether those 66 approvals results in reviews remains to be seen (the 27 librarians, teachers, and booksellers probably won't -- they're most likely requesting to see if it's worth ordering and recommending).

But I still have 50 weeks ago, and still have the right to put in any of my other titles, so I definitely think it will shape up to be $295 well spent.


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## Annette_g (Nov 27, 2012)

Thanks for sharing, that is very interesting


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## @Suzanna (Mar 14, 2011)

Thanks for sharing, Amanda! (I'm part of the same co-op as Amanda, but I'm pretty sure I don't want to know what my stats are!)

I think the coolest thing that's come out of being on NetGalley so far was being mentioned in an online article where my book was discussed alongside a recently released NY book - Romance and Me: Healing the Mad Hero. It's just a short piece, but I'm wondering if my book being on NetGalley is the reason it was mentioned at all.


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## Rachel Schurig (Apr 9, 2011)

That's wonderful, Amanda! I am one of those people who hasn't been ready to submit yet. You've just lit a fire under me to get moving on it!


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## quiet chick writes (Oct 19, 2012)

Thank you for sharing, Amanda! This is interesting. I know a lot of the book bloggers I follow (who mainly read trad pub still) get a lot of their ARCs from NetGalley, so that would be a huge deal to have advance copies available there too.

My question is: how does one get into one of these co-ops 

(Not that I'm ready to at the moment. Just wondering.)

And if anyone is willing to share, how much does it cost to join a co-op as opposed to signing up alone? (If an indie is even allowed to sign up alone, that is.)


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## Amanda Brice (Feb 16, 2011)

Suzanna, I can pull your stats if you're interested. Just let me know! 

Rachel, definitely get moving on it! It's completely painless ... once you've paid that is. (And since you've already done that, you have nothing to lose! If the reason you're waiting is because you're not ready with a not-yet-released book, then go ahead and put an old book in so you're not losing time. Seriously, it's easy and even if you swap that out relatively soon with the new book, so still might gain some new reviews for one of the old titles.)

You have nothing to lose!

Laura, I got into the co-op because an author I know was contemplating doing it to bring her cost down but she didn't know if she could find enough people who were interested. Ha! She sold out within a couple of days. 

It's $399 to go direct, and that gives you 6 months worth of access to the database. However, NetGalley sells what basically amounts to publisher access for listings of multiple titles. The co-op I'm in bought a package that gives access for up to 20 titles for one year, and it came out to $295 per spot (I'm saying "spot" because I'll be using my spot for potentially up to 6 different books, although only one book at a time of course). So if you can find 19 other authors who are interested, then you could organize your own co-op.


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## Victoria J (Jul 5, 2011)

Thanks Amanda for sharing. Even if one decided to pay the full price, it sounds like that would be money well spent!


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## EmilyG (Jan 31, 2010)

Can you join NetGalley if you are in KDP Select? 

I know NetGalley focuses on ARC but I see they do accept already published works.


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## Amanda Brice (Feb 16, 2011)

EmilyG said:


> Can you join NetGalley if you are in KDP Select?


That I don't actually know, but it would seem logical that you could since the copies are not being sold but rather distributed for review purposes only. I admit I haven't really looked into the KDP Select rules because I don't use it. Does KDP-S allow you to send out review copies to bloggers? If so, then this is basically a more sophisticated version of querying bloggers to solicit reviews. It may be a slightly less effective for KDP-S books, however, because some book bloggers and other reviewers refuse to review books that won't be available widely to all their readers.



EmilyG said:


> I know NetGalley focuses on ARC but I see they do accept already published works.


Yes, and I should note that all but one of the books currently in our co-op are already-published, so it's possible that our request rates might even be on the low side because some bloggers and most "media professionals" (at least those who work for print media, that is) won't review books that have already been released. I do plan to put in a true ARC later this summer, but it wasn't possible for this book at this time, because the co-op was only envisioned about 2 days before my new book even released. LOL!


