[stylist] Article for indie publishers on getting reviews

[Donna Hill]

Hi Friends,
Since we were talking about the article on Jerry, and since I recently had
two articles in local papers (articles, not reviews), I thought I'd share
the following article I found on the subject.  One of the big debates in the
indie author community is whether or not to buy reviews; some companies like
Kircus, charge for reviewing your book; they don't promise that you'll like
the review, which is how they maintain a higher level of respect in the
industry. Anyway, this article is how to get reviews without paying for
them. The text follows the title & URL.

Donna

From: The Alliance of Independent Authors's Blog. 

How To Get Book Reviews

http://selfpublishingadvice.org/blog/get-your-self-published-book-reviewed/

 

1 year ago by Orna Ross - ALLi 20 

 

Trying to get readers to write a review is like getting your two-year-old
child to take a horrible-tasting medicine, says ALLi member and regular
contributor, Giacomo (Jim) Giammatteo. But it is possible and it is worth
it.  In the first of a three-part series on reviews, he explains how he gets
more than twenty reviews a month.

 

The Process of Getting Reviews

 

I launched my book in mid April 2012. Since then I have managed to get seven
editorial reviews, 77 reviews on Amazon, and another 44 reviews on
Goodreads. No matter how you look at it, that's a lot of reviews (more than
20 per month) so how do you get that many reviews?

 

I can tell you it's not by having a big family. I didn't have my wife write
one (mostly for fear of what she'd say) and I didn't have either of my sons
write a review. A few family members did write reviews-the ones who read the
kind of books I write. And guess what, one of those reviews was not a five
star. (Yeah, I know. Tough family)

 

For what it's worth, here's the secret-work your butt off and put in a lot
of time. Here are my suggestions.

Your Book-In the back of your book put a statement about how important
reviews are, and ask the readers to please leave a review. Don't ask for a
good review, just an honest one.

Internet-Spend time scouring the internet for sites that review books, and
then send out emails asking them to consider your book for a review. There
are a lot more sites than you might think. (I am in the process of putting
together a comprehensive list of reputable review sites, so check with me in
a few weeks if you're interested.)

Bloggers-This one is perhaps the most important. Do your research. Find the
bloggers who read and review in your genre. Follow their instructions and
guidelines. Most of them have their policies posted on the site. Read them.
Did I mention, Read the Review Policies?

Make sure you send your book to reviewers who are interested in your kind of
book. I made this mistake, resulting in three of my worst reviews. These
reviewers were appalled at the violence and use of language in my book. I
don't blame them; it was my fault. I should have done more checking.

Giveaways-This is huge. I have done two giveaways on Goodreads and two on
LibraryThing in four months. I gave away 13 print books on Goodreads and
more than 60 books on LibraryThing. What was huge about it wasn't the number
of reviews the giveaways generated-which wasn't nearly what I
anticipated-but the additional exposure, especially on Goodreads. During the
most recent giveaway I had more than 70 people add my book to their TBR
shelf. Long term, that will pay off.

Giveaways-I know I just said this, but now I'm talking a different kind of
giveaway. These are personal giveaways and this can pay off in a big way.
Talk about your book. Don't be a pest but, if you see an opportunity, talk
about it, and give the book away to anyone you think might enjoy reading it.
Especially the kind of people who spread the word. I gave books away to my
doctor, dentist, mechanic, a cop. My wife gave them to her hairdresser,
friends she has in the sanctuary business. Some of these have paid off big
time. One of those connections looks like it will get me an article in the
paper.

Giveaways-What? More giveaways? Yes. Absolutely. Now I'm talking
social-media giveaways. If you get in a conversation on Twitter-give your
book away. If you're talking to someone on Facebook or Linked-in-give the
book away. G+, Pinterest-give them away. Any chance you get, give a book
away. And don't forget to politely ask for a review. The keyword in this
section is conversation. I'm not talking about spamming your book all over
Twitter, or mentioning it in every Facebook post. I'm talking about actually
engaging people and getting into a conversation with them.

Bribery-Perhaps the biggest opportunity of all. If a reader writes to you to
tell you how much they liked the book, don't pester them for a review, but
offer them your next book free if they leave a review. You'll get a high
percentage of people take you up on this, and the best thing is you can keep
the chain moving. If they leave a review on the next book, give them the one
after that free.

 

The Bottom Line

 

This is not an easy road. I spend more than an hour every day. Yes, every
day, doing something related to getting reviews, but in the long run I know
it will be worth it. If I can keep going at this rate, I'll have more than
200 reviews at the end of my first year. Sooner or later that will pay off.

 

And as far as that nonsense about paid reviews and fake reviews, and all the
furore it's causing, I wouldn't worry too much about it. I don't care how
many good reviews someone pays for, if their writing doesn't support it, the
word will get out. Will they sell some books along the way-sure, they might.
They might sell a lot. But at what price?

 

How much is your integrity worth?

 

* In the interest of full disclosure, I make a distinction between sites or
services that offer to sell you "good reviews" and legitimate sites that do
honest reviews, but also offer "expedited" reviews for a fee. These services
don't guarantee positive reviews, and from what I can tell they are
reputable. It's a shame because some of them will likely be tainted with
this scandal. I did make use of five of these sites, including Kirkus, to
get an "expedited" review when my book was launched.

 

 

Giacomo Giammatteo is the author of Murder Takes Time, and A Bullet For
Carlos. He lives in Texas where he and his wife have an animal sanctuary
housing 41 loving "friends."

 

-- The Heart of Applebutter Hill - a novel on a mission:

http://DonnaWHill.com <http://donnawhill.com/>