How to Set Up Your Netgalley Profile

Welcome Back, Booklovers! I often talk about recieving arcs on here but I've never really talked about how to get arcs. One of the more accesible ways to get arcs is through Netgalley. Now if you live outside of the US their are restrictions based on who hold the rights to publish books i territories. But if you live in the US I hope this can be helpful to you.

My Netgalley Profile is set up for a reviewer and I set it up based off tips from Saraciea J. Fennell who is an author and book publicist. She did a thread awhile back giving great tips on what your profile should look like if you want more approvals. It's important to make sure you keep your profile up to date.

For the Categories section don't hesistate to put any and every category that interests you.

For the Bio section this is where you have a real opportunity to sell yourself as a reviewer. What kind of books do you enjoy? What's your background like and what types of books would you be good rep for? Mine lists that I'm a Black book blogger who reviews for Black and Caribbean/Caribbean American rep. I post reviews on my blog WOC Reads and Goodreads but also promote books on other social media platforms.

I make sure to keep my follower count up to date. At the time of writing this I have 

2800+ followers Book Twitter

800+ followers on Instagram

You should also include authors that you love so publicists know what types of books you read. That's another section I update often aside from followers. Because the authors I enjoy is subject to change depending on their current bodies of work. 

These are the authors I have listed right now.

Alexis Henderson, Suyi Davies Okungbowa, Kristina Forest, BB Alston, Shakira Bourne, Agnes Gomillion, Alexis Daria, N.E. Davenport , P Djeli Clark, Elizabeth Acevedo, and Synithia Williams.

And then I bring it home by mentioning some of the types of books I like to read in addition to linking other social media links that I don't have in the Where I Share Reviews section.

I enjoy contemporary small town romance, historical fantasy, cozy mystery, urban fantasy, epic fantasy, literary fiction, and thrillers

IG:http://instagram.com/mswocreader

YT:http://youtube.com/c/MsWOCReader

In the Where I Share Reviews section make sure to include links to your goodreads, blogs, and social media.

Hooked on You by Reon Laudat

Welcome Back, Booklovers! It's been a crazy busy April but I still managed to squeeze in a book that's been on my radar for a minute. I said I wanted to read more indie Black romance and with such a cute cover I just couldn't resist.

Zoe is engaged to Dante and on the outside they seem like the perfect couple. They both minimalists and artistic. Zoe has her own crochet fashion business while Dante is an assemblage artist. Zoe is taking a non traditional approach with her wedding and has enlisted her best friend Preston to be her "Best Dude".  Preston has never had a serious relationship. He usually jumps from one woman to the other and lately he's been hung up on Zoe. She's been working out more and is taking charge of her business garnering new opportunities and displaying more confidence. And despite being friends since they were kids there's always been something between them but they've been too hesistant to go there.

I liked Hooked on You. It's a friends to lover's story which isn't everyone's vibe but I thought Zoe and Dante had great banter. And just because they're best friends doesn't mean they completely know each other. It was nice reading about them discovering little things they didn't know. And I liked that they had open discussions about what they like in the bedroom. There's some funny rom-com antics especially with Zoe's troublesome cats.

I really liked the family and friend relationships here too. Zoe and her mother Vickie are very close and they do yoga together weekly. And she has her mom's back when needed. Preston is a member of a frat and he and a couple of his frat brother's own a restaurant together. His father is also a member of the same frat and you see a little bit of that environment. While Zoe has a her group of girls who crochet and knit. Her friend Genesis is a trip!

I don't crochet so I don't know about all the yarns and stuff Zoe was gushing over but it was nice to see. I remember reading a romance that including knitting and it was like they barely knit. Zoe's out here working hard on her business selling at events, collaborating with Youtubers, showing off her designs and patterns.

The pacing was a little bit off at one point when the story went through a very slow period to very amped up drama. I liked that the book didn't linger too long with having Zoe waste her time engaged to Dante. There was a unique way he was kicked to the curb making room for the friends who were clearly harboring long time feelings. Everything seemed very smooth and routine for Zoe and Preston and then he started acting up.  Preston is a self-sabatager! But Zoe wasn't taking any mess. I don't condone throwing hands on a partner but had he insinuated my momma is a hoe he would've gotten smacked! I appreciated that new and improved Zoe wasn't all talk. She knew her worth and wasn't willing to settle. Make that man grovel! 

Pre-Order Reveal: The Fraud Squad

Welcome Back, Booklovers! Today I wanted to put an upcoming book on your radar in a different way. This book intrigued me from the synopsis and I love a good women's fiction written by an author of color. So check out the trailer and synopsis below and if you like it make sure to pre-order or at the very least add on Goodreads.

For fans of CRAZY RICH ASIANS, THE DEVIL WEARS PRADA, and INVENTING ANNA

A working-class woman who infiltrates Singapore’s high society to fulfill her dreams risks losing everything in the process—including herself—in this propulsive millennial women’s fiction novel by debut author Kyla Zhao.

For as long as she can remember, Samantha Song has dreamed of writing for a high-society magazine—and she’d do anything to get there. But the constant struggle to help her mom make ends meet and her low social status make her dream feel like a distant fantasy. 

