How to Query Book Bloggers and Reviewers: a Guest Post from Book Blogger Rob Zimmermann
This is part of my Indie How-To Index , which is a complete guide on everything from writing to marketing your novel. I designed the Indie Index to help authors on the road to being published. It’s totally free, so all I ask is that you have fun, learn something, and add to the discussion.
Today, we’re lucky to have a guest post from Rob Zimmermann, book blogger and author-supporter extraordinaire. He ‘s great to work with, and I wanted to invite him in to share his experience with the index. Enjoy!
I have been reviewing books for close to a year now. It’s not that long compared to many other readers out there. In this short time, though, I’ve come across some interesting situations in the reviewing game.
There are many ways to go about reviewing books. In the beginning, I was reviewing books I bought myself. My philosophy became (and still is): if I’m reading the book anyway, why not write down how I felt about it? I feel that reviewing became a great personal reward for reading the book. I remembered things better. I was able to discuss the books with others more intelligently because I had already discussed the book with myself. But this wasn’t the only reward I got from reviewing.
Finding Reviewers
Once authors started taking notice of my reviews, I began to get requests to read their books. Through all this, I’ve formed some opinions of how requests are best presented.
Shop around for reviewers. Don’t just see that someone reviews books and impulsively send a request. Find the right readers for your book. This can be easily achieved by finding their past reviews and seeing if your book fits with what they have enjoyed.
It’s almost too often that requests come in for books that are NOTHING like what I’ve reviewed before. While this isn’t always a bad thing, some reviewers don’t stray from a particular genre very much. Reviewers almost always state in their review policies which genres they like to read. If your book isn’t in that list, don’t send it to them. You’ll just waste everyone’s time.
Always read the review policy if one is available. I don’t know how many authors actually read these before sending a request. Many times, authors send requests that don’t fit criteria listed in the policy. Policies are written to make both the reviewer’s and author’s lives easier.
However, the most overlooked statement in a policy is whether or not reviews are being requested during a certain time period. If it says “at this time I am not accepting review requests” go find another reviewer. You can keep that person in mind for the future, but look elsewhere. It’s not that we’re trying to be mean, it’s just that we’re probably swamped with other books right now, or just need a little vacation.
Contacting Reviewers
So now that you have a list of who you want to contact, how do you talk to them? What do you say?
Unless stated otherwise, the best way to request a review is through email—not Twitter or Goodreads. When you email a possible reviewer, it allows you to send a fully coherent message, provide a link to where more information can be found, and to be as professional as possible.
There are some authors who communicate through Twitter when requesting. This isn’t, in my opinion, the best way to go. You can’t really say much with 140 characters. If Twitter seems like an option to choose, do so in a direct message. Don’t make it a public Tweet. Also, limit it to asking if you could email the reviewer about possibly reviewing you book. As I said, you can’t say much in 140 characters.
Sound professional at all times. I’m not saying that you can’t be conversational. I like people like that. A big turn off when reading a request is apparent lack of proofreading. Always double and even triple check spelling and grammar.
There are some requests that come in with little to say. I’ve had some that simply say “I was wondering if you would be interested in reviewing my book” then there’s a copy and past of links and book summary. In this case, there wasn’t a “hello, I’m so-and-so, author of blank book…” I look for any sort of intro before the book is thrown in my face. It could be two sentences even. As long as there seems to be some thought put into the message.
Don’t forget to mention how you wish to give the reviewer your book. State formats you’re willing to provide. This could help the reviewing decide whether or not they have the ability to read the book in the first place. Or in the very least, the reviewer’s reply email can tell you which out of the available formats they’d need.
Don’t scare the reviewer off. In the message, don’t sound overly excited about your book. We get it…you wrote a book and it COULD very well be our next favorite book. Please don’t assume they we’ll love it though. You can state that other readers have loved the book. You can also say that if you read such-and-such a book that you might be interested in this one. But DON’T tell a reviewer “I know you’ll fall in love with this book,” “I know my book will go on your favorites list,” etc.
No one enjoys being told what they like and don’t like, especially having never experienced said book. I will automatically be turned off from reading the book even if it was something I might want to read. It’s not even an act of defiance. It’s more a subconscious thing that I know will influence my reading of the book one way or the other.
What to Say in Your Email
Note from Boyce : Rob asked me to throw my input here, so we’re collaborating on this section only. The rest before and after this section is his.
When writing an email request, you must clearly communicate your intent with proper grammar/spelling or else it will reflect poorly on you. If you don’t write a coherent email, the reviewer won’t think your book is well written either.
What to include:
A personalized intro. Did the reviewer review a book very similar to yours? Sweet. Tell them that, because they reviewed Book X, they might also enjoy yours. This shows them that you read through their blog and are familiar with their work. It proves to them that you didn’t just send them a copy/paste book query. It only has to be a sentence or two—just enough to show that you’re different.
Book’s Title, Genre, and release date. All important information. Don’t make them hunt for it. Sometimes, bloggers also want the publisher. Whatever you do, make sure you read their policy and include all pertinent information they require.
Book blurb: the teaser summary of the book’s conflict. Keep this as short as possible. The recommendation is to make it about 4-5 sentences. If your regular blurb is longer, cut it down to size and give the reviewer a link to read the full blurb elsewhere.
Sample chapter. Are you hosting chapter one online? You should be. Add the link in the email so that the reviewer can check out your writing style if the book sounds interesting.
Review sites. They’re going to look these up anyway, so you might as well make their lives easier. Link to Goodreads, Amazon, and Barnes & Noble. That’s really all you need.
Teasers & extras. Have a book trailer? Link it. Have a bonus site? Link it. Show them that you’re a professional and take yourself seriously. Plus, these extras are great to add to reviews, and it’s easiest when they can go to one email and have everything there.
Say thank you. It sounds so trivial, but it carries weight. They’re taking time out of their days to read your query. Show your gratitude. You don’t have to give them your firstborn or anything, but do say thanks.
What not to include:
Your life story. It’s awesome that you’ve been writing since you could hold a pen. That’s great. Us, too. But the blogger doesn’t have more than about 5 minutes to read your query. You can personalize it and have a voice to your email, but keep it short.
The book file or a free coupon. Whatever your intentions, this comes off as arrogant or like you’re assuming they want to read your book. Most of the time, adding an attachment will get your email kicked to the spam folder anyway.
If it does go to their email, they’re in the awkward position of having a book in their inbox that they don’t want. Aside from tempting a reviewer to own the book without reviewing it, there is a certain pressure added to the decision of accepting.
Ask if they want it. When they say yes, then give them the file they request.
The Bottom Line
Reviewing can be fun. If I didn’t enjoy doing what I do, I would have stopped a long time ago. But to keep it fun reviewers need books to read; new and exciting stories that keep us wanting more. I hope some of the things mentioned in this post help authors in their pursuit of their next biggest fan. I’ve found some great authors through reviewing books. Considering some of these issues when requesting reviews can help form good relations with us and give you a great reputation as well.
Update
From Boyce: After this post was already scheduled, Rob emailed me to tell me another reviewer friend of his had a what-not-to-do story to share…someone queried her and asked her to buy the book to review it.
So, in case it wasn’t clear, you give free copies to reviewers. It’s an exchange: you’re giving them a copy of your book, and they’re giving you a free review plus publicity on each site where they post their review (especially their blog).
If you ask reviewers to buy your book, they will laugh and delete your email. Just a warning.
The Discussion
From Boyce: Book bloggers, did we miss anything? What do you want us to add? I want this to be as thorough as possible, so let us know if there’s something else to add. Thanks!
