For this month’s Author Toolbox post, I’ve invited over blogging friend Iola Goulton to tell us everything we need to know about book bloggers.
Authors want book reviews like addicts want their next fix. Book reviews provide social proof. They show potential buyers that the book is worth investing money and time in.
Book reviews also provide authors with unbiased feedback on how their writing is resonating with readers. That can be good and bad. After all, unbiased reviewers tell it like they see it—the good and the bad. Even classics like To Kill a Mockingbird have one-star reviews:
“This book is so overrated. Why do the only books kid’s read in middle school have the “n” word, the killing of an animal & rape??”
“Not up to Stienbeck’s standard.”
“liked the movie better.”
But it’s not always easy to get reviews. To Kill a Mockingbird has over 10,000 reviews on Amazon.com, which sounds like a lot. But TKAM has sold over 40 million copies (and still sells over a million copies a year). Do the maths. That means less than 0.03% of buyers have reviewed it. Even if you only consider the sales in the last year, less than 1% of buyers have reviewed the book.
Authors can’t rely on sales as a way to get reviews. Instead, many authors approach book bloggers (like me), many of whom also post reviews on retail sites such as Amazon, and booklover sites such as Goodreads or Litsy.
How do authors get book bloggers to read and review their book? Here are my tips … from the blogger’s point of view.
1. Have a Great Book
Bloggers read a lot of books. Most read at least one a week. Some read one a day. Some read more (yes, really). So bloggers aren’t going to agree to read your book unless it stands out (in a good way). Bloggers want to like your book. They won’t waste time reading a book they don’t think they’re going to enjoy. And if they don’t enjoy the book, their review will reflect that.
Note to authors: an “honest” review is not the same as a “positive” or “glowing” review. An honest review might be critical. Very critical. Don’t ask bloggers for reviews unless you want honesty. Even when it hurts.
As an author, it’s up to you to write the best book you can, then engage an army of beta readers and critique partners and editors to tell you everything that’s good about it … and everything that needs work.
Getting in-depth feedback from beta readers before you publish will help ensure that nothing that shows up in a review is a surprise. If you’re only getting positive feedback from your beta readers, it’s time to find new beta readers—readers who will challenge and stretch you and your writing. Or hire an editor you know will challenge you.
2. Have a Great Cover
Call me shallow, but I’m reluctant to agree to review a book with an ugly cover. I’m proud of my review website, and don’t want to fill it with ugly books.
Yes, I know the old saying is that we shouldn’t judge a book by its cover. But that saying dates from a time when all books had plain covers (because we didn’t have the technology to print glossy colour covers).
Your book cover is a valuable marketing tool. Great covers reflect the novel’s genre. If I think the cover is ugly, then it might be objectively ugly. But it could be a cover I don’t like because it doesn’t reflect the kind of books I read and review. Which brings me to my next point …
3. Pitch Reviewers in Your Genre
I read and review Christian fiction, with an emphasis on Christian romance. I read across genres, but I’ve made a deliberate choice that my blog will focus on Christian fiction. Most bloggers have a focus, because we can’t read all the books. (We wish!)
So I might agree to review a Christian suspense novel, but I won’t agree to review a Christian non-fiction book, or a general market police procedural. And I’m definitely not going to agree to review the dark BDSM set in the London Underground (yes, that’s a real request I’ve had).
So you need to understand the genre you write in, and find bloggers who review in that genre.
4. Get the Pitch Right
I come across the occasional author who sends all bloggers the same pitch, because it’s too much trouble to research the individual bloggers and tailor the pitch.
Hmm.
They want a blogger to spend ten or more hours reading their book, writing a quality review, uploading that review to a blog site, copying that review to Amazon and other retail sites, copying that review to Goodreads and other booklover sites, creating shareable images, and promoting the review (and thereby the author) on social media … and they can’t be bothered spending five minutes to research the blogger?
#HowNotToGetBookReviews
When you pitch, include the information the blogger asks for. Nothing more, and nothing less. If they don’t say anything, then I’d suggest including:
- Title
- Author
- Book Description
- Publication Date
- Publisher
- Amazon or other sales link
Keep it short, and only send the actual ebook if the reviewer asks for it.
5. Follow Amazon’s Guidelines
The retail and book review sites all have their own reviewing guidelines. But Amazon is the site with the most influence and the most rules. So follow the rules. I have long posts on Amazon’s guidelines (read them here and here), but here are the most important things to remember:
No paid reviews.
Never pay for reviews (it’s against Amazon’s reviewing guidelines). And no providing free books “in exchange” for a review. You provide a free book and hope the blogger follows through and reviews your book. But it’s an offer, not an exchange.
