Lots of Strategies to Get Book Reviews
By Melinda Brasher
This is what we all want:
20,000 reviews on Amazon, mostly good. But even the author pictured here had to
start somewhere.
Getting reviews for your
book takes time, effort, and lots of patience, but it'll help your visibility
and sales.
People hold varying opinions
about the ethics of reviews. Paying for GOOD reviews is always unethical, while
some argue that it's okay to pay for HONEST reviews, especially through big
impersonal organizations like Kirkus. Whatever your opinion, here are some strategies
for getting reviews without any money changing hands.
Strategies to Get Reviews
-If you belong to a critique
group, many of your fellow critiquers will be happy to review, as will some of
your other author friends. To avoid potential awkwardness, make it an invitation
instead of a request, and don't pressure or feel offended if they don't. Some
people don't like mixing friendship and reviews.
-In your e-book, be sure to
add a call to action in the end matter, something like, "If you enjoyed
this book, please leave a review on Amazon or your favorite book site, even if
it's just a sentence or two telling what you liked. Thank you." A lot of readers
don't realize how important this is, and might not think of reviewing, even if
they loved your book.
-Nicely ask for reviews from
the fans on your e-mail list.
-Reach out to bloggers who
do reviews of books similar to yours. You can find lists of book blogs online,
like on The Indie View
(for Indie Books). You can also search for reviews of books in your genre. Bloggers
often post their review policies and instructions about how to contact them. Most
are pretty selective, but if your work looks right for their tastes, pitch
them.
-Blogtour.org is a free site
where you can meet up with bloggers willing to do guest posts, excerpts,
blurbs, interviews, etc for blog tours. Some also do reviews.
-Participate actively in
Goodreads groups. Many have sections where you can offer free books in exchange
for reviews or participate in review circles and read-to-review groups. Be sure to advertise in
the appropriate section, and only after you've contributed to the group by
commenting on other posts.
-If you have a paperback
version, do a Goodreads giveaway. People enter to win a copy and then you mail
it to them. Winners of these competitions tend to review more often than random
readers, especially if you mention that reviews are appreciated. Giveaways also
get your book added to members' "to read" lists, which may eventually
lead to sales and reviews. In your description for the giveaway, put
eye-catchers first, like short quotes from reviewers or "FREE AUTOGRAPHED
COPY."
-You can also run giveaways
of e-books at places like LibraryThing.
-The most effective way to
get good reviews, according to Jim
Kukral of AuthorMarketing, is to find people on Amazon who have positively
reviewed books similar to yours. Check their profile pages. If they've listed
their e-mail address, you can contact them. Send a nice personalized e-mail
telling them that you saw their review on such and such book, and that you've
written a similar book. Ask if you could provide them a free copy in the hopes
that they'd consider reading and reviewing it too. Be sure to emphasize that if
they take it, they can choose not to review it, and if they review it, they're
under no obligation to give a positive review. Thank them. This takes a lot of
work, since you have to find reviewers that are still active and have listed
their contact information, but you're more likely to reach people who will like
your work and possibly become long-term fans.
-Work on getting your book
out there, using the promotional strategies on this blog and any others you've
learned or imagined. The more readers you have, the more reviews you'll get.
So…
When is the best time to
start looking for reviews? Before your book launches. Can you still work at it
long after the book is published? Of course.
Keep plugging away. All
these strategies take time, and only a fraction of the people you contact will
actually end up posting a review, but every review helps—even the not-so-positive
ones. And as always, keep writing!
Melinda Brasher's short
story, "Stalked,"
about an ill-fated space colony and a camping trip that doesn't go as expected,
appears in March's edition of On the
Premises. Read it free by clicking above. When she's not writing, she loves
traveling and plotting ways to escape the Phoenix summer. Visit her online at http://www.melindabrasher.com/
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http://www.writersonthemove.com/2014/04/strategies-to-get-book-reviews.html
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I hope you found this information interesting and helpful. Too advanced, not enough, just right? I’d really love to know, so please leave a comment – good or bad or email me at: karencioffi@ymail.com
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