topic Re: Book Giveaways in Book Club

Book Giveaways

hooked on books — Sat, 22 Feb 2020 00:58:26 GMT

I have entered many, many Goodreads free book giveaways and have yet to win a book and I was just wondering if there are any hints to being chosen. I am not lucky in contests in general and I've noticed many other posters mentioning their free book wins from Goodread. Any tips to share? Thanks!!! 📖

Re: Book Giveaways

LoriLori — Sat, 22 Feb 2020 10:44:17 GMT

@hooked on books

I have too and only won one book! It's a marketing tool by the publishers than anything else but still.

I'm sure it's pure luck.

I used to think it was related to how many friends you have or your weekly rank or any of that but now I'm sure it isn't, it's just luck.

And I don't have luck winning things either.

And then I compare it to bingo. I used to play bingo at a really fun place when I was in my 20s/30s, waaaaaay less people in the room than enter to win the books, and I hardly ever won. And one of my friends won all the time.

Re: Book Giveaways

jackthebear — Sat, 22 Feb 2020 11:43:39 GMT

just luck

I won 2

still TBR

Re: Book Giveaways

SWEET — Sat, 22 Feb 2020 12:24:40 GMT

I've been on GR for 4 years and have won 75 books. It's pure luck believe me. People have asked me what I do and I just leave reviews for books. I've gone months w/out a win too. I also won 2 books in one day twice.

Like I tell people, keep trying!

Re: Book Giveaways

Kindaglitzy — Sat, 22 Feb 2020 14:17:33 GMT

I’m not on Goodreads, beginning to think I’m missing something! LOL. I do subscribe to a lot of booktubers on YouTube and many are always receiving a lot of books from publishers and authors. It does put a little pressure to read and review on their channel although I don’t think there is any kind of commitment to do a review.

Re: Book Giveaways

SWEET — Sat, 22 Feb 2020 14:45:16 GMT

@Kindaglitzy wrote:
I’m not on Goodreads, beginning to think I’m missing something! LOL. I do subscribe to a lot of booktubers on YouTube and many are always receiving a lot of books from publishers and authors. It does put a little pressure to read and review on their channel although I don’t think there is any kind of commitment to do a review.

@Kindaglitzyyou're right in saying that there's no commitment in doing reviews and it doesn't help either for winning.

I also get a lot of books from publishers but only review on GR and LT and don't feel pressured to write reviews on their channel or page. I just like leaving reviews since I feel it's fair to the author. Even if I don't like it or finish it I try to say something good about the book.

Re: Book Giveaways

millieshops — Sat, 22 Feb 2020 15:31:29 GMT

I think like a lottery of any sort, thousands, maybe millions of hopefuls, enter but only very occasionally does any one of them win.

My personal philosophy is "If it's free to enter, I haven't lost anything but the hope of winning if my name doesn't come up."

Re: Book Giveaways

LoriLori — Sat, 22 Feb 2020 22:00:16 GMT

@Kindaglitzy wrote:
I’m not on Goodreads, beginning to think I’m missing something! LOL. I do subscribe to a lot of booktubers on YouTube and many are always receiving a lot of books from publishers and authors. It does put a little pressure to read and review on their channel although I don’t think there is any kind of commitment to do a review.

People who review on s blog or a vlog on youtube get paid by advertisers or they're trying to attract enough unique views to qualify. So I never read those whether it's books or makeup. They have to review every book they get.

(But the most famous nonprofessional book reviewer ever never read the books. Unreal.)

(ETA: I had a blog years ago, not books, but it's crazy pressure, it's something like tv show ratings, how many clicks, how many uniques which is people who haven't been there before, how many subscribers, and it took all the fun out of it for me.)

There is a pressure to review for e-book reviewers (anyone who doesn't review for Amazon) because you have to put in requests for each book and giving bad reviews doesn't make them happy.

On Amazon they encourage Vine Voices to give bad reviews, good reviews -- what they want from us is honest reviews. And we can't put in for a book, they offer it to me or to someone else. I'm rarely offered books I want. There's a few thousand reviewers. If the people offered it don't take it it goes into a community pool where I've found some genre books I've loved.

I love GR (which yes, is owned by Amazon). And it's international, over four million people and almost all living authors. Most of them take questions and everything. You can have friends or be private; I was private for six years.

I've heard about so many books on GR I wouldn't know about it, between here and GR is where I find everything I read, and I've got friends with the same and different taste from Europe, Canada, New Zealand and Australia and I've learned about books from them that would have never crossed my path.

Re: Book Giveaways

LoriLori — Sat, 22 Feb 2020 21:54:45 GMT

@SWEET You are the luckiest book winner ever! And keep it that way

Re: Book Giveaways

hooked on books — Sun, 23 Feb 2020 02:16:28 GMT

Thanks everyone!! I will just keep entering and keep my fingers crossed! I'm actually kind of new to GR. Congrats to any winners!!!
@SWEET, wow, do you play the lottery??!!