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## Pnjw (Apr 24, 2011)

Amanda, I'd love to see my stats if you get a chance. I've already seen a handful of reviews show up on Amazon and Goodreads and book blogger sites. Really good quality reviews. I'm happy with it so far. Definitely worth it.


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## 48306 (Jul 6, 2011)

Very cool, Amanda. Thank you for sharing. What a great opportunity for the pooling of resources to really work out in a beneficial way!


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## A.A (Mar 30, 2012)

I've looked at Netgalley, but it seemed so expensive. I had no idea about co-ops, so thanks for for sharing your info!


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## Susan Kaye Quinn (Aug 8, 2011)

This is AWESOME. I'm totally looking into setting this up for my Indelibles group.

Thank you for sharing the data!! And... where do I go to get started? (ETA: here's the netgalley page)


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## JDHallowell (Dec 31, 2012)

Thanks for sharing this!


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## Maya Cross (May 28, 2012)

That is pretty amazing. Thanks for the stats. Definitely something to consider.


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## Wansit (Sep 27, 2012)

Hey All,

I thought I'd add in my own NetGalley experience so far. 

I paid the $399 fee to have access to NetGalley for six months for one title. The title published on April 10th (of this week) and also went up on NetGalley the same day. So far I've received 44 requests and auto-approved them all. It was my view that for this experiment, since I'm paying so much money, I want to reach as many people as possible for reviews as well as word of mouth potential.

NetGalley does accept already published books as well as one's just on KDP. In fact there are couple books on there that published in 2011. Anyway this experiment is just starting but it's going well so far. We'll see when the reviews start coming in. Also if anyone wants to start a co-op I definitely want in. 

Updated to add stats:

Book Genre: Young Adult Fantasy
Title: Sworn to Raise
Experiment Start: 04/10/13
Requests (so far): 44
Reviews: 0

The only way I'm attributing reviews is if they post them on Netgalley OR they post them on Amazon/Goodreads/etc with a note that said they got the book through NetGalley. I can't add To-Read stats because I have a GR giveaway going simultaneously - would throw off numbers.


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## Susan Kaye Quinn (Aug 8, 2011)

Wansit said:


> Also if anyone wants to start a co-op I definitely want in.


I'm considering starting one - first exploring with my 25 Indelibles authors (but not all of them will be interested). Can I get a show of hands of who, here on KB, would be interested in a co-op, should I start one?

Also: Amanda - how much work am I signing up for, in managing this thing?


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## Amanda Brice (Feb 16, 2011)

Susan Kaye Quinn said:


> Also: Amanda - how much work am I signing up for, in managing this thing?


I'm not sure. I'm not the one who organized the thing...I just volunteered to log in to the account once or twice a week to do approvals.

The author who organized said that the set-up can be a bit tricky, but once you've done the first couple of titles then it goes much more smoothly and then it's just approving titles after that, but if you want you can set everything to just auto-approve and not do any approvals (we're moderating for now because there have been some really random requests that didn't seem to make much sense but if it gets to be too much work we'll likely just go auto-approve from that point on out).

I can say that moderating the account and doing approvals is pretty fun -- kinda like playing God.


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## Kwalker (Aug 23, 2012)

Susasn I would be interested if you end up having a spot.


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## Victoria J (Jul 5, 2011)

If you have a spot I would be interested Susan. 

[email protected]


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## Onedayatatime (Oct 14, 2012)

I would be interested as well Susan if you need more people!


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## Lisa Grace (Jul 3, 2011)

Susan Kaye Quinn said:


> I'm considering starting one - first exploring with my 25 Indelibles authors (but not all of them will be interested). Can I get a show of hands of who, here on KB, would be interested in a co-op, should I start one?
> 
> Also: Amanda - how much work am I signing up for, in managing this thing?


