Book Review Sites

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Vomaxx

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Do any published authors here have an opinion on whether having a book reviewed by online sites that accept books after publication (e.g., Midwest Book Review, Kaye Trout, Sf Review Net) results in any sales? I do not question the honesty or dedication of such sites (a long list of which can be found on the Midwest website); but I'd like to know if they in fact have brought anyone here tangible results.
 

flashgordon

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Well, I can't speak for the authors and whether they thought it was worth the effort, but I do know that books have sold based on reviews from my site. I can track the direct purchase to a review.
 

Michael Davis

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I do track hits to my site that are redirected from review sites and roughly one quarter of my aggregate hits come from reviews. To me, thats worth it. Plus, the ability to reference a five star review on your own site carries reader weight.
 

Angkor

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Avoid Midwest Book Review. They claim they will review books from indie publishers as well as self-published works, but they're very, very vague as to what criteria they use to make their decision to review or not. Many authors say they've sent in their books to Midwest, only to get no response and no review. A lot of the books they do decide to review appear to be frivolous, never seen on bookstore shelves, or any where. It's a total waste of money. In my own case, I managed to get a New York Times bestselling author to review my first novel. I then sent it to Midwest Book Review -- never heard a thing back. Stay away.
 

triceretops

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I would say a definite yes, reviews can lead to sales, which lead to word of mouth--sometime a great book catches fire. Small press and indie POD authors don't have much in the way of promo or marketing opportunities, and solid reviews from large popular sites do carry some weight as far as readership and exposure. Talking about the legit, free ones, of course, who ask nothing more than a PDF copy of an ebook or, an arc, or a publisher-donated print version. I had a few reviews result in a couple dozen sales. Problem is, you have to keep slinging that book out there, keeping your name and book title in constant circulation.

I must belong to over 30 display and reader's sites. I contribute articles, blog, and try to interact. It is massively time consuming and the results from these efforts are very poor to non-existent, as far as sales go. Why do I do it then? Ain't got no other choice in the matter. Keeps my Amazon rank down by those one-sey and two-sey sales, if that says anything.

Tri
 
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