No promotional reviews.
Reviews are for readers, to help them make a decision as to whether they want to buy this book or not. Reviews are not a form of promotion for authors. If a blogger loves your book, they will promote it by promoting their review. But the review itself is not a promotion tool.
Disclose the free book.
The Federal Trade Commission guidelines require reviewers to disclose any connection between themselves and the product’s creator. That means all reviewers must disclose if they were given a free book or ebook to review. If Amazon suspect a reviewer received a free copy and hasn’t disclosed the fact, they will remove the review. It’s the law, and Amazon wants to stay on the right side of the law.
6. Understand Agreeing to Read is Not Agreeing to Review
Amazon allow authors and publishers to provide review copies of books to potential reviewers. They do not allow authors and publisher to require the reviewer to review the book on Amazon. So if a blogger takes a review copy of a book and doesn’t review, there’s not much you can do.
Having said that, bloggers review. Good bloggers don’t ask for copies of books they have no intention of reviewing. If a blogger doesn’t review your book when they said they would, it could be for one of several possible reasons:
They haven’t read the book.
Sometimes books get lost in the virtual To-Read pile.
They started the book, but haven’t finished.
Sometimes I start a book, get part-way through, and then get distracted by another book. Often it’s a book I thought I’d like but don’t. It’s not that it’s a bad book. It’s just not a book that holds my interest. And I’m not going to review a book I haven’t read.
They didn’t like the book.
If I finish a book and don’t like it, I usually won’t review it on my blog. I want my blog to be a place where I recommend books, not trash them.
They’ve forgotten about your book.
Ouch. But it does happen. If you think this might be the reason, then do send a reminder email. One reminder email. Don’t nag.
So those are my top tips for working with book bloggers. Bloggers, what would you add to my list? Authors, what else would you like to know?
About Iola Goulton
Iola Goulton is a New Zealand book reviewer, freelance editor, and writer. She holds a degree in marketing, has a background in human resource consulting, and works as a freelance editor specialising in Christian fiction. When she’s not working, Iola is usually reading or writing her next book review.
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To add to the find the right market, I’d add, “read the guidelines and accept what they say. If you don’t like them, find another blog.” For example, I don’t review self published books, unless the author has a track record in regular publishing. My TBR pile is high enough without having to sort between wonderful and garbage – that’s a lot easier if someone has done it for me. (A book published by a regular publisher might still be crap, of course. ) I STILL get emails asking me to review a self published work, mostly by authors who have probably googled “book blog” or “children’s book blog”, then emailed a whole lot of them at once. I delete any inquiry that begins, “Hi, my name is…” and goes on to say what a wonderful blog I have while making it clear they have only checked out the contact page. If they have had the courtesy to address me by name, I reply, even if the answer is no, and suggest a better fit for their book, or even sometimes offer a guest post.
Agreed, if you’re self publishing , get a decent editor, and make sure the grammar, spelling and punctuation are correct. Even people who do buy self published work are often put off by bad grammar. And yes, the cover should attract the reader. Don’t design your own unless you’re an artist.
Thanks, Sue 🙂
I agree with your statements.
When I approach book bloggers, I check out their guidelines first — it’s a good way to not waste your time or theirs.
As for indie authors: editing, proofreading, proper formatting and cover design is the cost of entry — readers expect it, so don’t skimp.
And another thing: readers usually don’t care about which publishing house is behind a book, they only care about the book and in some cases, the author. So give them the best work you can.
OMG, this is such a fabulous post. And it just so happens that I’m a big fan of Iola Goulton. 🙂 I’m not at that point yet where I’m going to be asking book bloggers for their time, but it’s coming, and this post makes me a lot less nervous about the whole affair.
I’m glad you found it helpful, Raimey 🙂 I needed this advice, so I went to the one person I know who could share it with all of us.
Yes! And don’t count on being the exception. I don’t review nonfiction, but still get pitches saying “I know you don’t review nonfiction but …”
Correct spelling, grammar, and punctuation are especially important in children’s fiction, because children subconsciously learn spelling, grammar, and punctuation from the books they read.
Thank you, Raimey 🙂
If it helps, remember that bloggers who offer to review your book want to like your book, and the bloggers who don’t respond aren’t your target reader anyway.
What a helpful post. Thank you. Reviews are really changing. Thank you for the recent updates 🙂
Thanks for stopping by, Erika 🙂
Thank you, Erika 🙂
This is such an excellent post. I’ll have to bookmark it and return again and again.
Glad you found it useful, Alice.
I’m so glad you found it useful, Alice 🙂
Very clear! I’ve always been professional when approaching book bloggers.
