crazy ideas for finding reviewers

tko · Oct 1, 2010

(1) advertise on Craigs list. "Free Romance novel to the first 10 people who respond, I pay up to $25 for your comments." (like those free movie passes they hand out.) Sounds crazy but maybe it would work?
(2) Look at reviews of similar books on Amazon, find a reviewer you think is intelligent, email the poster. In 5 minutes I located one guy who has traveled the world, loves reading, and posted over 300 reviews.
(3) Find a local book club, contact them to see if they have any interest.
(4) Visit a local hospital or nursing home, bring some free book, talk to some people.

Add your own thoughts for finding reviewers!

mscelina · Oct 1, 2010

1) Paying for reviews automatically discounts them. The opinon isn't unbiased.
2) Reviews from readers without credentials don't really carry much clout. There's a huge difference between getting a review from a well known site like Novelspot and getting reviewed by the Joe Schmoe nursing home or the West Tinytown book club.
3) just because you solicit a review does not necessary mean you're going to get a positive, helpful review.

The best way to get your book reviewed is to submit it to established, credible review sites or organizations. The best way to get your book reviewed by readers on Amazon is to generate sales. If you focus on sales, the reviews will follow--and if you've written a good book, those reviews will generate more sales.

Polenth · Oct 1, 2010

tko said:
(1) advertise on Craigs list. "Free Romance novel to the first 10 people who respond, I pay up to $25 for your comments." (like those free movie passes they hand out.) Sounds crazy but maybe it would work?

If you want to get comments from a bunch of random readers, persuade your publisher to participate in early reader schemes on the book social networking sites. You'll get reviews from those readers and buzz from the people reading the book description and trying to get on the reader list.

You also won't pay, as the publisher foots the bill for the books and sending them out.

kaitie · Oct 1, 2010

The problem with that is who's going to bother to really read the book for a comment? Aside from being biased, you're more likely to get a cookie-cutter generic thing like, "I really liked this book. The characters were great and the story was awesome." The kind of things you see often on Amazon where people clearly haven't read the book. I don't see how it would help at all.

job · Oct 1, 2010

I'd suggest a couple things to somebody who wants reviews for publicity.

-- Get the publisher to send the book to the review sites you follow and respect.

-- Google "review" and the titles of books similar to your own to find other sites that will enjoy your work. They have the audience you are trying to reach.

-- Start a blog with interesting content related to your body of work. If your protagonist is a werewolf who's sailing around the world . . . blog on interesting vacation spots for werewolves. Look at the world's great cities from the point of view of supernatural tourists.

You get my drift here? The blog showcases your writing skill. The content of the blog attracts people who want to read the content in your book.

-- Don't game Amazon. So many people are doing this that even old ladies from Fargo aren't fooled any more.

Besides. It's sleazy. It's bad karma. The gods of writing are not mocked.

-- Work on the next book instead of doing all this . . .

dangerousbill · Oct 1, 2010

mscelina said:
The best way to get your book reviewed is to submit it to established, credible review sites or organizations. The best way to get your book reviewed by readers on Amazon is to generate sales. If you focus on sales, the reviews will follow--and if you've written a good book, those reviews will generate more sales.

Seems like good advice, but how likely is the New York Review of Books to pick up something from an unknown or new author, especially if it doesn't arrive as an ARC? For example, my wife wrote a very good history book in 1998; we sent out 200 copies to appropriate review sites without getting a single review.

Reviews are supposed to generate sales. If you don't have the sales, where do the reviews come from? This is a chicken and egg situation guaranteed to defeat a new author. Focusing on sales includes getting reviews, whether it's from The New Yorker or my grandmother.

It's the Matthew Law at work. If you're an established author like Franzen, you don't need reviews, but every review site in the world has reviewed 'Freedom'. Debut authors are lucky to get a review in the hometown newspaper.

Dangerous Bill

kaitie · Oct 1, 2010

Who was your wife's publisher? I'm under the impression that publishers typically send out things like that for the purpose of getting reviews, as was said above. If you didn't have ARCs, was it because the book was self-published? I can understand why reviewers tend to shy away from self-published works. I'd assume that a lot of books being reviewed in general, however, are written by unknown authors.

job · Oct 2, 2010

kaitie said:
was it because the book was self-published?

Oh. You may be right about this.

Self-published is a dreadfully hard row to hoe. Just about no reviewers will bother to look at self-published works.

dangerousbill · Oct 2, 2010

It was 'quasi'-self published. My company, which actually does instrument design, was the publisher.

As it happened, we sold out the first printing of 3000, though it took five years and a lot of work. Since it concerned Northern Illinois, its geographical market was limited. On the other hand, once it made its way into book circles, its popularity rose to a peak around the two-year mark.

It was never reviewed.

