There are a lot of things I’ve learned this year, but none more complex than asking for reviews. For an author only a few months into publishing my third book, it’s important to note how best to launch that book. And good reviewers are the lifeblood of a book campaign (Author Marketing Club).
Publishers send out ARCs (Advanced Reader Copies) to a large group of reviewers three months prior to publication. This ensures that a good number of positive reviews are posted on the day the book goes live on Amazon. For an Indie Author it can be harder to find good reviewers who have a genuine appreciation for your book and genre.
We all want the five star reviews, but some of these can be extremely unhelpful. For instance, the one-liners such as ‘Loved it!’ ‘Couldn’t put it down’ ‘Highly recommended’ don’t give any indication as to why they loved it. Lower starred reviews can be a little gutting, but not all bad reviews are bad. Let’s face it, reviews influence book sales and that’s why we need them.
But where do I find these reviewers and how do I ask them? It’s all in Amazon Top Reviewer Gisela Hausmann’s book Naked Truths About Getting Book Reviews. She recommends asking top Amazon reviewers, book bloggers, (she provides links to their websites too), local newspapers and magazine editors, and she recommends a whole bunch of other ideas and resources you never knew existed.
Gisela says: ‘This is about empowerment for indie authors. It needs to become a movement. The more indie authors know about cheap and even free ways to promote themselves, the sooner the “predators” will be out of business.
A few points to consider when asking for reviews and these may seem like common sense. Find a reviewer who reviews your genre. Find friends who are willing to write well-written reviews and who genuinely love your book. Find a tribe of book-loving folk who enjoy books similar to yours. Gisela also recommends making your request unique and appealing. You might even persuade a reviewer to read a genre they don’t normally read.
Leave a review request at the end of your book and a chapter hyperlink (if publishing a Kindle or eBook) so readers can find it. Add a review request to your mailing list, possibly the most important factor in the lead up to publishing your book.
Since I’ve outdone myself on the word ‘review’ – Happy hunting!
Claire.
For a copy of Gisela Hausmann’s book, please click on the picture or go to http://www.amazon.com/NAKED-TRUTHS-About-Getting-Reviews-ebook/dp/B00TKGXG24?tag=smarturl-20
Visit Gisela Hausmann’s Webpage: http://www.giselahausmann.com/
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