The most rewarding work I’ve become involved in is with www.spinetinglers.co.uk.  Spinetinglers are offering a book review and author promotion service.  I have to admit I was reluctant at first to become involved in this as there is a £10.00 fee which is paid by either the author or the publisher; however my concerns over the fee were quickly demolished when I saw the service provided by Spinetinglers. 

When a book is accepted for the Review and Promotion service, the book is assigned to an author or book reviewer within the Spinetinglers Committee.  The Committee member then reviews the book.  Throughout this stage the admin staff of Spinetinglers are in contact with the author and publisher obtaining either the standard bio used by the publisher or if the author does not have a prepared bio working with them to write a bio.  After the review is finished a feature article is written on the author and their work, focusing on the book which has just been reviewed.  This is usually done by the Spinetinglers features editor, the article is then published in the Spinetinglers ezine with live links to where the book can be purchased, the author’s own website and if the author wishes the publisher’s website. 

After all this the dedicated admin staff gets to work.  They send a copy of the review and article to both the author and publisher for their personal use, and then they post the review to all sites where the book is sold.  The admin staff then trawls through a list of genre specific websites to find sites where they can promote the author and their work.  At all times the admin staff is in contact with the author, keeping them appraised of what they are doing on their behalf.  Finally they send out a press release on the book and author with the intention of obtaining valuable media coverage.

This is the most dedicated service I have come across in the world of PR and is worth far, far more than what it costs.  Spinetinglers was launched on the 6/6/06 and already is a phenomenal success with over 1,500 registered members.  It looks as if Spinetinglers is going to be able to do exactly what it set out to do – bring new talent to the eyes of the public and publishers and serve as a spring-board for new writers. 

To me one of the most outstanding things about this service is that the monies from the review and promotion service go towards the Spinetinglers Book of the Year Award and not into the pockets of an unseen organisation.