The review process has been the most frustrating part of marketing my new novel on Social Media. The conventional wisdom about contacting Amazon reviewers and established reviewers has proven to be dead wrong. I wasted many months contacting these reviewers and did not receive a single reply. Although not a big name author, I am an established one, and receiving no response from over 60 queries was a complete surprise. That the Social Media Gurus had no clue about this was even more surprising. Here’s hoping the following information will be helpful and save you many months of frustration.
The number one tool for reviews is Goodreads. What better place to get established with reader/reviewers than to go where they are. There are only a few hundred established book reviewers that have millions of books to review, but there are several million readers who would like to be book reviewers. In today’s Social Media context readers carry more weight than established reviewers because other readers trust them and their message. So step number one step for getting reviews is to get established on Goodreads.
Step two is to give your book away on Goodreads. So far I’ve given away over a hundred books for giveaways and for review copies. At $15.00 each that is $1.500 and has proven to be worth every penny. You are not doing your book reviewers a favor by sending them a free book; they are doing you one by agreeing to review it. Consider that a reviewer spends 5 to 10 hours reading your book and then writing a review. If you broke down the cost of your book with the return you are getting the reviewer would be making about $1.50 per hour. Be thankful there are readers willing to review books, and be sure to send them a thank you note.
Once your giveaway is over the readers who have shown an interest in your book and marked it as a read will show up on the left side of the Goodreads screen. These are the readers you want to contact. And please note that no lawyer would sit a jury without going through the vetting process and finding jurors they are compatible with, and you shouldn’t either when vetting reviewers. In other words, don’t send your historical romance to a reader who loves science fiction. And when you check the reviews of readers who have shown an interest in your book, for obvious reasons, don’t send a copy to readers who consistently give one and two star reviews. And you should also skip the readers who give ratings but will not write a review.
When you click on the photo of the reader who has shown an interest there will be a send message link where you can send your message. My contact letter simply states that: I noticed on Goodreads that you have marked by book to read. If I send you a signed, hardcover, first edition copy of the novel, would write a review on Goodreads and on Amazon? Thank you so much for showing an interest in my book and for considering this proposal. You can check me out on Goodreads and on my website. (Put your links here.) Please send me your mailing address if you agree to read and review the novel. Salutations and signature and you are good to go.
And please keep in mind that regardless of your vetting process you may get zinged with a less than flattering review. Some reviewers won’t like your style, your views on politics, your handling of sex scenes and so on. My advice is to accept the bad review as part of the process and go on. And as difficult as it may be, never ever try to retaliate. You are not going to change anyone’s mind about your book and it will just make a bad situation worse. Better to concentrate your energies on getting more 4 and 5 star reviews to offset the bad review. This review process has worked very well for me and I hope it works as well for you, so good luck on getting those book reviews.
