Support for Indie Authors discussion
note: This topic has been closed to new comments.
Archived
>
How to get more reviews for books?
message 1:
by
Dave
(new)
Apr 25, 2020 10:23AM
I know I seem to have a lot of questions about selling and getting my book out there, but being somewhat new to the author world, I find Goodreads users to have some good advice. My first book has a few reviews, and I was hoping to gain more, but whether it be contacting reviewers or people coming across it, I don't seem to have much luck there. My sequel has been out for a few days, and while a couple of people I reached out to that reviewed my first book agreed to review the sequel, I seem to be having trouble with getting new eyes to the book. Is there some way to get more reviewers to rate and review my books?
reply
|
flag
I can’t help much as I’ve been begging for reviews, but I’m interested in the replies you get!
The only two reviews I have I got them via Booksprout.Voracious Readers Only: None.
Asking in groups: None. (I should have gotten one, but the lady tore my novel apart and then said she could not post it if I wanted to. Which I didn't. While she made a few good points, it was destructive critique at most).
From readers from KDP promos: None.
I'm only starting, though, and I bet the more books I put out, the more people will want to read and review.
Another writer has suggested Story Origins. I am trying them. It is a way to connect with other authors.
What has given me the most reviews (I borrowed this advice from other authors) is to have a page at the end of my ebooks that thanks the reader for reading, says I hoped they enjoyed it, and asks if they would mind leaving a review. Then I include links to my book on both Amazon and Goodreads. This way they do not have to search for the book themselves and also allows them to find the other books I've written in case they would like to read more.
I got most of my reviews from participating in review groups right here on Goodreads. Mostly that has been a good experience. Sometimes there is a problem with individuals who make no sense, but's life. I have learned to head some of that off with editorial reviews. I have invested in editorial reviews. They cost money but a Kirkus or Booklife can be used in advertising and makes a difference. I use attributed quotes from editorial reviews in my blurbs.
William wrote: "What has given me the most reviews (I borrowed this advice from other authors) is to have a page at the end of my ebooks that thanks the reader for reading, says I hoped they enjoyed it, and asks i..."This is a good idea!
Hello there, I am new to this group, my name is Rose Auburn and I self-published my novel in Feb 2017. I have had a fair few reviews just by plugging away over the last 3 years, I found Voracious Readers were fairly good. If any indie authors have paid for editorial reviews from either Indie Reader or Booklife, I would be interested to hear if it made any difference, I am thinking of possibly trying either but it's a lot of money if they are no use at all or I choose the wrong one! Tk you.
I paid Kirkus $500 for a professionalreview which was quite good and they have a good reputation. Otherwise Goodreads do book giveaways which get reviews and Online Book Club will give you 10 reviews for $200 from their readers.
Tks John, yes, I have toyed with the idea of Kirkus too - it seems a bit marmite, authors either love or hate their reviews. They are on my possible list. I did do a Goodreads giveaway about 18 months ago, got a reviews but not many. I have also done Online Book Club but it was only for one review, again, about 18 months ago, so I might return there and I have just decided to join their Author Reviews Author program too, so we'll see. Tk you again, R.
Most of my reviews have come following events and school visits. I always give out bookmarks with my info and I mention why reviews are so helpful. Afterwards I usually get a handful each time. Hope that helps.
Tk you so much, Melissa - I love the bookmarks idea, have never thought of that, very good, simple but hopefully effective. Tk you.
Hi Melissa and Rose, on the chance of sounding stup...uh...uninformed, what are bookmarks? Gail
I also love the idea of bookmarks. I pass them out at any readings. I have a good shop in town that makes them with my covers.
I make my own bookmarks using 'Publisher'. Bit time consuming but it's more or less free.
Hi there, I'm thinking traditional paper bookmarks … although I may be hopelessly wrong and it's something else entirely, I'm a bit of a Luddite so it's possible!
Gail,Bookmarks that you hand out are traditionally on thin cardboard and are used to mark your place in a printed book. They are part of the common swag given away at conventions. I've not seen a digital bookmark that you can use in a digital book. Kindle and Nook do take you back to that last page you were reading in the book. That doesn't happen in PDF books unless someone knows something I don't about PDFs.
Thank you very much, B.A. That makes sense (and SO simple:))
I have just recently finished a book funnel promotion. I was wondering if any of you had experience with book funnel and specifically how many reviews came from that.
I used one and did good. I got a 245 new subscribers to my newsletter and 645 downloads of the freebook. I haven't looked for reviews as I really don't get hung up on reviews. That will happen as my writing gets better and I get more sales.
