The Low-Down of Book Reviews for Indie Authors

The
Low-Down of Book Reviews for Indie Authors



Book reviews are as critical as a heart transplant.  Without
the pulsation you might as well be deceased.  For traditional publishers,
acquiring book reviews mean mailing out hundreds of books to newspaper reviewers,
and hope that a certain percentage will take the time to review, and then hope
the reviews are a good one.  For indie authors the process may be more
time consuming, but by far and large it opens up the restrictions and
narrow-mindedness big publishers tend to hold onto.  What I refer to as
the restrictions and narrow-mindedness are missed opportunities by reaching out
to bloggers and other non-professional reviewers who use Amazon, Barnes &
Noble, GoodReads, Smashwords, Ning, and the like to post their reviews.
  



Online book reviewers are becoming more viral; more substantiated
than the conventional sources because their posts will always be out there as
long as the reviewer stays open for business.  Plus, with the voting
systems, if feels more democratic and less tyrannical than that of the one bad
review!



Method of Reviews



In essence, there are three methods of reviews you can acquire:
buying them, growing them organically, and swapping them.  One method
doesn’t necessarily enhance your status more than the other, although juggling
the three certainly can help establish it.



1.) BUYING REVIEWS



There is much debate about whether to purchase reviews or not.
 On the one side of the debate questions the morality of things.  If
reviews are bought, does that make them legitimate?  There are places
where you can buy positive reviews only, (although I still have yet to find
those places); however, in my experiences, the reviews I bought were fair
because some reviewers revealed their complaints and did not rate my book as
high.  So to question the legitimacy of bought reviews will depend on the
legitimacy of the business itself. Many will state that they will not guarantee
positive reviews, for instance, and how long have they been in business will
determine if they are legit.  There are “fly-by-night” reviewers who at
some point will be banned and have their reviews revoked once found out.



The other side of the debate supports buying reviews because it
facilitates your reputation and can provide exposure.   Some of these
places will have diverse outlets such as Amazon, Barnes & Noble, and
Goodreads.  And that’s really the goal all writers wish to achieve:
popularity.  I started reaching out to bloggers before having at least 8 reviews
and only received one reply.  After establishing at least 8 reviews, with
some bought, (including Kirkus Reveiws,) in order to acquire credibility, then
bloggers started agreeing to review my book for free.  That may not be
true for everyone experiences, but it was for me.



Now then, how much do these paid reviews cost? The costs vary and
you could verily easily spend anywhere from $50 per review to over $400 per
review, depending on the reviews status and outlet margin.



You can check out a list of reviewers on my blog here; just under
blog tours.  Some are free and some you have to pay: http://richlycoloredmask.blogspot.com/p/self-publishing-info.html



2.) ORGANIC REVIEWS



You can reach out to bloggers and other book reviewers on Amazon
and GoodReads for free.  Some will ask for pay, but they generally do not
because they are readers who have enthusiasm for reading.  They are not
professional critics, but are intelligent and thoughtful folks who take the
time in their busy lives to share their passions.



The Business Side of Soliciting for Reviews



At one point in my life, I was a real estate agent- briefly- and
got out just after the housing market crash.  One of the things I learned,
which is true in any business, is what’s called “the number’s game.”  You
reach out to 50 people, and out of the 50 you’ll get about 10 people who
express interest in your abilities but will only get about 1 or 2 who’ll
actually commit and sign a contract.  On the business side of hunting down
reviews, you reach out 50 book reviewers, and out of 50 you’ll get about 10 who
express interest in reviewing your work, but will actually get a few who’ll
actually commit and write a review.  Just be psychologically prepared for
this, and have realistic expectations.



Don’t forget to look and see if they keep a blog roll.  If
so, then you connect to more bloggers!  Keep that ball rolling, baby!



Etiquettes



Since they do not get paid, they are often swamped with requests,
and therefore may take anywhere from 1-4 months to finally getting around
reading and posting a review. Be polite, and take the time to see if they will
be a good fit for your book(s).  If they agree to review your book and you
hadn’t heard from them in over 3 to 4 months, then send a polite follow-up. DO
NOT harass them with frequent emails! This will begin to look like spamming and
you will most likely turn them off, and therefore, they will turn off your
emails.



