Writer’s Workshop: Securing Advanced Reviews for Your Back Cover
When my publisher said she wanted me to attain reviews for the back cover of my memoir, I started to panic. Who would write these reviews? How would I ask someone to write a review? What if they don’t like the book? These questions and more rattled around in my brain. But I didn’t tell her that.
Instead, I said, “Okie dokie,” and began to strategize.
At first, I didn’t think I knew anyone, and I was partially right. Writing is a solitary event, especially the way I do it. I’m not a member of any writing groups, and I don’t frequent writing conferences. But I do write, and I have been published in quite a few anthologies, so I began by contacting one of the editors I’d worked with and had met in person—Deborah Santana. Yes. Santana’s ex-wife. I’d participated in a book reading for All the Women in My Family Sing a few years ago, and she told me if I’d ever needed anything, to let her know. Luckily, I hadn’t asked for anything, so I was able to cash in on this favor. While Deborah isn’t a reader, she did know women who were, so she sent me a list. After re-reading their essays, I chose three authors. In my email, I dropped Deborah’s name, complimented each woman on her work, and explained why I thought they would be interested in my book. I was completely surprised when Camille Hayes agreed.
Next, I thought about my memoir’s subject matter. I’ve alluded to quite a few scholars in the book, but two were integral. Both are sex-addiction specialist, whose ideas I’ve woven throughout to qualify my experiences. The trick this time was that I didn’t personally know either of these people. I literally googled their names, read more about them, and found their emails. You could’ve knocked me over with a feather when one of them emailed me back. Her name is Marnie C. Ferree, and she is one of the leading female sex-addiction specialists in the States. She’s counseled and healed women for 30 years. Anywho, not only did she read the book, but she and I have also become fast friends.
I thought it was also important to include a successful and traditionally published author. Due to six degrees of separation, I have access to a few, so I reached out to my contact, who reached out to three of her friends. There’s no success story here; they declined. I lamented for a bit, and then, did something else risky…I contacted two authors who have written about female sex addiction. About five minutes after I hit send, one of them replied—Erica D. Garza, author of Getting Off: One Woman’s Journey Through Sex and Porn Addiction. Again, I thought I was going to faint. She said she would be “honored to read and review” my book!
The last two reviews are from people I kind of know. The first, Joshua Shea, is an expert on porn addiction. We met via WordPress. Like many of you, he and I developed an online connection that ventured over to Instagram. He was more than willing to read and review, and I was appreciative because I wanted a male’s opinion. The fifth person is Mbinguni (Celestial Holmes), author of an excellent fiction novel, Looking for Hope. We met via a book club years ago, prior to her becoming an author. We are also on the same imprint, and her book is one of the reasons I felt confident publishing with NEW Reads.
So, that’s how I secured reviews for my back cover. I used my professional author contacts, asked people who had content related to my book’s topic, and took calculated risks. With a lot of alignment and a little bit of luck, five reputable people have endorsed In Search of a Salve. At some point, I’ll explain how I used my advance review copy (ARC) to attain other reputable reviews.
Pre-order In Search of a Salve on AmazonPre-order In Search of a Salve via Indie BookstoresPre-order In Search of a Salve through Barnes & NobleWriter’s Workshop: Securing Advanced Reviews for Your Back CoverMonday Notes: Everybody’s Not a NarcissistWriter’s Workshop: Show, Don’t TellMonday Notes: Family as Performative ActionInspiring Image #145: Beauty in Death