I'd be interested. You can email me at [email protected]


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## Susan Kaye Quinn (Aug 8, 2011)

Great! I'm getting a good response here, as well as in my Indelibles group - I think we can reach the 20 pretty easily. 

I'll look into setting it up and get back with everyone who responds to this thread - thanks!


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## NathanWrann (May 5, 2011)

Susan Kaye Quinn said:


> Great! I'm getting a good response here, as well as in my Indelibles group - I think we can reach the 20 pretty easily.
> 
> I'll look into setting it up and get back with everyone who responds to this thread - thanks!


I'm interested but I think that I would like to wait until my Work(s) in progress are completed and ready to be shipped. I have a 3 book series (plus omnibus) and a sci-fi/horror novel already done and published, but my WIP might not be ready to go for a few more months. (Hmm, maybe I'd join and put up the other books while finishing up the WIP. That's an idea.)


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## Amanda Brice (Feb 16, 2011)

NathanWrann said:


> (Hmm, maybe I'd join and put up the other books while finishing up the WIP. That's an idea.)


The subscription is for a full year's worth of access, and you can swap your titles out throughout that year in your slot as long as you only have one book in at a time, so you're just wasting time if you don't use your slot. Reviewers prefer to request pre-release titles (ARCs) and the newest titles, but there are plenty of books in NetGalley that have been out for quite some time, so even if you only get a few extra reviews out of it for the old books before you put the new ones in, it's still something. You're paying for the spot either way.


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## EmilyG (Jan 31, 2010)

Susan Kaye Quinn said:


> Great! I'm getting a good response here, as well as in my Indelibles group - I think we can reach the 20 pretty easily.
> 
> I'll look into setting it up and get back with everyone who responds to this thread - thanks!


Susan - I'm interested in the co-op!


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## Ben Mathew (Jan 27, 2013)

I couldn't figure out their rates. Can someone link to it?

What's the price difference between doing it alone vs. part of a co-op?


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## Amanda Brice (Feb 16, 2011)

Ben Mathew said:


> What's the price difference between doing it alone vs. part of a co-op?


I quoted it above in my response to Laura, but it's $399 for 6 months to go it alone, or $5900 split up to 20 ways (in other words, $295 per spot) if you join a co-op. And the co-op gives you a full year's worth of access instead of just 6 months.


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## Wansit (Sep 27, 2012)

Ben Mathew said:


> I couldn't figure out their rates. Can someone link to it?
> 
> What's the price difference between doing it alone vs. part of a co-op?


What Amanda said. NetGalley rates aren't posted online. Also it should be emphasized you get multiple titles w/ the co-op.

1) A flat $399 rate for ONE TITLE for a six-month commitment on their site
2) A 20-person co-op, in which 20 individuals authors agree to put together the $5,900 or a single author puts down the fee in advance and they each get a discount from $399 per a book/6mo to $295 for 1 year and a rotation of books if desired
3) Publishing houses have separate deals - including a one time setup fee and a monthly payment for their titles


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## Ben Mathew (Jan 27, 2013)

Amanda Brice said:


> it's $399 for 6 months to go it alone, or $5900 split up to 20 ways (in other words, $295 per spot) if you join a co-op. And the co-op gives you a full year's worth of access instead of just 6 months.


Thanks. Totally worth joining forces on this, then.

Susan, I'd be interested in joining the co-op if you have any spots left.


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## burke_KB (Jan 28, 2013)

I wanted to thank you for reporting back on this. I hadn't heard about netgalley before and it is very interesting. 

I love learning new stuff.


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## 48306 (Jul 6, 2011)

I'd be interested in this for a co-op, Susan! Email: ptATptmichelleDOTcom


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## Susan Kaye Quinn (Aug 8, 2011)

Just FYI, I'll be out of town for the weekend, but when I get back Monday, I'll send an email to everyone who has expressed interest, with details about how to make it happen!


