Retail booksellers are familiar with a great publication called “Shelf Awareness” that gives them current information about the book industry, publishers’ plans for upcoming books, and some of the publicity underway on recently published books. The online magazine provides lots of ideas to help booksellers present the latest to their customers. It is a terrific marketing-support outlet for publishers and booksellers alike.
Recently, Shelf Awareness has expanded its venue to include a publication aimed directly at readers. It’s a free e-newsletter (comes into your email) called “Shelf Awareness: Enlightenment for Readers.” If you’re a book lover, you may want to check into this. As I said, it’s free! (I have no connection to it except as one of the audience who has choosen to receive the weekly email.)
The newsletter reviews 25 books each week along with author interviews, book excerpts, giveaways and more. It doesn’t sell directly from its review section–i.e., you can’t click on the book cover there and be taken to a place to buy it–because the publication is meant to help all booksellers communicate to readers, not just a particular bookseller. You will find some books being specifically advertised by a publisher or retailer, but it’s obvious which ones those are (and those you can, indeed, click on to go elsewhere). Overall, the newsletter simply provides a lot of fun information to readers.
Right now Shelf Awareness is running a contest for new subscribers. If you’re interested, click on the “For Fun” page tab above.
