.jpg "Lindsey Lochner in the Publisher's Chair")
ANGUS:
Hello everyone, and welcome to the latest edition of Publisher’s Chair with Supadu.
And today we have a very special guest in Lindsey Lochner, who is here to talk to us about Booktrovert, powered by NetGalley, a standalone consumer marketing platform where readers can celebrate their love of books by participating in digital giveaways, special promotions, and fun bookish activities. So Lindsay, thank you for coming on.
It would be awesome if you could just kick us off by telling us a little bit about yourself.
LINDSEY:
Thank you, Angus. Yeah, so I'm Lindsay Lochner, the current president at NetGalley, and I've been here for quite some time. I think it's been about 15 years now from the very beginning days. And it's been an absolute pleasure and joy to watch the NetGalley service grow and evolve over that time. The team has evolved so much.
There've been tons of changes in the industry and I'm super excited about our newest big launch, which is coming up very soon. I'm glad to talk to you today.
ANGUS:
Well, fantastic. And thank you so much, Lindsay. Now, just to go into our questions, I'll start with the first one…
LINDSEY:
Yep, yep, definitely. So we're thrilled to be introducing Booktrovert to the industry because we really believe that we're answering this need that we've been hearing for quite some time.
So the NetGalley platform and those existing tools by design have always been super flexible. So publishers could offer free digital galleys, DRCs, or audio books, advanced listening copies to those trade professional audiences – librarians, booksellers, educators, media journalists and then those book advocates that are so crucial in online spaces like Bookstagram, Booktalk, bloggers, all those folks, even people just writing reviews on core retail sites like Amazon.
So the primary goal of NetGalley has always been reviews, building buzz, and increasing discoverability for books. Plus really important other pre-pub metrics like those industry list nominations, Indie Next List, Library Read, things like that.
So as the NetGalley service grew over time, it became this industry standard for digital galley distribution and for book marketing effort. And we were hearing over and over from publishers that they really wanted to use our digital fulfillment tools for their consumer marketing efforts too.
And let me tell you, we really wanted to say yes. And we didn't exactly say no, so we offered some workarounds. We gave best practices. We gave them ideas for how they could use the NetGalley tool, like, for instance, the widget, which is a pre-approved link tool that is in NetGalley, to provide direct access to particular audiences that they wanted to reach for these various use cases.
So it always felt to us like this kind of square peg, round hole situation. We desperately wanted to help publishers and authors with this need because it fits so well with the core strength that we have as a platform.
But we also knew that we really wanted to retain that professional aspect of NetGalley and the trade audience of our existing community.
So how could we do both things? So the answer really was to have a separate platform that we built as intentionally consumer facing but still powered by NetGalley and keep the backend the same for publishers. That we felt like was super crucial.
Look, marketers, publicists, everybody's busy. Nobody wants a brand new thing to learn or to log into to set up new consumer campaigns, right? So we were like, let's let them use their existing NetGalley account to do that.
And for, so for publishers and authors, Booktrovert is this consumer marketing platform, right? They can showcase promotions and digital giveaways, but they don't have to go anywhere new. And then for readers and consumers, Booktrovert is this totally separate destination website where they can go to booktrovert.com. It's not connected to NetGalley at all. They don't have to be a NetGalley member. They don't have to know anything about NetGalley in order to participate on Booktrovert.
And unlike NetGalley, really anyone is welcome to join and use Booktrovert. They don't have to be a book reviewer. They don't have to have a social presence or work in a bookstore or a library.
ANGUS:
Thank you.
LINDSEY:
Totally, great question. So from the very beginning of envisioning this consumer marketing platform, we knew that we wanted it to be appealing to any type of reader.
So instead of building another website that's intended for those avid readers, those super users of Goodreads, right? The people who like to read and catalog and review like tons and tons of books a year. We love those readers to be clear. They are a huge part of the NetGalley community. So we want to help those people. And we also truly believe that reading is for everyone.
We wanna play Booktrovert to be a place for truly any reader, even those people who might read one book a year, or they just read occasionally for a book club that they're in. Maybe they're just now adding reading back into their lives after taking a break. A lot of people have to take breaks from reading. Maybe they just listen to an audiobook while they're driving or while they're multitasking, right? Maybe it's somebody who doesn't even consider themselves a reader but they saw a link to a giveaway because of some event they were at, for instance, and it's an author they heard of once before and they want to give it a try. Right?