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## JETaylor (Jan 25, 2011)

I'm interested in the co-op as well - my email is [email protected]


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## Pauline Creeden (Aug 4, 2011)

Susan Kaye Quinn said:


> Great! I'm getting a good response here, as well as in my Indelibles group - I think we can reach the 20 pretty easily.
> 
> I'll look into setting it up and get back with everyone who responds to this thread - thanks!


Me! Me! Pick me!  [email protected]


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## KOwrites (May 23, 2011)

Susan Kaye Quinn said:


> Great! I'm getting a good response here, as well as in my Indelibles group - I think we can reach the 20 pretty easily.
> 
> I'll look into setting it up and get back with everyone who responds to this thread - thanks!


I'm interested in the co-op. My email is katherine(at)katherineowen.net Thanks!


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## David J Normoyle (Jun 22, 2012)

I'm interested in this if it gets off the ground. david (at) davidjnormoyle.com


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## Not Here Anymore (May 16, 2012)

Count me in! I'd love to be part of the co-op, too. sarawriter (at) sararosett.com. Thanks!


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## jenminkman (Mar 2, 2013)

I'm sure I'm already the thirtieth person by now expressing interest in the co-op, but here goes: [email protected] (heck, we could even start TWO co-ops!!   )


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## Susan Kaye Quinn (Aug 8, 2011)

> (heck, we could even start TWO co-ops!! )


Exactly what I was thinking - so I will be emailing EVERYONE on Monday morning with information, but it may be up to someone else to pick up lead for the second co-op.


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## Pnjw (Apr 24, 2011)

I'm already in a co-op, but I just got my 6th review from NetGalley today. Each and every one has been a quality review. I'm very pleased. Most are posted on blogs, Goodreads, and Amazon. A few have even  made it to B&N.


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## James Bruno (Mar 15, 2011)

I'd also be interested in joining a co-op.

email:  angkor123000(at)yahoo(dot)com


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## Susan Kaye Quinn (Aug 8, 2011)

Ok! I've sent an informational email to everyone who has expressed interest above! If you did not receive an email, please message me at [email protected]


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## Anne Victory (Jul 29, 2010)

I was going to echo what Deanna said - I would imagine that NetGalley revieves are going to be a bit higher-caliber than those that come from doing a giveaway, for instance.  I actually joined NetGalley when I did reviews for TRR as that's how Harlequin, Carina, Harper-Collins, etc. do their reviews.  This also gets you in front of people who ordinarily have a "No self-published titles" policy.  I could be wrong, but that's my guess.


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## Vera Nazarian (Jul 1, 2011)

So far, NetGalley has been very effective for me, as a standalone author, and worth every penny as an individual (as opposed to group co-op ) listing.

Not sure how typical this is, but here are my results to date.

I enrolled my *Cobweb Bride* galleys in mid-March:

https://www.netgalley.com/catalog/show/id/28722

And have had solid high-caliber reviewer interest, resulting in *2501 impressions* (views), *596 downloads* of the galley (412 this month alone) and *12 quality reviews*.

I also did use their special additional mailings service twice, for more exposure (and I am told that my book was *the most requested item* in the first mailing).

Furthermore, NetGalley itself singled out and reviewed *Cobweb Bride*, and highlighted it as a *"Read Now" Featured Selection* on their blog.

I have another additional mailing scheduled for May, and will see if it results in an even more downloads bump.

Right now, after the initial download rushes and bumps, the *Cobweb Bride* galley gets downloaded at the average rate of about 5 a day. And, my book still has months and months (until September 30) to be seen and downloaded, long past its July 15th release date.


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## Ben Mathew (Jan 27, 2013)

Vera Nazarian said:


> So far, NetGalley has been very effective for me, as a standalone author, and worth every penny as an individual (as opposed to group co-op ) listing.
> 
> Not sure how typical this is, but here are my results to date.
> 
> ...


Those are great numbers.