 Now, Sam finds herself working at a drab PR firm. The closest she’ll get to that life is living vicariously through her socialite coworker and friend, Anya Chen. Then she meets Timothy Kingston: the disillusioned son of one of Singapore’s elite families—and Sam’s one chance at infiltrating the high society world to which she desperately wants to belong.

 To Sam’s surprise, Tim and Anya both agree to help her make a name for herself on Singapore’s socialite scene. The borrowed designer clothes and plus-ones to every glamorous event can only get her so far; the rest is on Sam, and she’s determined to make an impression on the editor-in-chief of Singapore’s poshest magazine. But with a mysterious gossip columnist on the prowl for dirt, the deeper Sam wades into this fraud, the more she fears being exposed—forcing her to reconcile her pretense with who she really is before she loses it all.

Pre-order The Fraud Squad

https://www.penguinrandomhouse.com/books/707159/the-fraud-squad-by-kyla-zhao/

Add on Goodreads

https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/58454079-the-fraud-squad

You can follow Kyla Zhao at the links below

• Author website: https://www.kylazhao.com

• Newsletter: https://www.kylazhao.com/newsletter

• Twitter: https://www.twitter.com/kylazhao

• TikTok: https://www.tiktok.com/@kylazingaround

Wildseed Witch by Marti Dumas

Welcome Back, Booklovers! I feel like Wildseed Witch is a book I've been talking about forever. I received an arc from Abrams Kids last fall but I wanted to wait until closer to the release date to pick up. I was intrigued by the idea of a magical charm school for Black girls. I feel like this book will get compared to Amari and the Night Brothers simply because of the Black girls goes to magic school with rich kids concept but it's so different and people should set their expectations accordingly.

Hasani is a young girl who is very passionate about her Youtube channel and finding ways to grow it. She discovers she's a witch after a viral video and an invitation to attend a magical charm school. When she gets there she's soon realizes she's not like the other girls despite everyone having magical abilities. She's what they call a "wildseed", a witch who doesn't come from a strong legacy of witches and doesn't know how to control her powers. Most of the girls who she's attending the charm school with have been practicing magic for a couple of years. At Les Belles Demoiselles they are taught that magic is unruly and that charm is good and proper. She doesn't know the rules the other girls do and the faculty hasn't done the best job to prepare her. She's also insecure because all the girls are pretty and put together. She's seemed to miss the memo about colorful outfits with plenty of flowers.

I like how this book incorporated culture from Louisiana from real Creole to using the names of real cities and towns. I really liked Grandme Annette and her sage advice and lessons. One thing that stuck out to me is how the history of sugarcane is brought up in this story. Some witches at the school feel like they're rebelling against slavery by denouncing sugar while also having it on the table at every meal. And Grandme points out how silly that performative act is. That just because someone did an evil thing with a thing doesn't make the thing evil.

There was a lot of cattiness and competitiveness amongst the girls that felt unnecessary at times because this isn't the type of situation where the girls are competing for a particular title or spot. Most of the girls seem to also come from money too which is played up and down during this book depending on the scenes. Hasani's family isn't poor but they aren't rich either and her parents are into organic and sustainable. At the same time it did show the downside to popularity as Hasani uses her influence to make a name for herself and the girls seem to flock to whichever girl is most popular at the moment.

Hasani is not the easiest main character to love because she spends most of the story focused on her own interests. She has come to terms with her parent's separation yet so throughout the book she's also plotting ways to have them end up back together again. And I did like that he was allowed to be angry while also having to come to an understanding that her parents no longer make each other happy.

There were some sections where the pacing was a little slower than I would've liked I do think it's worth a read. The magic felt unique and there's some good lessons here about family and friendship. And it didn't go in a predictable direction. Overall I think young readers will enjoy.

April Random Ramblings

Welcome Back, Booklovers! This is another round of random ramblings where I ramble about all the topics floating through my head right now that I don't feel like filming a video or writing a full length blog post about one topic.

A lot of people are talking about respectability politics and the Black experience right now but quiet about how that manifests itself in books. So many of the lauded books by Black authors do engage in respectability politics in some aspect. It's the Black character whose appearance isn't described beyond curly hair and dark skin. Whose family members are off page the entire time despite the character claiming to be close to them because too many Black people in a book make a book a Black book which makes white readers feel uncomfortable.  Respectability politics is Black characters avoiding using Black vernacular, avoiding mentioning cultural dishes, lack of mention of superstitions or traditions. 

As someone who follows a lot of writers, interviews authors,  and is getting back into writing stories I enjoy observing and learning from various authors. There's so much discussion about author as a brand now especially as traditionally published authors take on more and more of a role of doing their own promotion. And it's very clear some authors don't know what their author brand is or how to reach their intended audience. Some people aren't even aware of how their publisher is marketing their book to the masses. I don't see enough resources addressing this with advice for debut or even established authors. Authors of color especially have to do the majority of the marketing themselves. 

For most authors a large portion of their book sales come from Amazon. There's just no denying that Amazon is a force when it comes to one top shopping. And with book prices being so high and there being such a variety of books on the market to choose from it's important to appeal to the online book shoppers. It's actually crazy to me when I see authors who aren't lead title authors do absolutely nothing even on a bare bones level to connect with their followers.