Other lessons learned:
1. Don't waste money on print advertising.
2. Don't waste time on bookstore readings. Good for the ego but not for the sales.
3. Amazon is (or was) your friend.
4. So are local, independent bookstores. Cultivate them.

Half our sales were made through Amazon, many of the rest through a single local store.

Dangerous Bill

job · Oct 2, 2010

dangerousbill said:
It was 'quasi'-self published. My company . . .
it concerned Northern Illinois

Regional histories are a great example of stuff that works well, self-published.
I own histories of English towns, cathedrals, houses, archeological sites and so on that I use for background research, most of them with micro print runs.

We're a big tourist center where I live. Several folks here are successful with self-published books and pamphlets -- historical cookbooks, walking tours of town, hiking trails, a 'ghost guide', things to do with kids in the region, fly-fishing and so on. These sell hundreds of copies a year in the local books stores and sporting goods and in the giftshops at the local tourist attractions.

Self-published fiction is not distributed in the same way. Your experience with a regional history probably doesn't apply to the OP, who seems to have written a Romance.

mscelina · Oct 2, 2010

dangerousbill said:
Seems like good advice, but how likely is the New York Review of Books to pick up something from an unknown or new author, especially if it doesn't arrive as an ARC? For example, my wife wrote a very good history book in 1998; we sent out 200 copies to appropriate review sites without getting a single review.

Reviews are supposed to generate sales. If you don't have the sales, where do the reviews come from? This is a chicken and egg situation guaranteed to defeat a new author. Focusing on sales includes getting reviews, whether it's from The New Yorker or my grandmother.

It's the Matthew Law at work. If you're an established author like Franzen, you don't need reviews, but every review site in the world has reviewed 'Freedom'. Debut authors are lucky to get a review in the hometown newspaper.

Dangerous Bill

The point is that the only reviews that matter in the grand scheme of things are reviews from people/sites that have credibility, and advertising on Craigs List and paying people to review a book--and in particular a self-published nonfiction book--just isn't going to work. For the kinds of reviews that sort of book needs, you need to go a different route--professors, newspapers, magazines and other publications that deal with that particular kind of book. You need people with some kind of expertise or clout to review the book, not the ladies at the library book club.

So instead of spending money to get people to review the book who don't have the ability to generate sales, why not focus that money on advertising? I guarantee you you'll get more sales generated from the placement of advertising in media outlets that have an interest in the subject matter of that book (for example--a regional magazine in your area) than you would tossing out twenty bucks a pop trying to lure random people in as reviewers.

Susan Coffin · Oct 2, 2010

After I read my writing pal Joe Quirk's book Exult, and told him how much I liked it, he asked if I would be willing to write an Amazon review. I said yes! No money exchanged, just a favor for a friend.

Go to people you know who have read the book and liked it. Ask them to post a review at Amazon.

I think reader reviews do count, especially if you buy books from online sources. You want to know what others think. I think reviews from well known people are an absolute godsend.

veinglory · Oct 2, 2010

My first question would be: what do you want the reviews for? feedback to you, promotional testimonials, to actually sell books?

MumblingSage · Oct 2, 2010

SusanL said:
After I read my writing pal Joe Quirk's book Exult, and told him how much I liked it, he asked if I would be willing to write an Amazon review. I said yes! No money exchanged, just a favor for a friend.

Go to people you know who have read the book and liked it. Ask them to post a review at Amazon.

I think reader reviews do count, especially if you buy books from online sources. You want to know what others think. I think reviews from well known people are an absolute godsend.

As a reader who has occasionaly bought books off Amazon on a whim, the reader reviews are a major deciding factor. Particularily if they're detailed and positive.

amyashley · Oct 2, 2010

I second all of the above. Did you have a beta reader? Ask them to submit a review. Amazon reviews carry weight with me as well. I read them and often go with averages as well as descriptions of the book. I don't buy based on sales.

tko · Oct 3, 2010

no, no!

I guess I wasn't clear. I'm not interested in getting Amazon reviews posted to drum up sales.

I am interested in finding passionate readers who enjoy the style of book I intent to write.

I would ask people to read my book in the same way movie studios give out free tickets at the theater - they want people who go to movies to see their movies.

Any body I'd contact I ask for a personal evaluation if they enjoyed the book. That's it.

I'm don't really see how a canned review site could have enough interest and enthusiasm to read a novel. It might look if you could find a reviewer who fit you genre.

MumblingSage · Oct 3, 2010

I guess I wasn't clear. I'm not interested in getting Amazon reviews posted to drum up sales.

I am interested in finding passionate readers who enjoy the style of book I intent to write.

I'm not entirely clear on what you're asking here, but I think passionate readers who would enjoy your style of writing might not realize they do until they read an Amazon (or other professional, detailed) review.

thothguard51 · Oct 3, 2010

Promotion has very little to do with getting a reviews, in out of the way places. Reviews by unknowns are useless in most cases because no one knows to visit their site, who they are, or what they their skill level is. Most readers would not even know how to review a book other than to tell you what they liked. And what they liked does not mean the next reader is going to have the same taste.

