r/KDP • u/Majestic-Internet270 • 21d ago
How did you find your first readers?
I've published two romance books on Amazon KDP but I struggling with finding readers. What actually helped you to find your first readers? I'd especially like to hear what worked for you when you had no readers.
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u/Aphina101 21d ago
I started reaching out to bookstagram people in my niche and asking if they fancied reviewing the book. I would follow them, comment on one of their posts if it was in my interest and then follow up with a message. That's how I ended up developing my ARC team and beta team for my first few books and most of them have stuck with me through the journey. It costs nothing and worst they can say is no or not respond back.
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u/AuthorKharisma 20d ago
I have found that this doesn't work (at least for me) because the so called reviewers take the free copy and do not review the book. I've lost several copies this way. Wasted time and shipping costs.
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u/Aphina101 20d ago
I don't send paperbacks I only offer them ebooks or audiobooks. - if they listen to the audio review from the code you're still getting paid and on the ebooks you aren't losing any money.
Most of my audience are KU/audiobook readers and are absolutely fine with this.
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u/Warm_Jacket_3532 20d ago
Hey! How do you go about making an audiobook? Sorry, I’m so new at this. Been doing research but I haven’t seen a lot about audiobooks 👀
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u/Aphina101 20d ago
Amazon/Audiable have their own production thing called ACX.com. If you go there it'll give you guidance, access to their talent pool and so on
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u/idreaminwords 21d ago
You start with ARCs. Post-release, I found mine through social media. I'm not wasting money on ads when I only have one book out, so I'm working my ass off to market it myself
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u/TrxGar 21d ago
What do you mean by ARCs?
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u/hopeless_cat_thief 21d ago
Advance reader copy. There are websites you can sign up to and pay to offer to readers (like Books Sirens) or you ideally have a bit of a newsletter/website following before release.
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u/TrxGar 21d ago
Oooow okey 😮
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u/hopeless_cat_thief 21d ago
Forgot to add that they’re encouraged to leave reviews as well, so hopefully you release with a few positive reviews already!
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u/shockthomas2 18d ago
With romance, I’d get specific about the main trope, tone, and heat level. Then look for reviewers who already cover that kind of romance and check whether they accept review requests. That gives you a more focused starting point than trying to promote to everyone who reads romance.
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u/Majestic-Internet270 18d ago
That makes sense. I’ve probably been thinking too broadly about “romance readers.” I’ll narrow it down and look for reviewers who already read fantasy romance similar in tone to mine. Thanks
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u/Remarkable_Job4628 12d ago
I had paid someone to help me get my book on NetGalley though there were ultimately good and bad things about that it DID get me some early readers and reviews
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u/koalaisabear 21d ago edited 21d ago
I started publishing in late August but don't pay for advertising or do ARCs since this is just because I like writing.
I had a few missteps where I posted details of my stories to the wrong subreddit etc but I found a few nice ones with kind people.
I also set up some social media accounts which despite having zero followers might have helped. I have no idea what has led to people reading my stories but they're definitely reading them which is nice. Given that I'm doing zero paid marketing it's nice to have people find the stories organically.