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## Anne Frasier (Oct 22, 2009)

i'm reviving this thread because i'm wondering how the co-op people are doing. also wondering if there are any co-op spots open, but i'm guessing you can't hop in mid-year.


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## Susan Kaye Quinn (Aug 8, 2011)

Anne Frasier said:


> i'm reviving this thread because i'm wondering how the co-op people are doing. also wondering if there are any co-op spots open, but i'm guessing you can't hop in mid-year.


Our group is full for now, but I know people who are looking for slots as well.


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## Anne Frasier (Oct 22, 2009)

Susan Kaye Quinn said:


> Our group is full for now, but I know people who are looking for slots as well.


thanks, susan. maybe some of us can start a new group.


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## Kwalker (Aug 23, 2012)

I'm in a different Co-Op, Susan's, and all in all I've been pleased with it.

I put up a Sci-Fi for a friend last month, and I was very disappointed in that they only got 25 requests, and so far zero reviews, so I think genre may really matter.

For my YA Series, I had a lot of requests and a fair amount of reviews, although I did find that people got overwhelmed with the omnibus and it didn't perform as well as my novella.

I just put NA Romance up today, and so far so good. Requests are rolling in quite fast.

I guess the point of my rambling Anne would be for you to try to get an idea from someone who writes the genres you'd like to promote, and weigh their experiences more heavily.


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## Anne Frasier (Oct 22, 2009)

Kwalker said:


> I'm in a different Co-Op, Susan's, and all in all I've been pleased with it.
> 
> I put up a Sci-Fi for a friend last month, and I was very disappointed in that they only got 25 requests, and so far zero reviews, so I think genre may really matter.
> 
> ...


i actually have an NA coming out in November or December. Saw your post in the NA thread, which made me wonder about the co-op!


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## Susan Kaye Quinn (Aug 8, 2011)

Anne Frasier said:


> thanks, susan. maybe some of us can start a new group.


There always seems to be a lot of interested participants, but finding a leader is the trick.  If you start one, let me know - I know I'll have people to direct your way.


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## Anne Frasier (Oct 22, 2009)

Susan Kaye Quinn said:


> There always seems to be a lot of interested participants, but finding a leader is the trick.  If you start one, let me know - I know I'll have people to direct your way.


i'm afraid it might make my brain explode, but i'm going to check it out. being a leader is probably too much for me to deal with right now. if i had to choose between leader and solo i might prefer solo.


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## NicWilson (Apr 16, 2011)

Anyone keeping a list of coops forming in the future? I'm not quite sure if I'm ready yet, but when a few of my titles are a but closer to publication, I'd love to jump in.

That said, I'd love more information about Kwalker's concerns about genre.  Basically all of my books are sci fi, speculative fiction, thriller, or fantasy. Any other writers in those genres had good luck on Netgalley?


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## Karl Fields (Jan 24, 2011)

Susan Kaye Quinn said:


> There always seems to be a lot of interested participants, but finding a leader is the trick.  If you start one, let me know - I know I'll have people to direct your way.


Just curious, what's involved in being a leader?


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## Susan Kaye Quinn (Aug 8, 2011)

Karl Fields said:


> Just curious, what's involved in being a leader?


You really can make your own rules here. The minimum is that the leader serves as contact person between the co-op and NetGalley - making payments, fielding questions, troubleshooting. Some co-ops have the leader do all the uploads and approvals for review requests (the most time intensive part). In my group, I split the group into thirds and assigned a volunteer to do uploads (and initially review requests). Now, we have each other handling their own review requests. This reduces the burden on the volunteers substantially. And my work was mostly in the beginning, and in ongoing fielding of problems with uploads, etc.


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## Susan Kaye Quinn (Aug 8, 2011)

NicWilson said:


> Anyone keeping a list of coops forming in the future? I'm not quite sure if I'm ready yet, but when a few of my titles are a but closer to publication, I'd love to jump in.
> 
> That said, I'd love more information about Kwalker's concerns about genre. Basically all of my books are sci fi, speculative fiction, thriller, or fantasy. Any other writers in those genres had good luck on Netgalley?


