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Don't send PDFs

Posted: Wed May 25, 2016 7:46 pm
by ScotsNews
If you value the copyright on your work, it is a very bad idea to send a PDF of your book to anyone. There seem to be a lot of people on various forums who trust that a complete stranger on the internet will give an honest review if they send them a free copy of their book. The world still has a lot of honest people, but there is nothing to stop the PDF being forwarded on and, in some cases, even plagiarised or stolen and ending up with someone else's name on it. Some people new to the world of publishing may choose to dismiss this advice in their desperation to get a review, but after 30 successful years in publishing I can tell you that, instead of trying to get a lot of reviews, your time would be better spent in writing an interesting blurb that will attract paying readers. If your book is any good, you will develop a relationship with those readers as future customers and some may take the time to write a review that means something.

Re: Don't send PDFs

Posted: Wed Mar 15, 2017 11:16 am
by Raul Sanchez
Thanks for the advice.
But, sorry for my ignorance, can not they do the same - edit / plagiarize / etc - with an epub or mobi format? I mean, you can convert formats and also edit them with calibre, sigil, etc...? is there any difference compared to pdf? thanks in advance for clarification.

Re: Don't send PDFs

Posted: Wed Mar 15, 2017 5:14 pm
by ScotsNews
It would be the same for any format that you can copy and paste. The point of my post is to value and protect your work. If you are seeking reviews from people who are not prepared to buy your book then you could gift a kindle copy via amazon (you will get the royalty from the sale). Sending gift copies of books to reviewers is not new - it has always happened in traditional publishing. Keep a list of where your gift books are going and follow up.

Re: Don't send PDFs

Posted: Fri Apr 14, 2017 5:35 pm
by rchapman1tewantin
Thanks ScotsNews. This is really good advice for new and established authors. I think a lot of time and effort is put into trying to get reviews, which I don't believe really sell books. You only need a few which, as you say, will come by themselves in time. Keep writing!