So that's actually how we landed on that name Booktrovert. We were thinking about what it means to be a ‘booktrovert’ in Latin, that word introvert, someone who turns inward… extrovert, someone who turns outward.
So by definition… our own definition… booktrovert is someone who turns ‘bookward’ towards books.
So we know there's lots of reasons why somebody might want to turn toward a book. They might be looking to escape, looking for comfort. They want to learn something new. They are trying to generate a particular emotion. They want to expand their perspectives. So anybody can be a book traverse if they're inclined to just turn towards a book in those moments. And reading isn't exclusive for a certain type of person or demographic now, you more than ever really feel like reading should be accessible to everyone.
ANGUS:
Thank you.
LINDSEY:
Yeah, so we've been describing the Booktrovert community kind of like an overlapping Venn diagram. So where there's three circles, just kind of go with me here, try to visualize it.
So in one circle, we have the NetGalley community of book advocates and trade professionals, all those folks I mentioned at the beginning.
And their influence reaches that next circle of book lovers and avid readers. So those people are hearing about the book in those different places, on the blogs, on social media, in the libraries, bookstores, podcasts, other media, right? So it starts with the NetGallery community, their influence extends out to that middle circle. And then with Booktrovert, publishers can extend that reach even further to reach any consumer spots, like the widest circle in this Venn diagram.
And what is cool about this Venn diagram analogy that we've been using is that every circle overlaps completely. So the NetGallery community fits within that average reader circle, which fits inside the general consumer circle.
ANGUS:
Amazing, thank you. I mean, I remember actually I saw the video you sent. I know exactly what you're seeing in that visual?
LINDSEY:
Yeah, great question. So… Remember what I said before about Booktrovert being appealing to anyone? That was really our driving force behind all the features on Booktrovert.com. So there's something for everyone.
Our unofficial tagline, which actually matches the main navigation of the website is Find, Read, Play. And so first and foremost, find and read books, right? So obviously there will be book giveaways, promotions from publishers and authors – those are gonna appeal to all sorts of readers.
Then for those avid readers, right, those folks who read, catalog, review tons of books a year, anyone who might be looking for an excuse to use something other than Goodreads, we do hear this a lot in the industry, we've got you covered. For those sorts of avid readers, Booktrovert has this really unique curation tool to organize your book list that is really sleek. It's really nice to use. It's kind of different than what's already out there.
So I'm really excited to see what the community thinks.
And then for all those other people who maybe aren't super motivated to track their reading or catalog their entire library or write tons of reviews and like to manage their TBR lists, you know, there's tons of just kind of casual readers out there. So if they just want to have fun, celebrate books like we’ve got you guys covered too. That's where that play comes in. And we're launching with a couple games and activities. We're gonna have some more soon after launch. We'll have Book Bingo at launch. We have this cool activity where you can kind of create and decorate this digital bookshelf and then share it. I'm gonna keep a few others a surprise, but we're really excited. Let's just say, if you like Wordle or the New York Times Connections games, then stay tuned because there's some fun stuff in the works.
And I think that's kind of a good theme to bring up as well is just to stay tuned because this, we're just getting started. The launch is on June 23rd. It's really just the beginning. We have so much time, love, sweat, blood, tears. Everything is going into the launch.
But we already have this long list of the next features that we want to add once the site is launched. And of course, that community input is going to be super valuable to help us prioritize which things we should add next and also what things we didn't even think of yet that those readers will want.
ANGUS:
Fantastic, thank you. And now I think you've already answered my next question, actually, but…
LINDSEY:
Yeah, yeah, I think, yeah, we've touched on that, I'll, this is a good moment to clarify another kind of crucial difference between NetGalley and Booktrovert. So as we talked a little bit about earlier, Netgalley really is a review platform. Booktrovert is not really built with that same focus on reviews.
We do plan to introduce a kind of rating system on Booktrovert in the near future. We have some ideas how to make that kind of uniquely valuable and fresh, you know, as opposed to the rating systems that are already out there. But it's not gonna be the same kind of standard book reviews that that same format that comes from NetGalley. We didn't want a big barrier of entry for Booktrovert users.
Again, reading is for everybody. We want to encourage this to be widely used by all sorts of people without feeling like they're obligated to write reviews or have this massive amount of activity or work that goes into that.