I find that romance authors are more in tune to what their author brand is and who their target audience is despite some publishers pushing the idea that everyone is your audience. If they know they're brand is Southern Black romance they make it known. If they know their brand is monster smut they narrow in on readers who love monster smut. They also promote their backlist

I see all the conversations around piracy and booktokkers returning books. It would be foolish of me to say I've never returned a book or pirated a book. In high school during business class I once printed out a full length novel so I could have a copy of one of my favorite books. I did buy books but since we didn't have a lot of money and I didn't have a job(not for lack of trying though) I bought books on sale and I read from the library. But there were a few times I read the pdf online. That was 10 years ago! I'm not surprised to see it's still happening. I call out the adults who have the means to buy the book but don't or have access to a good library and just don't utilize it because they'd rather donate a few dollars to a piracy site.  Attempting to lecture kids about how wrong it to promote piracy is a waste of breath.

And my final thought is that everything doesn't have to be written in a book. Because while writing can be very therapeutic, it's not a replacement for therapy. 

Summoning Up Love by Synithia Williams

Welcome Back, Booklovers! I've already professed my love for the Jackson Falls series by Synithia Williams so many times and I was very lucky to receive a finished copy of Summoning Up Love from Synithia and Harlequin. Small town and ghosts intrigued me and I couldn't wait to dive in.

When Vanessa gets fired she decided to go stay in Sunshine Beach, where her grandmother has multiple properties, while she regroups. While there her grandmother confesses to feeling the presence of a ghost who she believes is her dead husband. She hires some local ghost hunters to help but Vanessa is skeptical. Dion is determined to show Vanessa that he and his brothers are legit while also trying to secure the chance to film a pilot for a new series.

This was a little different than the other books from the Special Edition line that I've read. While it had all the staples of a small town which I enjoyed like the gossipy nosy neighbors and the homestyle food; Synithia brought the heat with some great sex scenes. 

I don't watch those ghost hunter shows. I'm very much a leave the spirits alone type of person especially if you have to live where they are. And I honestly I be thinking that's some white folks mess. I could tell Synithia really did her research while also putting her own special twist on it. She managed to incorporate the ghost hunting without going too far into the paranormal. 

I also appreciated that this book follows two characters who are trying to figure out where they should go next in their careers. Dion is working in public works for the town and it's evident his boss doesn't appreciate him. He has to decide whether it's time to make a career move or just continue to coast along unfulfilled.

It's always nice when the men in romance have some depth and things going for them outside of their love interest. I liked that Dion was a softer character. He's a homebody who has insecurities when it comes to relationships because he was told he's too boring a safe. 

This was a short book but she packed so much story but in a way where everything fit and it didn't feel overwhelming or like things weren't getting enough attention. It's also set up for the next book in the series and I'm looking forward to it.

Interview with Norma Perez-Hernandez

Welcome Back, Booklovers! I've decided to start a new series in addition to my author series which will include interviews with publishing professionals of color. To kick it off I have Norma Perez-Hernandez who is an assistant editor at Kensington Publishing who was kind enough to sit down and answer a few questions.

What does a book editor actually do? 

A book editor is an in-house champion for their book, a representative for their publisher, and sometimes, yes, they edit books too. 

And what would a typical work day look like for you?

This could also include anything like: filling out paperwork for the art and copy departments, reading and evaluating manuscripts for the possibility of publication, emailing the agents of these manuscripts my thoughts, following up with the status of a manuscript with an author, answering author and agent questions by finding out the answers to those questions from my colleagues, more emails, and sometimes yes, I edit books too. 

What’s a common misconception about your role you would like to set straight?

A common misconception about my role that I’d like to get to set straight is that editors are trying to reach readers where they are. When they are working on a book, they do so with readers in mind. 

What are some of the biggest challenges you think publishing is facing at the moment?

I think the biggest challenge publishing is facing is, ironically, the question above. Publishers are having their message passed on by booksellers, librarians, and the internet algorithms, and I wonder if that communication is always working.

What types of books are you working on right now? 

Today I have worked on: 

THE WIFE BEFORE, a domestic thriller take on Rebecca by New York Times bestselling author Shanora Williams

TWICE A QUINCEÑERA, a rom-com about a woman who throws the Sweet Fifteen she never had by acclaimed author Yamile Saied Méndez

What do you look for in the narrative voice when reading manuscripts?

I’m looking for immediacy. If that voice can instantly take me inside their mind and inside the story, then I’m more likely to keep reading.

And how do you keep your enthusiasm for reading outside of the manuscripts you read for work? 

Book clubs with friends help keep me accountable. I also despite myself love to read.

What advice would you give to publishing hopefuls?

Keep a curious mind and a patient soul. And please invest in a non-books related hobby!

As an author what types of stories would you like to publish?

Stories about people who sometimes fall in love, but always save the world. 

What hobbies do you enjoy outside of reading and writing?

*laughs* do Webtoons count?

You can follow Norma on Twitter @normajeanesays and on Instagram @normajeanewrites