Book promotion was once all concerning book tours and book reviews in print media. These days the reviews that count don't seem to be all within the print media. They are principally on on-line bookstores, particularly the Amazon bookstore community.
Amazon has become thus powerful that authors will invest scarce resources to get reviewed there. Many authors have false beliefs concerning what it takes to urge an on-line book review. It's truly quite straightforward and straightforward.
As a prolific reviewer and a published author, I have experienced the method and have some tips to share with authors who wish to create on-line reviews a key part of their book promotion.
1st, I'm horrified to learn that authors pay freelancers and agencies to write down reviews for them. This can be a huge waste of money. Instead, use your budget to send review copies to the foremost prolific reviewers in your genre. Scan the reviewer's past reviews to get their tastes. For instance, if you've got a book on parenting newborn babies, take a look at other books on this topic. Notice that reviewers appear genuinely interested. They will most likely be happy to review your book, too.
Anyway, one or two nice reviews can not save your book. Whether or not one or 2 reviewers suppose your book ranks up there with War and Peace and therefore the top-selling Stephen King novel, they can not save your book. It's the cumulative ratings that create viral selling for your book.
Do not raise reviewers to put in writing a review based mostly on one chapter or a pdf version of the book. Send a exhausting copy of the entire book.
Once a reviewer agrees to think about reviewing your book, move on to your next marketing step. Don't hound the reviewer. Most prolific reviewers have backlog of books in the "To Review" pile. Some reviewers will opt for not to review a book (especially one from a self-published author or small press) if they do not like the book. They reason that it's going nowhere,so why raise the author's pain?
And you can't complain regarding your review. Believe it or not, the foremost convincing reviews are balanced. The puffy reviews don't seem to be taken seriously. On-line readers are good and their authenticity radar is finely-tuned.
Do not spend a lot of cash on packaging. Skip the gold wrapping paper, ribbons and glossy flyers. I am unable to imagine how they might influence a reviewer.
After all, the best approach to get a handful of 4-star and five-star reviews is to (drum roll, please!) write a good book. Nothing will complete a unhealthy book, even if you somehow convince your friends and family to jot down glowing reviews. The online book community will choose up vibes from those reviews and you'll be worse off. Readers truly complain, "The first 20 reviews appear as if they came from the author's mother."
You'll be in a position to blast your way to best seller standing with a huge campaign. But you won't get authentic five-star reviews unless your book truly earns them.
Author Resource:
Carey Howard has been writing articles online for nearly 2 years now. Not only does this author specialize in Reviews, you can also check out his latest website about: