Today, I’ll share three tips for getting book reviews. Look for more tips tomorrow.
1: Write a book that reviewers will want to review. Now this sounds like a big fat no-brainer, doesn’t it? But think about it. What more could you do to make your book in progress more appealing to reviewers—more appropriate for a larger number of reviewers?
I advise authors to build promotion into their books—in other words, to add wider dimensions to attract a larger audience. This practice will also attract a greater array of reviewers. But also keep in mind your primary audience for the genre or topic you are writing in.
2: Seek out magazine book reviewers. Not every magazine runs book reviews, but many of them do. Editors of some literary magazines and others that publish fiction, review books. Some genre fiction magazine editors publish book reviews—this might include science fiction, romance, horror, young adult and children’s.
Likewise there are hundreds of consumer and association/trade magazines that run book reviews on appropriate books. My book on presenting a Hawaiian luau on the mainland was reviewed in dozens and dozens of cooking and foods magazines. My writing/publishing-related books have been reviewed in numerous writing and publishing magazines and newsletters. There are magazines in every category imaginable—business, child-rearing, pets and animals, public speaking, finance, fitness and health, education, sports, hobby and craft and on and on and on.
Again, the more aspects you have skillfully worked into your novel or nonfiction book, the more potential you have for getting your book reviewed. Here’s an example: Write a book about a run-of-the-mill factory worker and his life after divorce and your book will likely appeal to a relatively narrow audience of reviewers. Add the fact that he (or another character) are dealing with an affliction such as deafness or ALS, for example, and they have a therapy dog that saved someone’s life, and you’ve expanded your options. Now you may get a review in fiction and relationship magazines as well as those related to handicaps, ALS/deafness, therapy dogs and animal heroes.
To find publications and sites where they post reviews, study Writer’s Market and other directories of publications. Do an Internet search to locate directories of book reviewers.
3: Make the most of what you have. Okay, your book is a done deal. How can you maximize your book review options? Get personal with your book. Dissect it and jot down what you find. For example, what city is the story set in? Pursue reviews in regional magazines in that area. Do you have a section in your budgeting book for teaching children money-awareness? Parenting magazines might be a good secondary review option for this book. Is your book clean and honorable? Consider reviews in religious magazines. Maybe your novel has a séance scene. This may provide an opportunity for a review in a metaphysical or New Age publication.
In the meantime, visit my websites: http://www.matilijapress.com and check out my array of books. Download a free copy of my ebooklet, “How to Establish Your Author Platform.” http://www.patriciafry.com
The reviews for my novels are coming in like crazy. Some are wonderfully flattering, others not so much. A review is just an opinion, after all. It’s a shame when someone publicly reviews a book that is not exactly their cup of tea. Sigh. But it does happen. Asking for a review can be a crap shoot. Check out all three novels from my Klepto Cat Mystery series, Catnapped, Cat-Eye Witness and Sleight of Paw. They’re all on Kindle at Amazon.com