Getting reviews for your book can be a conundrum. So true! Both newbie and seasoned authors are frequently stymied by the process . If you want to proactively seek reviews, The Book Review Companion by David Wogahn is an excellent guidebook to help you. Written for traditionally published and self-published authors, this book is well organized with succinct chapter summaries. Starting off, Wogahn explains “Why Reviews Matter” and covers important guiding principles including, “Don’t Stop Seeking Reviews,” and “Seek Ideal Readers First.” Another important chapter, “Policies, Ethics and Rules of the Road,” will let you know what is permitted on Amazon. Make sure to read “Be careful if you plan to ask family or close friends to review your book.” Also covered is a wide range of sources and strategies. Each source tells you how to get started and has a summary recap. Other chapters include finding book bloggers, how to get endorsements, and turning your ARC (Advance Reader Copy) into a marketing tool.
Disclaimer: This is a voluntary book review. I follow book marketing expert David Wogahn. His emails, blogs and books are very insightful for authors. Last year, he asked me to be on his beta reader team (an unpaid test reader who gives feedback of an unreleased book) for his next release. I agreed, read his ARC, and replied with my feedback. “I would like to share your book with my authors after you publish. Please keep me posted.” Then I totally forgot about it. Recently, I received an email announcing his latest release, The Book Review Companion. Since I’m a book designer, I thought this would be worthwhile information for my authors, and ordered a copy. My name appeared in the preface! I did not remember I was part of a large group of beta readers.
My personal copy is filled with highlighting and dog-eared pages. People actually do read reviews. I highly recommend Wogahn’s advice and detailed instructions to help authors get great reviews for their books.