To be clear, anybody listening, if you love to write reviews, great. Like we believe deeply, deeply in the power of book reviews. This is why we still have NetGalley holding this crucial place in the industry and why NetGalley will continue to be a core, core focus for us.
But if you just love to read and you don't write reviews, but you talk to the people next to you about what you're reading, right? Or you just want some ideas like, what should I read next? What book should I buy next? That's Booktrovert for you. Play a game, have some fun, discover a book. It's fast, easy, free.
ANGUS:
I'm really rather excited for this now. Nice. That's the goal. So touching on a more technical aspect now…
LINDSEY:
Yeah, great question. So we did, I touched on this a little bit earlier, how it's really from the publisher perspective, the backend is connected to allow the publishers to set up the campaigns within their NetGalley account that then will appear on the Booktrovert website.
And then for the readers who use Booktrovert, if they claim a book in a giveaway, so they go to booktrovert.com and there's a giveaway happening and they press that claim button, they get their free copy, they're gonna have three options for how to actually read that book. A web reader, which is like just in their browser, they can put it to their Kindle, send it to their Kindle or send it to their Kobo. And those, basically the ebook fulfillment, right?
The ebook giveaway on Booktrovert is basically benefiting from NetGalley's trusted methods for digital fulfillment. So it's not, again, it's not tied together from the reader's perspective. It has nothing to do with a NetGalley account, right? It's a totally separate platform for the readers. But from the publisher's perspective, they know they are using the same digital fulfillment methods that my books already use on Netgalley.
And then the really cool part too is that it's totally unrelated to the book settings in NetGalley. So that means from a publisher perspective, the book can be private in NetGalley and still have a public campaign happening on Booktrovert for a limited time, limited audience, whatever.
The call to actions, everything can be separate. They can really get in there and decide what they want to do at what time for both audiences. It's not really a matter of one or the other. It's more like when and how to use both platforms.
ANGUS:
Thank you. And so touching on the future…
LINDSEY:
Yeah, I mean, we can't wait. We cannot wait to watch the engagement once we launch on June 23rd. It's coming up soon. Feels like it's been a really long time coming, but now it's like around the corner. We're feeling super encouraged so far. As of right now… I looked right before this interview… We have over 25,000 people who have joined the wait list to be alerted the minute that we launch.
Anybody listening, if you haven't yet, go to booktrovert.com, join the wait list if you haven't already you get in there. But yeah, I think we are feeling like as soon as we launch and the word starts to spread even more, we're going to start to really get a sense of the engagement.
I know a lot of publishers are also very excited, really can't wait to see it. I know it's so hard to engage with something that doesn't exist yet, but we do have publishers who are already pre-scheduling campaigns for launch. So that is also super encouraging. And I think it will just start to snowball once people actually get in there and start clicking around.
ANGUS:
Brilliant. 25,000, that's fantastic, isn't it? Thanks. So my final question, again, looking towards the future…
LINDSEY:
Yes, great question. So I'll talk about both. So from the NetGalley community's perspective, we're definitely planning some improvements to the NetGalley platform. We're not just leaving NetGalley in the dust and focused in only on the new fresh thing.
We have some improvements that we want to make with more of that like industry professional focus. So again, making those NetGalley tools really valuable for their use cases and tying more into what things that we're hearing from the NetGalley community, what things they need in their daily work. The way that they use NetGalley as book advocates.
So we have some stuff in the works for NetGalley.
And then for Booktrovert, at launch, the Booktrovert campaigns are gonna be available exclusively for NetGalley clients. And it's NetGalley clients who want to reach U.S. readers. So for the giveaway specifically, they're for U.S. readers.
We do hope to expand internationally in the future. That's definitely like, you know, a long term goal. We don't have a timeline yet, but that's going to be an exciting and natural evolution just like we have done with NetGalley. We have all those different international domains for NetGalley. Yeah, and as I mentioned earlier, we have just tons of other ideas for additional features and ways that we want to expand. So stay tuned.
We're super excited.
ANGUS:
Well, fantastic. I mean, I'm so excited. I know anyone watching this is now, as well. I mean, thank you so much, Lindsay, again, for coming on. It's been really fantastic for us to learn about Booktrovert.
I know that we're all going to be super excited for its release on June 23rd. So sign up at booktrovert.com if you haven't already. And Lindsay, again, thank you.
