Promoting FTL

Help spread the word!

If you’re interested in Files that Last, it’s most likely because you’re interested in in helping more people to learn about digital preservation. This means you want more people to know about the book, right? You can help with this by mentioning the book, rating it, and reviewing it. Reviews are the life of a book. I like favorable reviews best, of course, but say what you like.

A review of a tech book is different from a review of a novel, and people sometimes find them harder to write. The basics to get in are the book’s subject matter, technical level, and target audience, and how well it conveys what it’s discussing. What will it help readers do? Does it present information clearly? Does it leave out anything important? Do you need to be a specialist to understand it? If you are a specialist, will you learn new things from it? Would it be useful in a class?

If you’ve got your own website, blog, or social media page, that’s a good place to review books. Reviews on distributors’ websites are also good, and a thoughtful review of even a couple of sentences will carry more weight than the “Great book” or “Hated it” reviews that make up the bulk of what’s on those sites. Forums on related topics are also good venues, if they allow book reviews.

You can review Files that Last on:

• Smashwords
• Goodreads
• Kobo
• iTunes

Generally you need to have an account, and in some cases you need to have bought the book on that site.

Of course, citing FTL in a professional publication is one of the best recommendations of all. This has to come when it’s relevant to your article, naturally, so I’m not asking anyone to go out of their way to do it; but if if it’s the right work to list in a footnote, don’t hesitate.

If you don’t have time for a review, spreading the word through the sharing buttons also helps. Thanks for your support!