It’s obvious the internet and social media are huge aspects of the majority lifestyle. This is great news for book blogs, as their popularity is in turn growing. People love their technology but it doesn’t mean they have forgotten their love for books. Having your book reviewed by a reputable and growing book blogger can put the word out there and get people finding and reading your book.
Here is how it goes:
You find the book blogger you want to review your book. You shoot them an email with a personal reach out, blurb or overview about the book, and ask them to read and review for you.
Then, you wait. You wait days, maybe weeks, and sometimes over a month to get a response back and you feel discouraged, and possibly bitter? DON’T!
Insider Tip: Adding personalization is KEY in getting a yes response. Show the blogger you ACTUALLY took the time to check out their blog and who they are. It’s sure to get your book on one of their lists because you actually cared to take the time to personalize.
A look into the other side:
A book blogger typically has another full time job for income, and just LOVES books so much they dedicate their hobby time to book reading and reviewing (un-paid, well.. paid in books 😉 ).
Once the book review blog takes off, they get hundreds of requests monthly, which is GREAT and EXCITING! They want to read them ALL, but there is just not the time in the day to keep up with them all unfortunately.
So they bring on another book reviewer when they can find one. They check the emails as quickly as they are able, flag books to come back to, and email authors back letting them know they would love to read their book. The thing is, they see that request with that book that sounds amazing, and they really are SUPER EXCITED to read it and review it, BUT there are 5+ books in line on their list ahead they have already agreed to and are just as excited about. (In our case, we try not to respond to too many emails at once or get each reviewers list fuller than approximately 5 books at a time so that the author isn’t waiting TOOO long once accepted, but there will be a waiting period nonetheless.)
Once again, they want to read them all and they want to read them all NOW, but there is just not that time in the day. Not to mention they are going to be reviewing these books, so they don’t want to just speed read through them. They really want to take their time and get into the book and catch all the details the authors worked so hard to incorporate.
Is it worth the wait?
Absolutely! Most book bloggers with a name for themselves have a great following on social media, whether it’s Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, or any other number of sites. People follow them and add books to their read list based on their reviews and their posts about them.
They commonly get asked “What are you reading now?” or “What’s on your docket that you’re super excited for?” or “What have you read lately that you recommend?”
And guess what, as curious beings that love referrals, book readers then look for those books! Book bloggers also are active and followed on websites such as Goodreads where a vast amount of book readers go when looking for what to read next. They also post their reviews on Amazon where many people choose their next books BASED on the reviews.
So YES it is 100% worth the wait, but patience is key.
Find more writing and publishing tips at Nothing Any Good.
Megan Verwey is contributing editor for the well regarded Young Adult Fiction book blog GirlPlusBook. Megan is a animal lover extreme. She has 2 dogs, a Boxer named Jax, a technically “niece” Pitbull named Payon, and a “kitten little”, named Donald Driver because she is also a Packer Fan! She is a website and marketing sales woman and also works in Copywriting and SEO on a contractual basis. She is known to binge watch TV shows – binge read book series – and binge eat taco dip. Nothing Any Good has forgiven her failure of being a lowly Packers fan, since it is assumed this failure was inherited. Megan also loved Pieces Like Pottery and gave it a glowing review, so she knows quality when she sees it. Check out their wonderful book blog!
Great post, Dan. I have to say that I so appreciate it when bloggers return an email, even if it’s with a “no.” As a blogger myself, I know how important it is for someone to at least acknowledge my blog’s name when they send me a request. In getting ready to publish my next book, I’ve sent out a TON of emails and requests for interviews or reviews. Just as you suggested, I personalized every one and sent them one by one. (Let me tell you, that is time consuming.) I’ve only received a reply from eight bloggers. Those aren’t good odds. I agree with you that exposure through book blogs is the best promotion for your book. But getting there is the hard part . . .
Like you, I see both sides, Amy. While it’s frustrating as a writer, I try to assume the best of people and that they’re simply just too busy. Add to it the fact that unfortunately, some new writers are combative and aggressive if they get a no response from a blog. A few experiences with this and I’m sure a lot of book bloggers just think, “You know what, it’s not worth it. I just won’t respond if I don’t have interest.”
While I agree with the premise of this post–that reviews from blogger/reviewers can be golden promotional opportunities, especially for an indie author–the difficulty in earning these reviews is growing every day.
Agreed, a lavish promotional nod from an influential blogger with a large following can work wonders for a book’s—and an author’s—marketplace presence. But good luck in finding those reviewers. They are growing increasingly scarce.
For example, here’s what I’ve learned to “vet” before sending a review request:
1. Is the blog active? (any recent posts?)
2. Is the blog open–at all–to review requests?
3. Will the reviewer even consider self-published books? (this one REALLY hurts.)
4. Do I meet the reviewer’s format requirements? (hard copy, PDF, MOBI, etc.)
5. Do I meet the reviewer’s genre requirements?
6. Are there any artistic restrictions? (language, violence, sexual content, etc.)
7. Will the reviewer consider books that have been on the market for a while? (some won’t.)
Only if all these requirements are met will I email a review request. If the response is positive, I’ll congratulate myself … conditionally. This is because several reviewers have accepted review copies from me, and then cut off communications: no review, no explanation, follow-up emails left unanswered … only silence. Times like that really knock the creative wind out of my sails. Part of the business, I guess. Gotta just soldier on and find the next reviewer.
Cheers.
These are great thoughts, Ross. You would be appalled by the anality (yea, I made that word up) of my spreadsheet to track all my communications to bloggers. I have a very detailed list of blogs, what they might review, names, etc. etc. It’s sort of gross, unless your accountant for the IRS or something, then you would probably find it too exciting for your tastes!
LOL!
Being anal (in a positive, detail-management sort of way) is 2nd nature to me; I’m a retired software developer. In my business, if you didn’t sweat the details (along with some “anality” thrown in), you didn’t last long. Anyway, I don’t see anything anal about keeping concise records in dealing with bloggers as you do. That’s just another safeguard against losing track of things and sending something stupid (a duplicate email, misaddressed, incorrect personalization, etc.) to a potential reviewer. Remember that old axiom about never getting a 2nd chance to make a good first impression? If your review request is sloppy, inaccurate, or just plain wrong in some respect, you jeopardize your chances of getting ANY kind of response. These days, anything an author can do to improve his/her chances of a comeback is definitely worth the effort.