That said, getting noticed and reviewed in practically every genre is very difficult in the United States, owing to the tremendous amount of new material being published every year, especially by self-published authors. I’ve seen estimates that there are more than 1 million new titles published in the U.S. every year, which is astounding. Most, unfortunately, rarely sell more than a few dozen copies.
My recommendations for your book are as follows:
- To do well with experienced reviewers as well as readers, the book must look professional in terms of the cover, marketing copy, layout, and of course the writing and editing. There are shortcuts for some of these — for instance, buying a “pre-made” cover instead of commissioning artwork on your own — but other aspects require professional help, which will cost money. Authors that take the “Do it yourself” route make mistakes that turn off readers and reviewers (I’m speaking from experience — I started as a DIY self-publisher, but quickly switched to a professional model, hiring designers and editors and paying for more expensive marketing services)
- You can also submit the manuscript to professional publishers here and have them take care of these steps, but A) it’s almost impossible to get noticed unless you have a track record (for instance, your book has sold well in France, or you have published short stories in English-language science fiction anthologies), B) you will lose control of many aspects of the process that the publisher will insist on managing and C) the payout will be less if it is successful. It also takes a long time to get accepted by a publisher and for the publisher to go through their editorial and production processes.
- One of the best programs for marketing the book and getting early reviews is NetGalley. I use it for every new book release. The basic idea is your ebook manuscript gets distributed to readers who like science fiction books, and they will publish their reviews on NetGalley (which you can excerpt in your marketing campaign or on your website) and sometimes on Amazon, Goodreads, and personal blogs. Note that you do not have control over the reviewers, and if they don’t like the book, they will say so in their reviews. This is why having a professional-grade book is so important.
- It is also possible to purchase advertising on Facebook and Amazon, but I don’t know how this works for publishers based outside of the United State – my impression is Amazon is particularly restrictive.
I don’t have any specific suggestions for SF blogs or Facebook groups, as I don’t use these methods for promotion, and I am not sure how effective they are for building interest or sales. To get started with NetGalley, I recommend joining an author or publisher group which frequently has discounted deals with NetGalley. The one I use is a three-month promotion via the Independent Book Publishers Association, which costs $199 (IBPA membership is $139 per year, which includes a lot of other benefits including discounted marketing and publishing services).
Another resource for general advice for writing and publishing in the U.S. is Jane Friedman’s blog.