10 Tips on How to Pitch Book Reviewers

Book-Review

Getting reviews is a bit like “Which came first: the chicken or the egg?” question. It’s harder to get people to buy your book if you don’t have reviews, but it’s hard to get reviews if people don’t buy and read your book.  Besides asking your readers for reviews – in person or in your last pages of the book – the second-best method is to follow book bloggers and reviewers and approach them eventually.
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However, there are a couple of rules how to proceed
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1. Follow the reviewers blog, as well as their Social Media sites.
2. Read at least a dozen of their reviews.
3. Double-check that they prefer the genre you are writing in.
4. Read carefully their submission guidelines – and follow to the point.
5. Only when you are “friends” for a while – at least online – query them for a review.
6. Submit the book exactly in the format the reviewer asks.
7. Wait. Wait. And wait some more… and if you are lucky your book will be reviewed in a couple of weeks / months.
8. Once the review appears on the website, and/or Amazon and Goodreads: email or post a thank-you note.
9. Link to the reviewers page when you post a snippet of the review.
10. If the reviewer is an author as well, promote his/her books too.
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Writer Beware of these Mistakes:
Scrolling through blog posts of reviewers and book bloggers, I am randomly citing some statements from some frustrated folks:

“What I hear most from top reviewers is that indie authors do NOT approach them with courtesy, or consideration for the types of books each reviewer prefers.  The sad fact is many new indie authors do NOT take the time to read reviewer instructions, and also often believe reviews sell books, so they keep searching for more reviews and do NOT promote their books.  Reviews are static unless they are read and they only get read when a book is in front of an audience–via promotion.”
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“I still get people asking me to review material I clearly do not read.  In my case, I spotlight romance and mystery, with some images that are explicit or graphic and the text is usually for adults only, but I receive countless request to review children’s books or middle grade.  I have a profile on Amazon and Goodreads, and my blog that clearly states what genres I will review.  Does anyone ever bother the look at my profile?”
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“If you want me to seriously consider your book, please spend the time to find out my name, and do not address your email vaguely “to whom it may concern” or such – I will immediately delete it.”
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“And please do not send me a bunch of links to look at – if you want me to spend a few hours reading your book and then spend another hour reviewing your book on various sites, please invest five minutes telling me about your book.  Again, if you just send me a bunch of vague links, I will delete your email without a reply.  It has come to this point, because I’m sick of vague, mass produced emails.  I don’t get paid for reviewing books.  Yes, I love to read and write reviews, but I do this for fun.”
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“Some authors take offence if their books don’t get a four or a five star review.  A three star rating is nothing to be ashamed of.  How many stars should be given to Stephen King, Harper Lee or J.K. Rowling?  Did you really just write a novel that comes anywhere close to their books?  When you write a novel of that caliber, you have earned a five star review.
You should be concerned with one and two star ratings, if the reviews mention plot failures, grammar, punctuation and faulty formatting.  Yes, some reviewers are cruel and take things too far sometimes.  But they embarrass themselves, not your book.  Readers who compare reviews will identify mean-spirited reviews.  And yes, authors need elephant hide to survive out there.  Most reviewers don’t want to make you mad or hurt your feelings.”
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Tips for “Advanced” Book Reviews:
Reviewers and book critiques from magazines and Newspapers can be important for multi-book authors when it comes to getting the word out about your work. Your novel might be the next great American classic, but if no one reviews it then … Literary critics, both offline and on, already have your prospective audience’s attention, so what can you do to guarantee that they focus it on your book? Well, unfortunately, the short answer is that you can’t. There’s no way of ensuring that a critic reviews your book. However, with just a little research, you can avoid making rookie mistakes that keep some books from even being considered for review.
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What are Rookie Mistakes when Offering a Book for Review?
Some major Magazine Book Critics gave almost identical advice for Advance Review Copies and how to pitch them:

  • Research what kinds of books the editor personally reviews for the magazine.  Don’t send your 18th novel to an editor of nonfiction or scientific books.
  • Use e-mail only.  Never call.  Never write through the PO.  Do not include gifts.
  • Make sure your press kit tells us exactly when the book will be released.  To review a book, I have to schedule it.
  • What is the subject, in just a couple of sentences?
  • What are the author’s qualifications and previous books?  You can include much more information below that, but try to get our attention with the brief summary first.
  • Send a galley or ARC (Advance Review Copy) at least! three months before publication, with a one-page pub letter (consisting of the title, the author, the pub date, plot summary, any blurbs, and a paragraph telling me who the hell the author is).
  • Shoot a single (1) e-mail, a month before publication, reminding me that the book is coming out and why I should care.  Three: a finished book, also a month before publication.
  • Just an envelope or bubble mailer will do the job.  Don’t send a parcel.

More tips on getting book reviews – lots of reviews – will be explained in detail, peppered with hundreds of book reviewer contacts, in our upcoming book: 111 Tips on How to Get Book Reviews. It will be launched in late Spring.
If you are subscribed to our monthly newsletter, you will receive a handful of book reviewer contacts in each of these newsletters.

In the meantime, contribute to the good karma, and write lots of reviews about the books YOU are reading : )
https://www.savvybookwriters.com/most-important-guidelines-to-write-book-reviews/

How you can place your reviews on Amazon sites around the world can be found in this former blog post:
https://www.savvybookwriters.com/amazon-book-reviews-worldwide/

 

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