The Retelling - Issue #4 (February 22nd 2025)
February has been a busy month of pitching and outreach.
With less than two months until BLOOD MAGIC releases, I’m on a mission to pitch the book to 1,000 people and places. And I’m excited to be nearly 20% done with that process already (I’ll be doing another big push this coming week, bringing me up to 40% hopefully!)
In this issue, I’m sharing more details about how I’ve been getting early reviews for my book (including how WELL the book is reviewing so far) and my exact review outreach strategy.
I’m also in the trenches of securing as many media features as possible behind the scenes (and have some BIG news to share on this in a few weeks time! 👀)
Finally, things are coming together behind the scenes. Proof copies should be here in the next few weeks, and PR boxes should be ready to send out by mid to late March (half of the merch has arrived, but I’m still waiting on a final few items).
This is your LAST chance to secure a PR Box BTW, as I’ve had quite a lot of interest for this and will be finalising my send list in the next week or so. If you’re interested, send an email to hello@paganalexandria.com.
With all of that being said, there’s lot of exciting news to share in this issue, so let’s get into it!
RECENT BLOGS
Helping Solutions:
Through my day job, I write content across a number of brands in a ton of different mediums (including blogs, newsletters and social media posts).
We did a Valentine’s Day focus this month, and I love the way these blogs turned out:
Six accessible activity ideas for Valentine’s Day - I had a lot of fun coming up with activities for this blog. It was really important to me that, during the month of February, we were creating resources that felt inclusive for everyone.
What does feeling supported in a partnership look like? - this might possibly be my favourite blog I’ve ever done. It was a question that I had on my mind for a while, and I wanted to highlight all the very real and different scenarios where someone could build an intimate relationship while also having supports for different areas of their life.
Personal
Here’s some recent blogs that I’ve published:
10 Fantasy Romances to Binge This Valentine’s Day - Valentine’s Day is over, but romance never dies! If you’re looking for your next romantasy read, check out this list of highly recommended favourites.
My Books as Wine Pairings - if you’ve ever wondered which of my books you should pick up based on your wine preferences, this article breaks it down based on factors such as complexity of the characters/plot, ease of drinking, and taste.
9 Duologies Worth the Hype - if you’re looking for a shorter series to dive into, here are 9 excellent duologies that are worth picking up ASAP.
The fortune is in the follow up
In 2025, I’m going for ‘bingo’ — which means, I intend to hit EVERY single goal I’ve outlined below:
I’ve ticked off another huge goal off in February (see in RED), which was to pitch 100 people for reviews.
When I first created this bingo card, I thought 100 was a stretch goal. But very quickly afterwards, I decided to up that number, so I’m actually going for 1,000 pitches.
Throughout February, I pitched 150 people for reviews (some of which have already started to come in) and I plan to pitch a minimum of 600 people for reviews in total before April.
The final 400 pitches will go towards podcasts, media outlets, bookstores and libraries (a few of these I’ve already started too – and I have a MASSIVE announcement to share with you in an upcoming retelling instalment 😉).
Here are some valuable lessons I learned from my pitching experience:
1.) Your brain will try to talk you out of pitching to ‘protect you’. Don’t listen to it.
When I sent out my first 10 pitches, my brain was RAMPANT, screaming at me with things like:
“People are going to say no!”
“People are going to hate it and leave bad reviews!”
“People are only going to want physical copies!”
“People are going to be annoyed that you messaged them!”
“Nobody is going to respond and it’s going to be a waste of time!”
None of this was true and it was all in my head.
Within 3 days, my inbox was FILLED with DMs of people saying how much they wanted to read the book (only a handful of people turned it down due to being overbooked) and not a single bad review has come in so far.
I shouldn’t have been as surprised as I was because I did thorough research on every single person I reached out to. I spent 5 hours hand-crafting my pitch list, going through similar books, ensuring each person seemed like a great fit for the book and would enjoy it.
Not only this, but my book is actually really fucking good.
Now that I’m 150 pitches into the process, pitching is my new favourite activity. I have found that it boosts my confidence, helps the algorithm show me to more readers, and even helps me build genuine connections with potential readers in the DMs. I’ve made a new habit of pitching 10 people every day (first thing in the morning) and it’s been growing my reach super quickly.
Don’t let your brain talk you out of doing this, it’s a LOT of work and effort but I highly recommend it!
2.) The fortune is in the follow up.
Pitching is one thing, but following up (especially when you’ve heard crickets) is a whole other thing.
Still, I had pitched for an opportunity back in January and had basically given up on it, thinking I wouldn’t hear back. In this process of pitching reviewers, my confidence had a boost, and I decided it couldn’t hurt to follow up.
A day later, they came back to me with one of the most amazing opportunities of my entire writing career (which I will share more about with you in an upcoming retelling issue).
It was in that moment that I remembered how powerful and game-changing it can be to follow up with people. So don’t just pitch—follow up with the people who haven’t gotten back to you! It is SO worth it and it can truly change your life!
My *Exact* Book Review Outreach Strategy:
If you have attempted to get ARC reviews for your books before, but find that you often hear back ‘no’ (or worse, get ghosted/no response), here’s a walkthrough guide of how I get reviews for my books.
Making a pitch list
Step One: Identify similar books to yours
To make a pitch list, find 3 - 5 similar books to yours.
For Blood Magic, I mainly targeted vampire books, but I also ensured they had at least 1 - 2 similar themes or elements such as enemies-to-lovers, a dark academia setting, a university or school setting, etc.
