BooksShelf.com

[Rachel Caldecott]

Got an email today which started off like this:
Hi!
We saw your work and we'd like to invite you to be part of our platform BooksShelf.com!
You can submit your book/s for FREE or take advantage of our Promo Plans or Services!

So I checked out their website and I can't decide whether it is a complete scam or not. So has anyone in Litopia heard of these guys?
Is it worth it or not? I guess my position is if it is free, what harm can it do. Then again . . . I could be opening a . . . portal ??????
I've been invited by another outfit to be interviewed on the radio about my book too - it is funny because on the 18 October it'll be exactly a year since the book came out. (I'm going to have to re-read my own book before answering any questions).
As ever I await the collective wisdom of the Litopians.
PS. Sorry I haven't been around much. Miss you guys.

 

[Steve C]

The fact they are scanning for books to invite onto their list of those for sale feels a bit off. Having looked at their site it doesn't seem a scam more a technique for trying to sell some services to you. There are other probably better service providers if that is what you are looking for.

 

[RK Wallis]

They probably want you yo use them, but want to tempt you to spend your money (I'm a bit cynical, I blame my dad, lol!).

 

[RK Wallis]

The fact they are scanning for books to invite onto their list of those for sale feels a bit off. Having looked at their site it doesn't seem a scam more a technique for trying to sell some services to you. There are other probably better service providers if that is what you are looking for.

Snap @Steve C

 

[Robinne Weiss]

Yeah, looks like they want to sell you their services. I suspect what you get for the Free is nothing more than your books on their site. If you want to actually sell any, you have to buy advertising. No different from Amazon, really, except who buys books from Bookshelf.com?

 

[Robinne Weiss]

Not that I love the 'Zon, mind you, (and the BooksShelf website is cute, I'll give it that) but it's where the book buyers are, so spending my advertising $ there seems to make more sense.

 

[Steve C]

Not that I love the 'Zon, mind you, (and the BooksShelf website is cute, I'll give it that) but it's where the book buyers are, so spending my advertising $ there seems to make more sense.

That makes sense. I am within a month or two of publishing my book on Amazon. Marketing is a concern so can I pick your brains at some point? ie what works and what doesn't.
I'm not sure it would be allowed here as Pete is an agent for trad publishing but I feel many here use amazon and why not have a forum section devoted to self-publishing where we can swap ideas

 

[AgentPete]

I'm not sure it would be allowed here as Pete is an agent for trad publishing but I feel many here use amazon and why not have a forum section devoted to self-publishing where we can swap ideas

I'm in favour of selling books, period! If self-pub is the way ahead, then I'm all for that

We're still a small site, and I'm careful about dividing things up here too thinly, so maybe no new forums quite yet. But if there's enough demand, defo a self-pub area.

 

[Steve C]

I guess the Back Room would be a suitable place for exchanging self pub ideas. Or even Pub ideas! Mine's a pint please

 

[Robinne Weiss]

That makes sense. I am within a month or two of publishing my book on Amazon. Marketing is a concern so can I pick your brains at some point? ie what works and what doesn't.
I'm not sure it would be allowed here as Pete is an agent for trad publishing but I feel many here use amazon and why not have a forum section devoted to self-publishing where we can swap ideas

There are much better Amazon marketers out there than me. Bryan Cohen (BRYAN COHEN – Author. Podcaster. Coach.) is sort of the Master of Amazon ads. Get on his mail lists, and you'll be deluged with more advice than you can possibly follow. And there are lots of others, too. Steff Green is a NZ self-pubbed author who pulls in $200k/year--she's got some good resources on her website, too: Homepage . And the Alliance of Independent Authors (Alliance of Independent Authors: Association For Self-Publishing Authors) is fabulous--I've attended several of their free online conferences and found them really helpful. There's one coming up this weekend (Oct 17).

 

[Steve C]

I came across this site Books Go Social Authors | Risk free book promotion
They have various promotional packages but two things stood out.
They refund you if you are not happy + they are rated as excellent by the Alliance of Independent Authors
I did some research and came across good and bad comments but it appears they really do refund if you ask for one.