My YA SF has done well. Romance does exceptionally well, but romance does well everywhere.


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## Anne Frasier (Oct 22, 2009)

does it make any difference if the co-op consist of many different genres? i'm guessing it doesn't matter


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## Cege Smith (Dec 11, 2011)

I have been toying with the idea of NetGalley for awhile, and would definitely be interested in a co-op group. I'd consider leading if there were enough folks interested in getting something off the ground in the next 30 days or so. I'll keep an eye on this thread.


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## Cherise (May 13, 2012)

Anne Frasier said:


> does it make any difference if the co-op consist of many different genres? i'm guessing it doesn't matter


If I had it to do over, I would have joined a coop that was more genre focused. It doesn't matter for the NetGalley part, but we have become a Facebook page, too, and a Goodreads group. If we were all science fiction (like me), then I would benefit more from some of the cross promotion initiatives coop members start.

I would love to be in a coop of either science fiction authors or animal story authors.

I've had 12 requests for Dog Aliens and seen two reviews so far, in the month it's been up on NetGalley. That is 12 more reviewers than I would have reached on my own, for sure, but it is hundreds fewer than the romance authors are getting. Genre plays a huge role, and romance is queen.


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## MissyM (Jun 21, 2013)

In another month or so I would might be interested in joining a co-op. I'm not sure about being the leader, but I'd be willing to help manage it, since I'd imagine it would get overwhelming for one person to do. I write in NA if that's relevant.


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## Anne Frasier (Oct 22, 2009)

cegesmith said:


> I have been toying with the idea of NetGalley for awhile, and would definitely be interested in a co-op group. I'd consider leading if there were enough folks interested in getting something off the ground in the next 30 days or so. I'll keep an eye on this thread.


i'm def interested. and about same time frame.


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## Anne Frasier (Oct 22, 2009)

Cherise Kelley said:


> If I had it to do over, I would have joined a coop that was more genre focused. It doesn't matter for the NetGalley part, but we have become a Facebook page, too, and a Goodreads group. If we were all science fiction (like me), then I would benefit more from some of the cross promotion initiatives coop members start.
> 
> I would love to be in a coop of either science fiction authors or animal story authors.
> 
> I've had 12 requests for Dog Aliens and seen two reviews so far, in the month it's been up on NetGalley. That is 12 more reviewers than I would have reached on my own, for sure, but it is hundreds fewer than the romance authors are getting. Genre plays a huge role, and romance is queen.


good to get your feedback about genre. and dang about 12 reviews.


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## TexasGirl (Dec 21, 2011)

I've completely lost track of how many requests and reviews I've gotten from this. I've had three books in, a paranormal, a MG, and a romance.

But definitely been worth it. I've had some of my most ripping reviews of all time from it, though, so do prepare yourself for more thorough reviews, not just the fangirl, "I LOVE IT! I SWOONED!" or the polite, "Three stars, had good moments" you might get from bloggers.

They tend to call it like they see it.


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## CJArcher (Jan 22, 2011)

My YA/NA Gothic did very well in Netgalley with lots of requests, but I haven't seen a corresponding uptick in the number of reviews posted on Amazon - it only has 20 so far. Most post on Goodreads and their blog. I've heard of other authors chasing up favourable reviewers on GR and ask them to cross-post, but I haven't got the time and I don't like contacting reviewers direct anyway. The reviews I have received have ranged from awesome to sucky and everywhere in between. One librarian said she's going to order it for her library, so that's great. 

I swapped that book out for a historical romance a couple of weeks ago and the requests have been far fewer, and again a range of reviews from awesome to awful, with few cross-posting to Amazon. Hopefully more reviews will trickle down to Amazon as reviewers go through their pile. I'm think I'll put my NA contemporary romance up there soon, but I'll admit to being nervous about it. NA seems to live or die by bloggers reviews so if they hate it, the series is toast.

