Free Book Summaries

How many times have you booted up your computer, typed in your favorite search engine, and begun a search for "free book summaries," hoping to find just a little bit of guidance on book selection? Before beginning Book Club Queen, the Queenies had done it a thousand times, at least! It's infuriating to spend hours trolling the internet, looking for insightful book reviews that actually help you make a choice about whether or not to read a particular book. It's even more infuriating that there are MILLIONS of books in publication that are underrepresented and not getting the publicity they so deserve.

That's where Book Club Queen has stepped in.

How it all Began
In November of 2007, a fledgling author with a strong desire to promote her work contacted the Queenies. She was interested in finding out how her book, Hush Ma, could become one of the featured titles on the Book Club Queen's bookshelf. This got the Queenies thinking. What if instead of just featuring books they were choosing on their own, they set out to feature books with authors who would agree to an exclusive interview? It would be a win-win situation because the authors would get some much-needed and absolutely free publicity for their novels, and the Queenies would have the pleasure of offering their visitors an "up close and personal" look at some of the newest books on the market, including free book summaries.

This led to a campaign to offer promotional services to any published author, as long as the book fit with the interest of the site's visitors. The only real rule between the Queenies was that they agreed not to take on any books with explicit adult material as they wanted to keep the site "family friendly." Romance, sex, scandal would be fine - just not in gruesome detail.

Over the next several months they received queries from authors hoping to be featured on the site. The Queenies began by taking on one author a month for the review and feature interview process. As the site was still in its infancy and growing leaps and bounds daily, they wanted to be sure not to take on more than they could handle. So began the first set of successful author features with Mamet, Marc Leepson, Beth Harbison, Mike Monahan, and David James.

As the Author Exclusives section of the site garnered more attention, the Queenies began picking up two or three new authors a month. The visitors were responding - the author features were an instant success! Readers immensely enjoyed feeling a connection with the author as well as finding out some of the motivation behind the book.

An Important Shout Out
It's absolutely necessary to mention Peter Shankman's site Help a Reporter Out in conjunction with Book Club Queen's growing number of authors seeking promotion on the site. In May of 2008, Queenie D submitted a HARO Query looking for published authors interested in a feature spot and the response was absolutely overwhelming! With the help of Peter Shankman, the Queenies were able to broaden the site's scope, adding new features that were not possible before!

Current Situation
Now Book Club Queen features eight new authors a month. The original mother-daughter team had to hire a guest reviewer, known to fans as Queenie C, to handle the sheer volume of free book summaries. As recently as May 2010, the team has added another Queen to the castle - Queenie K! The Queenies are contacted by authors, PR reps, and Publishing Houses who have heard about the exciting promotional opportunities for published authors. At this point the calendar is booked solid one full year in advance and filling up as rapidly as it opens.

What this means for BCQ's visitors is a never-ending supply of book club recommendations and free book summaries, all in one, easy-to-find place on the web!

Author Series: "Life Between My Pages"
As Book Club Queen has grown in size and continued to work with the best and brightest stars in the reading world; an exciting new feature has come to fruition. The BCQ monthly newsletter, Book Clubbers, is sent to just under 1,000 subscribers on the first of each month. The newsletter is home to the original series, Life Between My Pages, created by Queenie D. Each month a new author shares their journey into the world of writing and becoming a published author. From fantasy to memoir to Borders Bestseller, these authors are unique and have a story to share. The series is slated to continue through 2011 and will continue to bring BCQ fans new stories from their favorite featured authors.

Return from Free Book Summaries to Home