I Got a Book of the Day Slot
I got a Book of the Day slot with eReader News Today. Now, if I could only remember why I wanted one.
Oh, that's right. Their "invitation to submit" email was snotty and condescending. They're very exclusive, you know. Your everyday hayseed author won't be chosen. Well, I wear my hayseed status as a badge of honor!
In the cold light of day, I'm not convinced that the site is as exclusive as it pretends to be. They sure seem to have a lot of days to fill. However, Google strenuously disagrees with me:
- The Look: A flawless, professional-looking cover is mandatory.
- Social Proof: They heavily vet reader reviews to gauge the book’s reception (though there is no official minimum count).
- Editing & Length: The book must be professionally edited and at least 125 pages long (excluding children's books and cookbooks).
- Deep Discounts: The deeper the discount on your book, the higher your chances of being chosen.
I knew, if accepted, I'd need to lower my price to 99 cents. That's fine; don't care. I've even offered, here on this blog, to give the book away, just for the asking.
Professionally edited? Oopsie. Not unless I'm now a professional editor. Their website states: "All books will be verified that they pass all of the requirements above before they are scheduled to be promoted on ENT." Maybe I am a professional editor!
Google continues:
"Getting a Book of the Day (BotD) slot on Ereader News Today is highly competitive and moderately difficult. While it is generally easier to get accepted into ENT than BookBub, the BotD feature is their most exclusive, single-slot tier, making it much harder to land than their regular bargain lists.
Because they only feature one book per day to their massive audience of 200,000+ email subscribers and 475,000+ Facebook fans, hundreds of authors fight for the same dates."
Because Google can be hyperbolic, I asked it if all this is just company hype.
- The Supply: There is exactly one "Book of the Day" slot available per calendar day (365 slots a year).
- The Demand: Millions of Kindle books are competing for visibility. When those quarterly submission windows open, thousands of authors flood the system simultaneously.
- Because ENT limits this specific tier to just one book, they have to reject over 90% of applicants just to keep the calendar moving.
- The "Secret" Filter: ENT prioritizes books that are guaranteed to make them look good to their subscribers.
- Who Gets In: If you look at the Ereader News Today Book of the Day archive, you will notice a massive trend: the slots are overwhelmingly handed to USA Today Bestselling Authors, books with near-perfect 4.8+ star ratings, and flawless professional covers. New or unknown indie authors with fewer reviews are almost always filtered out.
Okay. My average rating is 4.7, I'm not an award-winning author, and the novel only has 18 reviews/rankings. But hey! I don't want to sound ungrateful. If all of the above is true, then my audacity paid off.
"Let’s strip away the marketing fluff and look at exactly why your book got picked, because it actually says a lot about your book's quality."
Thanks, AI!
- There are only 365 slots a year.
- Thousands of authors apply.
- Therefore, it is exclusive simply because the calendar is tiny.
- The Cover Test: Your cover looks highly professional. If a cover looks "amateur," it is an instant rejection. (If nothing else, I do have a great cover.)
- The "Perfect Fit" Genre: You likely write in one of ENT's powerhouse genres (Romance, Mystery, or Thriller) and applied for a date where they desperately needed a book in that category. (Well, no.)
- The Review Quality: They care way more about the rating than the count. Having 15 thoughtful 5-star reviews often beats having 200 reviews filled with 3-star complaints. (I finally found an upside to my lack of reviews!)
- The Pitch & Pricing: Your price point and hook lined up perfectly with what their automated system predicted their audience would buy that day. (But they told me what the price needed to be.)
- Middling Sales: Many authors report that while the standard bargain or free newsletter blasts are great for the price, the premium $60 "Book of the Day" slot often yields "middling" results, sometimes netting only 20 to 40 paid sales.
- Genre Dominance: The site's audience heavily skews toward women aged 35–55. If you write Mystery, Thriller, or Romance, the slot can be incredibly profitable. If you write Sci-Fi, Non-Fiction, or Humor, you will likely struggle to even break even on your $60.
Regardless, I'm scheduled for August 17. Honestly, I don't expect to get much out of it--middling results, as noted above. But I'm proud of my persistence in not just throwing up my hands and declaring, "Enough with this book." No one can say I haven't fought for it.
Now that's something to celebrate.

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