Excellent guide for any author looking for reviews.
Thanks, Alex. Bloggers will always appreciate a professional approach even if they decide not to review the book.
Thanks, Alex. I’m so glad I asked Iola to guest blog about this.
I put book reviews in the same category as publishers and agents. So many books and limited time for each.
Great post.
Anna from elements of emaginette
Anna, I would love to read and review all the books. Unfortunately, there is this thing called family (and the cat), so I have to pick and choose.
Approaching book bloggers certainly feels the same!
Bookmarking this for later. I always do read the submission guidelines, but there’s a ton of other great information in this post to keep in mind as well!
Thank you! I’m pleased you found it useful 🙂
Totally!
This is such an information-packed post. Thank you for all the tips.
You’re welcome 🙂
Good advice. I don’t have control over my covers and I wish some of them had been better.
Susan, I have heard other authors secretly say they didn’t love their covers. It must be hard!
So sorry to hear that your covers aren’t what you had hoped for…
Great post! I’m mentally preparing for next year when my book is published and you provided great tips for getting reviews, and book bloggers’ attention. The idea of asking people to review is kind of terrifying, as is waiting for those inevitable 1-star reviews, but it’s also exhilarating. Reading through this list of tips makes me feel a bit more prepared. Thanks for sharing!
I’ve found using BookSirens is a great way to get to know potential reviewers and make queries 🙂 Good luck!
Great tips! I’m starting to put together a list of book bloggers that I’ll request reviews from, so this is great. Thanks for sharing. 🙂
You’re welcome 🙂 And good luck!
Thank you both for a great post. I can see myself using this from the other side of things since I’ve been increasing the number of reviews I hope to do. But one thing I keep wondering about, at what point do you move from being a blogger who reviews to an actual ‘book blogger’?
Drew, I’ve never even thought about the distinction! My big dilemma was whether I was a writer or not – I went to a writing conference, and someone asked me what I wrote. I said I didn’t write … even though I was posting three book reviews a week.
I suspect you become a book blogger as soon as you decide you’re going to make reviewing books on your blog a habit, rather than an occasional event.
Elle, the best way to get a book blogger’s attention is to have a great book. We all want to discover and promote authors we love 🙂
You’re welcome 🙂 There are different sites you can join as a book blogger: The Book Review Directory and BookSirens are two that come to mind.
Ronel, thank you for inviting me to share today. I hope everyone has found the post useful – and do ask if you have any questions 🙂
Thanks for your amazing post, Iola 🙂
Hi Ronel,
Inspiring advice on reading, reviewing and writing.
Congratulations on finishing the AtoZ.
I have nominated you for the Sunshine Blogger Award. Please visit me, share and contribute your own 11 nominees.
Have a very pleasant day.
cheers
Susan Rouchard (follower who keeps being deleted by WordPress!)
Thanks, Susan 🙂 I hope WordPress gets its act together and stops deleting you!
Great information here, Ronel and Iola. Thanks so much for sharing it. Covers must show genre. This is so important. Needing editors, beta readers, cover designers and book reviews. I need to get into this mix when I finish my memoir about attending college as a mother of 5. And it terrifies me.
You’re welcome, Victoria 🙂 All that extra work is only scary the first couple of times — after that it’s like running on the treadmill every morning 😉
Hi Ronel and Iola,
I would love to promote this post on my review blog, Perspective by Peter. Everything you have written Iola, resonates with me and I have experienced most of these tips and practice them in dealing with authors and their requests for a review.
I fully understand if you prefer me not to. In this case, I would add a link to the Articles of Interest tab on my blog.
Regards and thanks,
Peter
A link would be great, thanks Peter.
Ronel,
Thank you for permission to do so, I will out of respect and good Blogging practice and honouring Iola, provide a link back to this blog post and website.
I ask the same when I have had this done to myself.
Excellent article. So much information in a bitesize post. I’m an Amazon Vine Voice so they do expect lots of reviews from me–which doesn’t mean I understand their rules all the time! I’ve had efriends review my book–their first review of my work–and Amazon won’t publish it. Just don’t get it.
Thanks, Jacqui 🙂 Amazon has it’s own crazy algorithms we mere writers cannot understand 😉
Cool post. Reviews are extremely important. There are books where the title or author’s name is close (auto-correct close) to another book; even though you type in the exact one you want, the other has more reviews and shows up higher in the search. Plus, there are promotions and contests that only books with X amount of reviews are eligible to enter. Anything that ups the odds of getting another honest review is worth doing. Thanks for more insight about this.
Thanks, J 🙂