Would I do it again? I'm not sure. I admit I expected a lot more reviews for the number of requests I received for the Gothic. My main aim was to build up enough reviews to make the book look attractive for any future Bookbub promos I want to do, but so far it only has 20 on Amazon with a 4.2 average. The secondary aim was to catch the notice of librarians and teachers, and it's a little harder to gauge the success of that.


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## Anne Frasier (Oct 22, 2009)

CJArcher said:


> My YA/NA Gothic did very well in Netgalley with lots of requests, but I haven't seen a corresponding uptick in the number of reviews posted on Amazon - it only has 20 so far. Most post on Goodreads and their blog. I've heard of other authors chasing up favourable reviewers on GR and ask them to cross-post, but I haven't got the time and I don't like contacting reviewers direct anyway. The reviews I have received have ranged from awesome to sucky and everywhere in between. One librarian said she's going to order it for her library, so that's great.
> 
> I swapped that book out for a historical romance a couple of weeks ago and the requests have been far fewer, and again a range of reviews from awesome to awful, with few cross-posting to Amazon. Hopefully more reviews will trickle down to Amazon as reviewers go through their pile. I'm think I'll put my NA contemporary romance up there soon, but I'll admit to being nervous about it. NA seems to live or die by bloggers reviews so if they hate it, the series is toast.
> 
> Would I do it again? I'm not sure. I admit I expected a lot more reviews for the number of requests I received for the Gothic. My main aim was to build up enough reviews to make the book look attractive for any future Bookbub promos I want to do, but so far it only has 20 on Amazon with a 4.2 average. The secondary aim was to catch the notice of librarians and teachers, and it's a little harder to gauge the success of that.


this def makes me think twice because i'd hoped more reviews were posted on amazon. and it sounds like you get those readers who grab it when they don't care for the genre. just like free books on amazon. maybe i'll just dog paddle around the pool.


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## Kellie Sheridan (Nov 11, 2012)

Popping in for those who are interested. I was going to post on this a little later once I had time to compile more information, but our group can always take on a few more (although, I will be drawing the line eventually).

Our NetGalley group has literally turned into a part time job for me as I couldn't turn away the second waitlist of authors looking to get involved, and so worked with NetGalley to form a SUPER GROUP. The team over at NetGalley has been really great in working with me on some different possibilities, and I'm now actually able to offer shorter term slots to those who may not be at the stage where they can benefit from a full year. I've only done this on a trial basis so far, but I do think we've had good results. How it works is that essentially I've purchased additional NetGalley spots, that can be rented for one, two, three or six months. The full year is still the best deal at $350 as I did have to start the monthly price at $45 to pay for months that don't end up getting purchased. If that makes sense.

If you're interested in a NetGalley spot in our group, either short term or full a full year, you can send me an email at [email protected] Short term spots can be scheduled in advance, but need to be paid up front to guarentee timing. Both upcoming titles and previously released books are completely welcome 

Also, our group started out as mainly YA, but now has genres all over the board, so anyone is welcome, but if you're looking for a genre specific group, this won't be a good fit.

For those interested in the full year... I'd say it's best suited to those who will have eight or more titles ready to go up during their term, and of course a great title and blurb can make or break your return on investment. Because there are so many titles available on NetGalley, reviewers won't always be interested in your book just because it's available. It still needs to look professional. Singing to the choir here, I know 

As for results... I think I'll probably write up a full post on this sometime next month, but the results have definitely been hit and miss. I'll just throw out some random observations for now. The summer has been a lot slower for us, and we've seen a lot more bogus requests and a slower review turn in rate. Bleh. I've also caught a few reviewers who just throw out the exact same line as feedback for multiple titles in order to get their feedback rate up, and unfortunately there is no way to auto-decline reviewers, which would be hugely helpful in weeding these out.