You can check out a list of bloggers on my blog here; just under
book reviewers: http://richlycoloredmask.blogspot.com/p/self-publishing-info.html



2.) SWAPPING REVIEWS



Have you ever been to a swap meet?  It’s a gathering at which
enthusiasts or collectors trade or exchange items of common interest.  The
same thing can apply when swapping reviews for authors.  This method
serves two purposes: helping you collect more book reviews while helping others
achieve the same goal.  You can do so with online author communities as
well as helping other writer friends within your own community.  This
method is a bit more reliable than asking your family and social friends to
provide feedback because area of interests are often different, and you most
likely will attain a more comprehensive review regarding plot and character
development.



You can check out a list of indie author communities on my blog
here; at the very top of the page under resources, and just under blogger book
reviewers at the bottom:

http://richlycoloredmask.blogspot.com/p/self-publishing-info.html



*If you would like to swap reviews with me, my interests are for
historical fiction, (no romance historical fiction, please,) literary fiction,
memoirs, and even non-fiction.  I am on Amazon, Barnes & Noble, and
GoodReads. I accept ebooks in mobi, epub & PDF forms. I am on Amazon,
Barnes & Noble, and GoodReads. Contact me here: http://kpkollenborn.com/contact.htm .



Fake Reviews: The illegitimate critics



What exactly are fake reviews?  Fake reviews are anonymous
identities that open up phony accounts in order to praise or criticize online
books.  On the positive side of the spectrum they can either be authors
praising themselves, or they are bought reviews from illegitimate businesses.
(And I do want to place emphasis on illegitimate businesses because
there are legitimate ones that do provide a fair trade.  Just do your
homework and ask other veteran writers for advice.) On the negative side, they
can be either other authors criticizing their opponents, or other people who
just simply have malice intent to leave a 1 star review to bring down your
review status.



So, revisiting the debate about paid reviews you end up asking
yourself: “Do paid reviews in fact represent fake reviews? Or at least on
Amazon?”  The three services I used, Kirkus Reveiws, Bookplex and Self
Publish Review, I found to be fair.  They use other bloggers and authors
to represent their businesses’ reviews.  Although the reviews mostly did
come in a positive light, but I did not get that perfect 5 star rating,
plus the reviewers did mention what they didn’t like or had certain issues with
some of the content. All I can stress upon when making that investment is to
use common sense, do your research, and ask other seasoned authors for advice.



To read more about “fake reviews,” check out these articles:



Forbes: “Fake Reviews: Amazon’s Rotten Core”

http://www.forbes.com/sites/suwcharmananderson/2012/08/28/fake-reviews-amazons-rotten-core/



The Telegraph: “Fake Book Reviews are Rife on Internet
Authors”

http://www.telegraph.co.uk/culture/books/booknews/9518531/RJ-Ellory-fake-book-reviews-are-rife-on-internet-authors-warn.html



Business Insider: “This Man Made $28,000 a Month
Writing Fake Book Reviews”

http://www.businessinsider.com/this-guy-made-28000-a-month-writing-fake-book-reviews-online-2012-8



Conclusion



Pace yourself when researching and soliciting for book reviews.
Don’t try to cram everything into one session.  Space out days of the
month to research for bloggers or swap book reviews.  Also put yourself on
a budget.  You really don’t need to spend your mortgage in order to
acquire book reviews.  There are always other avenues. And remember, as
exhausting and frustrating as this process may sound, it still beats getting
rejected by agents and/ or publishers who won’t take on your project.  At
least you’re out there!



If you enjoyed what you have read, you can find me on these other
social sites:



Facebook: http://www.facebook.com/kollenborn

Twitter: https://twitter.com/KPKollenborn

LinkedIn: http://www.linkedin.com/profile/view?id=46096972&trk=tab_pro

GoodReads: http://www.goodreads.com/author/show/5386352.K_P_Kollenborn

Blog #2: http://kpkollenborn.blogspot.com/

Pinterest: http://pinterest.com/kpkollenborn/