If you’re not sure which books are similar to yours, it’s time to sit down and do some research. Look for some listacles, or bookstagram accounts where you can find similar books.
Step Two: Filter to 5 star reviews on Goodreads
Next, I set up an excel sheet and opened each book up on Goodreads. From there, I filtered to 5 star reviews only.
Why?
Because I *only* want to reach out to people who really loved the similar books I chose. They are more likely to have enjoyed the tropes, themes and elements of those books, which will also match my book.
This is how I minimise the amount of negative reviews that come in (it also just makes sense – why would I offer an ARC to someone who I don’t think is going to enjoy my book?)
This also means that, yes, I actually do read every review and make sure they liked all the similarities to my book. And if they don’t like something that my book has, I don’t include that person (even with the 5 star rating).
For example, there were a few reviewers I came across who liked a similar book to mine, but enjoyed the protagonist’s personality the most (who was starkly different to my protagonist) so I didn’t include these people since they had actively enjoyed something opposite to what they’d experience in my book.
Step Three: Fill out your excel sheet
For each book, select at least 50 reviewers.
This means, for 5 similar books, you’ll have 250 reviewers to reach out to. And volume is important because for every 10 people I reached out to, I had maybe 5 respond (and not everyone said yes).
If you only reach out to maybe 15 - 25 people at most, you will not end up with many, if any, reviews.
Building your pitch list will take time, but if you do the work upfront, you can do what I did which was reach out to 10 people every morning, and within a week you’ll have pitched 50 people. Makes for an easy habit to build!
Sending the pitches
Step One: Categorise contact method
I organised my pitch list in 3 ways:
Email (personal preference)
Instagram (my most effective strategy)
Goodreads
Step Two: Crafting the pitch
When crafting the pitches, I followed a simple framework:
Introduce myself + the book
Why I’m reaching out to them (their review of similar book)
The blurb
How the book is similar based on their review of [similar book] + what I think they’d enjoy most
How they can learn more about the book
Step Three: Sending the pitches
Email:
Email was the simplest contact method because I was able to delegate this to my amazing partner who sat down to help me reach out to people.
I crafted the pitch template and left notes next to each person’s name on what I wanted to highlight about their review in relation to why I thought they’d enjoy my book. I also gave him to link to each person’s review so he could link it in the email. So each pitch was still personalised and based on my own, actual thoughts. But ultimately, he saved me a ton of time by tackling probably 50 of the pitches alongside me.
Instagram:
I tackled the Instagram pitches myself, and I did 100 of these in my first week of pitching.
I followed each person and sent them a DM using a shorter version of my pitch template, while personalising it for each person based on the notes I’d left myself. I didn’t link to their review (because this actually blocked my message from going through) but I did offer to share more details if the person was interested, and had their review saved to reference back to if needed.
In most cases, my initial pitch was enough to get people asking for an ARC copy.
Goodreads:
Finally, I tackled Goodreads last since I can’t message people on the platform until I’m friends with them. So a lot of my initial work was spent sending friend requests and waiting for people to accept them (which I would say, only 15% of people ever did).
If I was lucky enough to gain a friend, I would do a similar pitch to my Instagram one, directly referencing their Goodreads review, and offering them an ARC copy.
Sending the ARCs
The last step was sending everyone their ARC, which I sent via email to the email address they requested. I attached an eBook copy of my book to each email, along with instructions on what to do:
How to access the book
How/where to leave the review
Extra actions they could take (not mandatory) - inviting them to DM me their thoughts as they were reading (which gave me extra content to share via my IG stories).
And that’s the complete guide! I hope it helps you with your own review outreach efforts.
RECENT PODCAST EPISODES
EP 57: Why I’m Pivoting The Retelling Into a Newsletter
EP 58: Rewriting Your Beliefs for Success and Book Sales with Kristen Cipriano
EP 59: The Biggest Identity Shift I’ve Made Since Leaving Coaching
Ep 60: Stop Adding Filler to Your Book and Consider This…
Ep 61: I’m Going Against ALL I’ve Learned on Creating Content
BLOOD MAGIC is reviewing amazingly well!
My new book, Blood Magic, is coming out in just under two months (April 15th) and the early reviews have already been incredible.
Blood Magic is a spicy, enemies-to-lovers, dual retelling of Rapunzel and Sleeping Beauty. It contains a compelling mystery all the way to the end, dark academia vibes, and a world full of magic and supernatural creatures to dive into.
BLURB:
The Salvharks and Guildwoods have just one rule in common: all vampires must die. Which is why Fleur Fontaine never expected to discover her vampire hunting rival, Percy Renaud, on her doorstep one night—covered in blood, and baring fangs at her.
But when he compels her, she is forced to keep his secret from everyone she knows, all while trying to sate his bloodthirsty cravings against her human housemate.
Unable to defend herself, and irresistibly drawn to his charm, Fleur realises her only other option is to go against her deceased father’s wishes to find a vampire cure. But as their undeniable attraction to one another grows, she starts to unravel a darker, more sinister secret of her own—one that leaves her wondering which of the two of them is truly the deadliest to the other.
A Sleeping Beauty meets Rapunzel retelling.
Click here to pre-order the book!
OTHER THINGS
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Pre-order BLOOD MAGIC directly through me before February 28th to unlock THREE bonus chapters (that will be dripped out to you leading up to release!)
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If you made it to the end, thank you so much for reading this week’s instalment! I’ll be back in two weeks with some more, behind-the-scenes updates and resources to share!
Enjoyed this read? Want to hear more about a certain aspect? Share your thoughts in the comments below!
I love the pitch strategy! Very smart 😍🙌