As with sales, a great cover goes a loonnngg way on NetGalley. A combination of that and a popular genre (NA), and we've had a few authors who have had way more requests than they were hoping for. Most of our authors don't fall into this bracket. Personally, I've been really happy with the feedback and review rate I've had and was able to run my first BookBub ad as a result. We've also had a few that have taken a lot longer than I would have guessed to get any traction, which so far I really don't have an answer on. We're still only a few months in, so I'll hopefully have a better idea of patterns as we go.

I'll second TexasGirl's comment about reviewers "calling them like they see it". There are some harsh, even mocking reviewers on NetGalley (not the majority though... I've been really happy with most of my reviews, and have made some new blogger friends as a result) and some titles definitely feel the brunt of that more than others. Having not actually read most of the titles, I can't say how fair these reviews are but be prepared. I'd say the vast majority of the feedback I've gotten has been fair.

So far, it's been an interesting experience. Looking it just from my author perspective, I think I'd probably do it again. Absolutely love the admin side of things though, so if you're looking to start your own group, let me know and I'd be happy to give some pointers


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## CJArcher (Jan 22, 2011)

I'm in Kellie's group and she's been great! Those short-term slots sound like a great opportunity if you're sitting on the fence or are strapped for cash.


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## sarracannon (Apr 19, 2011)

I have definitely been toying with the idea of getting involved in a co-op, but haven't known anyone putting one together. Anne, if you decide to do it, please PM me or email me at [email protected] . I think I'd be interested, but don't have a lot of time to volunteer as leader.


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## Anne Frasier (Oct 22, 2009)

sarracannon said:


> I have definitely been toying with the idea of getting involved in a co-op, but haven't known anyone putting one together. Anne, if you decide to do it, please PM me or email me at [email protected] . I think I'd be interested, but don't have a lot of time to volunteer as leader.


i've decided to try a short-term slot to just dip my toes in. but if anybody starts another co-op i might be interested.

on the netgalley site it said something about a single month being available to individuals (something new for 2013?), but i didn't quite understand it. the site is so confusing. i couldn't tell if was something they were just offering to members of a specific indie publishing group or if it's available to everybody.


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## Dee Ernst (Jan 10, 2011)

Susan, add me to you list as well. Thanks.


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## David J Normoyle (Jun 22, 2012)

I definitely got less reviews than I expected. Plenty of requests, but most of them seem to not end up as reviews unless they are still to come in months later. My genre is YA Fantasy.


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## Anne Frasier (Oct 22, 2009)

David J Normoyle said:


> I definitely got less reviews than I expected. Plenty of requests, but most of them seem to not end up as reviews unless they are still to come in months later. My genre is YA Fantasy.


it's good to get these reports because it gives us a better handle on things. i tend to see the reports of great results and think i need in on that, but when you look at the more typical results it begins to sound less promising.


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## Susan Kaye Quinn (Aug 8, 2011)

Anne Frasier said:


> i've decided to try a short-term slot to just dip my toes in. but if anybody starts another co-op i might be interested.
> 
> on the netgalley site it said something about a single month being available to individuals (something new for 2013?), but i didn't quite understand it. the site is so confusing. i couldn't tell if was something they were just offering to members of a specific indie publishing group or if it's available to everybody.


I just checked again, but didn't see anything about a single month - single TITLE yes, but not single month. Can you send a link? I know several people who would be interested if this were true.


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## Anne Frasier (Oct 22, 2009)

Susan Kaye Quinn said:


> I just checked again, but didn't see anything about a single month - single TITLE yes, but not single month. Can you send a link? I know several people who would be interested if this were true.


ah, i think that's what i saw. saw the thing about $50 inclusion in their catalog and was confused. figured i misunderstood since everybody wasn't jumping on it.

http://concierge.s3.amazonaws.com/2013%20Special%20NetGalley%20Marketing%20Programs_single-title%20clients.pdf


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