Re: Book Giveaways

SWEET — Sun, 23 Feb 2020 09:43:25 GMT

@LoriLori wrote:
@SWEET You are the luckiest book winner ever! And keep it that way

@LoriLoriThanks! LOL

Re: Book Giveaways

SWEET — Sun, 23 Feb 2020 09:44:55 GMT

@hooked on books wrote:
Thanks everyone!! I will just keep entering and keep my fingers crossed! I'm actually kind of new to GR. Congrats to any winners!!!
@SWEET, wow, do you play the lottery??!!

@hooked on booksYou know how many people ask me that? LOL. No, I don't play the lottery and don't intend to.

Good luck on GR.

Re: Book Giveaways

joannecha — Sun, 23 Feb 2020 15:52:54 GMT

I enter every time that I see a giveaway; have won about 10 books so far and I'm guessing that it's totally random. I was told by someone who won once and did not leave a review that you should always leave a review and you should always thank them profusely. Also, share the fact that you won on social media and share where you received the books from. Good luck.

Re: Book Giveaways

SWEET — Sun, 23 Feb 2020 16:49:50 GMT

@joannecha wrote:
I enter every time that I see a giveaway; have won about 10 books so far and I'm guessing that it's totally random. I was told by someone who won once and did not leave a review that you should always leave a review and you should always thank them profusely. Also, share the fact that you won on social media and share where you received the books from. Good luck.

@joannecha I always mention the pubishers name and GR before I start my review and if it's an ARC. Thank who profusely?

Re: Book Giveaways

hooked on books — Mon, 24 Feb 2020 01:07:40 GMT

@SWEET, LOL!!! Hope your lucky streak continues!!!📖

Re: Book Giveaways

songbird — Mon, 24 Feb 2020 02:14:46 GMT

I won only 1. Well it should be 2 actually. I once got a paperback book in the mail. I had to submit a review. They called me for it.

Re: Book Giveaways

LoriLori — Mon, 24 Feb 2020 17:11:09 GMT

@joannecha wrote:
I enter every time that I see a giveaway; have won about 10 books so far and I'm guessing that it's totally random. I was told by someone who won once and did not leave a review that you should always leave a review and you should always thank them profusely. Also, share the fact that you won on social media and share where you received the books from. Good luck.

Not sure they're right. I won once, just said in the first sentence that how pleased or whatever I was to win this particular book from Goodreads. And I'm not on social media.

Amazon Vine we are specifically told not to thank anyone for anything (but they've paid to have their products reviewed).

Every netgalley and Edelweiss review I see says "I received this book from [whoever] in exchange for an honest review." It's a standard sentence. Most of those people are on social media including blogs and vlogs but there's no requirement, GR is the only social media I do unless you cound this forum.

Re: Book Giveaways

LoriLori — Mon, 24 Feb 2020 17:19:06 GMT

@songbird wrote:
I won only 1. Well it should be 2 actually. I once got a paperback book in the mail. I had to submit a review. They called me for it.

Who called you, @songbird ? That is alarming. Unless you have to give it for e-ARCs?

@SWEET can answer that but I'd be surprised because taking a book does not legally obligate you to write a review so whoever was calling you was harassing you.

I would never give out my phone number and there's no reason they should have it. Amazon has everyone's phone numbers who shops there but they never make outgoing calls and the publishers and everyone else are not allowed to know our identities.

I just got a book that's not out until September, I emailed the publisher and had to show my GR page and do some begging and some advocating for myself and the easy part was I demonstrated my love for the author and that shined through and now his American publicist and I have been emailing LOL -- but she didn't ask for my phone number and I wouldn't have given it.

Re: Book Giveaways

songbird — Mon, 24 Feb 2020 18:09:02 GMT

@LoriLori wrote:
@songbird wrote:
I won only 1. Well it should be 2 actually. I once got a paperback book in the mail. I had to submit a review. They called me for it.

Who called you, @songbird ? That is alarming. Unless you have to give it for e-ARCs?

@SWEET can answer that but I'd be surprised because taking a book does not legally obligate you to write a review so whoever was calling you was harassing you.

I would never give out my phone number and there's no reason they should have it. Amazon has everyone's phone numbers who shops there but they never make outgoing calls and the publishers and everyone else are not allowed to know our identities.

I just got a book that's not out until September, I emailed the publisher and had to show my GR page and do some begging and some advocating for myself and the easy part was I demonstrated my love for the author and that shined through and now his American publicist and I have been emailing LOL -- but she didn't ask for my phone number and I wouldn't have given it.

This was about 13 years ago. I had put in a review for another book (by the same author) at Amazon. (This was before Good Reads) The paperback arrived unsolicited with a letter. Saying that I could keep the book, read it and review it. The option was to write the review and send it back, or they would call me. I elected for them to call. I told the what I thought of the book. And that was that. They were going to make a TV film out of the book. Can't even remember the title. I lost the book when I moved.

Re: Book Giveaways

CANDLEQUEEN — Mon, 24 Feb 2020 18:59:13 GMT

I have been entering for about two years now and I probably have won at least 10 books! I don't think there is any rhyme or reason to it......