Reviews are key to getting sales for your book, and a valuable resource is book blogs. On my blog’s sidebar is an extensive list, from the super busy who may not have time for you, to the ones just starting out who will be happy to get your request.
My Top Ten Tips on Getting Book Blog Reviews:
1. Start early researching reviewers. Don’t wait until your launch. Look for reviewers in your genre. They will have an About Us page as well as Guidelines for Requesting Reviews page. Read it carefully to see if they’ll be a good fit for you and your book.
2. Develop a relationship with the ones you pick. Follow their blogs and show up regularly. Comment on their posts. Thank them for their reviews. You yourself will need a blog to effectively implement this important step.
3. Pay attention to how they review a book. Some will copy and paste a Goodreads summary, and then give just a word or two about the book. Sorry, but this is not a review. You are looking for valid book reviewers, not just those willing to make an announcement about your new release. Watch for those who are intelligent, fair, and thorough in their reviews.
Helpful reviews will give highlights of the story, discuss themes, plot and characters, share how the story made them feel, talk about what they liked about it as well as what bothered them. “I don’t like the cover,” is not a review and is not helpful. You don’t want a reviewer who gushes over everything, or one who is too critical– you’re looking for a nice balance
4. Check out the title of their blog. It should be something that will display well with a quote or blurb on your website or your book page on Amazon. Again, check out my sidebar and see how cool some of these blog names are. They legitimize the review, add interest to the blurb.
5. After you have chosen your favorite reviewers and visited their blog so they know who you are and it’s finally time to email your review request to them, be sure to explain why you picked them. Copy and paste requests are too easily ignored and refused. Make it personal.
6. Be patient but clear. Reviewers get a lot of requests and the good ones are busy. The good ones also read the book all the way through and take their time in writing a thoughtful response. Tell them your release date, give them a deadline if they ask, but let them know you’d still value their review regardless of when they get to it.
7. Don’t get upset if it’s not the 5 star review you had hoped for. Positive blurbs can be gleaned from just about any response. I once asked one of my English professors for a blurb. Her response after reading my ms of Uncut Diamonds, was critical and in the end said she couldn’t recommend it. But she did say that she really loved the dialogue. Cool. We went with that because “I really love the dialogue…” makes a fine blurb.
8. Thank them privately, even if the review was less than you had hoped for. No need to add a thank you comment on your Amazon or Goodreads site. You want to be invisible and not seem like you’re checking out all your reviews and commenting on them. That inhibits potential reviewers. But a private email showing appreciation is appropriate and should be sufficient.
9. Don’t pay for anything. There was a time when paid review sites were popping up everywhere. After the negative press that led to Amazon removing reviews, I wouldn’t think paying for reviews is even considered anymore. I never have done it or recommended it. Why should we pay? There are thousands upon thousands book review blogs out there, with more popping up every day. They are book-lovers happy to get an ARC in exchange for a review. Do NOT pay for reviews. It’s completely unnecessary and even frowned on in the current climate.
10. Don’t stop now. After the excitement of your launch and those first initial reviews you may think, okay time to write the next book. Which it is, of course. But still continue following book reviewers, add to your repertoire, keep building those valuable relationships. New blurbs and reviews will add to the saleability of your book, even if it’s been out for awhile.
(This post was originally published on Karen’s blog at Coming Down the Mountain)
About Karen Gowen
Karen is the author of four books, cookie baker extraordinaire and the managing editor at WiDo Publishing. She and her husband Bruce currently reside in Utah. They are the parents of ten grown children. Not surprisingly, families are a recurring theme in her writing. She is currently at work on a cookbook and a book of essays on family life. Karen blogs on topics related to writing and publishing at Coming Down the Mountain. Her author website is karenjonesgowen.com.