Writing and Publishing News

Are you still trying to get your book reviewed? What’s holding things up? Most new authors simply don’t know how to approach the process of book reviews. They don’t know the scope of their book review opportunities. Maybe this will help:

1: Write a book that reviewers will want to review. Follow my advice and build promotion into your book while you’re writing it. In other words, add wider dimensions to attract a larger audience. This practice will also attract a greater array of reviewers.

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.

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.

4: Locate appropriate publications. You probably have magazines in your genre or topic on your own book shelves. Start there. Scan magazines at your local library and bookstores. Study Writer’s Market to find additional magazines related to your book’s theme. Do a Google search to locate even more magazines and newsletters. Here are a few newsletter directories:
http://www.newsletteraccess.com.
http://www.mediafinder.com
http://www.oxbridge.com/ODNCluster/theODN.asp

5: Contact appropriate publications with your review package. I suggest sending a query/introduction letter or email asking if you can submit your book to them for review. Include a flyer, brochure or simply a description of your book. (A color image of the cover is always a good idea.) Be sure to point out what makes it appropriate to their audience.

If you are invited to send the book, package it carefully along with your brochure, promo postcard, business cards and a cover letter. In the letter, remind the book reviewer that they requested the book for review. Be sure to include your contact information and website address, in case they want to look up additional information about you or your company, for example.

6: Keep accurate records. Log every review package and book that goes out—when, to whom and be sure to log contact information.

After about three weeks, if you have not heard from a reviewer who requested your book, contact him/her and ask if they received the book and when they have it scheduled for review

7: Express your gratitude. Once the review has been posted, send a thank you note to the reviewer.

Unless your book is seriously obscure, you should be able to land book reviews in dozens of publications. And the book doesn’t have to be hot off the presses. Maybe you neglected to solicit book reviews when the book was fresh. Don’t let that stop you from trying to get some publicity now. Go ahead and contact appropriate book reviewers. If it is a worthwhile book, most of them will say, yes.

How much will this cost you? Absolutely nothing! It is a rare reviewer that will charge for a book review in a magazine or newsletter. Sure, there are book review site where they charge. There are publications devoted to book reviews that charge. But, magazines and newsletters that include a book review section, rarely charge for a book review. They offer them as a service to their audience.

For more about how to get book reviewers, read my book, The Right Way to Write, Publish and Sell Your Book. http://www.matilijapress.com/rightway.html

Sign up for my on-demand, online book promotion course: http://www.matilijapress.com/course_bookpromotion.htm

This entry was posted on Saturday, November 7th, 2009 at 5:42 am and is filed under Book Promotion. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.