I think what the OP is really searching for is people who will spread word-of-mouth recommendations by offering them a free book. But the route he is talking about taking is fairly expensive and very time consuming. Most self published or small vanity books take about two years to really catch on, if at all.

job · Oct 3, 2010

tko said:
I am interested in finding passionate readers who enjoy the style of book I intent to write.

Many folks at AW hope to sell their books for money. They're going to be interested in reviews that will help sales, rather than reviews for personal gratification. Thus, they want reviews on well-known review sites.

If you are not trying to sell the book . . . have you considered 'showcase' sites?
Here are a few.

Here, here, here, and here.

I do not recommend them -- certainly not to anyone who wants to sell their work -- but these are places where you can post your work. You may get people to read and comment.

Do not pay these showcase websites anything. At all. Ever.

An advantage of the showcase sites is that you can get comment on work that is not completed. If you have only written a few chapters, you can put them up.

Another possibility is to set up a blog with an excerpt. You could offer to send the book free to anyone who would comment.

nkkingston · Nov 15, 2010

Don't bother with 1. You'll end up sending out a lot of books and never hearing anything again, even with a financial incentive. 2, 3 and 4 are reasonable ideas (2 is a bit shaky, but not terrible).

LibraryThing (and Goodreads, I think) have an early reviewers program. You set out how many books you're willing to give away for reviews and people request them based on the blurb. You then decide who out of those who requested it get a copy. Odds are you'll get people who are already into the genre, and will judge your book against similar ones, rather than complaining because your post-apocalyptic dystopia didn't have a happy romantic ending. Reviewers will post on the book site, but you can always ask them to put their reviews in Amazon and so on too. Of course, you won't necessarily get positive ones.

Try the review blogs before you despair of industry reviews. Don't just send books out willy-nilly; email and ask if they're willing to review your book first (and also to get an idea of their review schedule - do you want to send out a copy of your book when you may not hear back for 18 months?). Some blogs exist specifically to review self-published work. In terms of driving traffic to Amazon, these may even be more effective (providing the review is good) than print reviews, because the link can be embedded in the review. Voila, impulse purchase!

colealpaugh · Dec 1, 2010

veinglory said:
My first question would be: what do you want the reviews for? feedback to you, promotional testimonials, to actually sell books?

Your reviews are a definite coup for any writer...

veinglory · Dec 2, 2010

tko said:
I am interested in finding passionate readers who enjoy the style of book I intent to write ... I'm don't really see how a canned review site could have enough interest and enthusiasm to read a novel.

Review sites are running by passionate readers of whatever format, type or genre of book they are offering to review, they are read by same.

8thSamurai · Dec 2, 2010

Oh boy.

Amazon reviews are not going to help drum up an audience, and unlikely to help sell the book.

The 'look inside' feature is much more useful.

Here's how I shop Amazon - and I don't think that it's unusual.

Mostly, I go to find things that I'm already looking for, that aren't in the physical bookstores near me. Older works in a series that I follow, for example.

Technical books by one particular small press that caters to my trade.

I don't read the reviews for these at all - I already like the series, and when spending 80 bucks on a tech book, you better believe I've done my homework beforehand.

I do read reviews for art and photography books. They're honestly the most useful way of telling what 'level' the book is written on based on the writer's skill level.

I've spent a couple thousand dollars there this year. Guess how many works of fiction I've purchased there without specifically looking for them?

Zero.

I've bought a couple based on friend's recommendations, or really interesting peer reviews on a genre specific site. Chances are, I'm not even going to FIND a book browsing online, because I don't do it. And Amazon reviews for fiction just really don't hold much weight.

I'm not going to look at a book cover, read the reviews, and decide to buy it. I may or may not bother to use the look inside feature - if that book hasn't gotten a glowing recommendation from someone I know and trust, and who's reading tastes are similar, I'm not spending the money.

8thSamurai · Dec 2, 2010

And I'm pretty offended by the 'canned review site' crap.

I DO review books for a small, well respected magazine. Yep, it pays crap in cash, and treasure in free books.

The MAGAZINE pays me, not the writer, and not the publisher of the book I'm reviewing. That would be a huge conflict of interest, and cast a justifiable suspicion on the veracity and quality of the reviews.

My reviews are only biased based upon my own personal tastes, not the purse strings of some individual (also known as bribery).

JohnnyGottaKeyboard · Dec 24, 2010

tko said:
(4) Visit a local hospital or nursing home, bring some free book, talk to some people.

Well, heck. After reading the OP I was primed to take my M/M Erotica down to the local senior center. After reading all the responses, I'm not so sure...

crazy ideas for finding reviewers

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