How to Get Book Reviews

Whether you self-publish a book, publish with a small press, or get that mainstream press book deal, you’re probably going to have to hunt down book reviews. That’s right, even authors on a mainstream press need to do a lot of the legwork. Hiring a PR firm can cost in the thousands of dollars so that’s not always an option. With the addition of online book reviewers, there are now countless places for you to get your book read and reviewed.

Difficulty: Moderate

Instructions

Things You'll Need:

• Published book
• Press pack
• Packing materials

1. 

   Set a budget—including the cost of books and postage. You may be looking to send out at least 50 books.

2. 

   Design a press pack: include books published, with a high-quality cover image, author bio, and past reviews—both of the new book as well as books you’ve published in the past.

3. Write a good, concise cover letter. Do not oversell the book—i.e. “The best book ever written by an American.”

4. 

   Seek out niche reviewers. If you’ve written a self-help book, science fiction novel, or a cookbook, pinpoint those reviewers who specialize in your genre. This is true of self-published books as well. There are a number of self-publish-only book reviewers.

5. 

   Send the book out to general book review sites, blogs, and literary magazines. Make sure that a query letter is not needed beforehand.

6. 

   Contact local newspapers. Is the book of particularly local interest? Is it article worthy? Make this clear in your correspondence.

7. 

   Follow up on books you have sent out. This means keep an itemized list of contact information of places where you’ve sent the book. Some reviewers may need a reminder, but don't become a pest.

Tips & Warnings

• In your press packet, don’t overload the respondent with information. In some sense, the book should speak for itself. But a professionally bound press pack can help a book be taken seriously.
• Contact other writers. Blurbs from well-known writers can really help a book stand out.
• When you get new reviews, add these to your press pack when you send the book out to new reviewers.
• Be patient. Reviewers get hundreds of books waiting to be read. For this reason it’s a good idea to send out books well in advance of the release date.
• Don’t set yourself up for a letdown: it’s a rare case that every book you send out will be reviewed. If 75% are reviewed, this is a good ratio.
• Be wary of pay-for-review services that charge outrageous fees.

[kaseysviewblog]

on 7/13/2008 Very good advice, I would also suggest getting a MySpace account. It's a great place for author's to network.

[kaseysviewblog]

on 7/13/2008 Very good advice, I would also suggest getting a MySpace account. It's a great place for author's to network.

[kaseysviewblog]

on 7/13/2008 Very good advice, I would also suggest getting a MySpace account. It's a great place for author's to network.

[jfmalewitz]

on 12/29/2007 I am about to publish an ebook and this is a strategy I am going to use. It is different when your not, at least immediately, planning to publish print copies. The press packet is something I needed to hear. I have also heard of many sites which offer to publish press releases for free, which just might sell a few books. Thanks for sharing this.

[triplej]

on 4/19/2007 All very good points. I would add you want to tap into online bookseller sites like Amazon.com and BarnesandNoble.com. User reviews have become a powerful marketing tool for getting the word out. I'm sure you've got plenty of fans by now, and they've read your book. Send out emails to this group, with links, encouraging them to write reviews. You don't want them to plant bogus reviews (that will bite you in the end). Instead, give them some direction and encourage them to be critical. They shouldn't feel compelled to write only a glowing review. A critical review that recommends the book will always hold more weight than a glowing review that comes off like marketing copy or worse, like your mother wrote it.