I actually had what I'd consider a good return on Voracious Readers Only. I did that for almost a year. I signed up intending to build a mailing list (which it did). In the process, I also got several reviews from VRO signups, on Amazon and here on GoodReads. Even gained some valuable feedback to boot. Finally, Larry at VRO was easy to work with.
I was very happy with Voracious Readers Only, too, and received both reviews and built a mailing list. May I ask about book funnel? I wasn't sure how to get to their website? Thanks!
Yes, I would recommend Voracious Readers too - I did get quite a few reviews from there and Larry, who runs the site, is very professional and efficient. They also send a newsletter every week which was quite useful. I would definitely use them again.
To get to book funnel....type BookFunnel into google search and it will come up. I use it a lot for my free books. I don't need to worry about them being able to download the books. The offer newsletter swaps and list builders for free. The one I joined was for mystery, crime, thrillers. I sent out the offer on FB and my mailing list. I had 265 who took free books from my links and like I said, 645 who down loaded my book. That's not bad for a free promotion with only a few people doing it.
B.A. wrote: "To get to book funnel....type BookFunnel into google search and it will come up. I use it a lot for my free books. I don't need to worry about them being able to download the books. The offer newsl..."Is there a cost?
*folds arms* Am I the only one who didn't have any luck with VRO? ;_;I gave my twenty books in less than three days, so there was some interest, I suppose... but never got any review!
There is a cost to use bookfunnel. Go to the sight. It isn't that much and you do get the hassle free use of sending people individual links for your book(s) plus to promotions which come with the basic fee.
B.A. wrote: "There is a cost to use bookfunnel. Go to the sight. It isn't that much and you do get the hassle free use of sending people individual links for your book(s) plus to promotions which come with the ..."Sounds good!
B.A., I just checked BookFunnel. The beginner plan sounds good at first glance, but I was wondering... if you exceed the 500 downloads per month you get additional charges. Is it very easy to reach that number? It sounds kind of tiny to me if it was Smashwords or Amazon, but how are things in BF?20/year sounds good, but I'd be afraid to wake up one day and have gotten 200 downloads in a night and already surpassed the limit.
Mod
Also, here's a whole bunch of links even though the rules say not to do it..."
Please read the rules of the group. Thanks.
I haven't reached 500/month as these are non-Amazon downloads. I'm sure you get pushed into the next tier if you do although they didn't charge me more with the promo run through them. Getting 500 can be easy if you have a big list and you join a promotion that has others with big lists. I'm still a small player. My list is only at 1600 give or take a few. Then again, I haven't been doing a lot of list building or marketing over the past year other than when my new book came out.
I use the review groups here and that has worked very well. He most effective one, in my opinion, is simply called Review Group I gt a base of fifteen to twenty reviews and go from their. Oh, I also pay for editorial reviews which I use in my blurbs.
Rose wrote: "Hello there, I am new to this group, my name is Rose Auburn and I self-published my novel in Feb 2017. I have had a fair few reviews just by plugging away over the last 3 years, I found Voracious R..." I got a free Booklife review which I use in my blurb. It was an insightful review and I was quite pleased with it. I had a bad experience with Indie--their reviewer didn't seem to have basic reading skills (couldn't identify plot elements or make inferences from text). She gave me a weak review for a book that was listed on Kirkus as one of the best of the year! So that's my experience.
Hi—a question for those who used review groups here on Goodreads—what’s the protocol on that? Just barge in and ask? Thanks! Also, to get a good start, I used Booksirens and was very happy with them. There IS a little cost for their service to connect you to the readers, but it’s only 10$ to sign up and $2 per review, you set your limit. And the site owners are super nice to work with you.
Mod
I'll be blunt and straightforward on this.
In ANY and ALL groups, not just on Goodreads, read the rules and follow them - or risk getting the boot. Each group has the rules in a visible spot, so give them a read.
Mod
I'll second Tomas on this one. As moderators, we're not fond of people barging into this group and doing things willy nilly without getting familiar with the group, or at least reading over the rules, first. And we're the nice guys. Except for me. Tomas is a nice guy. I'm a jerk.
Yeah, definitely read the rules and follow them. I'm in a review group and I sometimes participate in their rounds. You generally have to sign up for specific rounds that run at a certain time and the mods spend ALOT of time making sure that the reviews aren't reciprocal and that you never review someone who's reviewed you before, etc. It works pretty well and I've actually found some books that I LOVE from those groups as well as getting a couple of reviews for my own books.
Tk you, Laura, I will check the Review Group out.
Dwayne, you aren't a jerk. Some of your posts for those who don't read the rules are actually funny. I'll agree, you need to look at the rules, read them, and follow them for each group. I like this group because we aren't spammed by people who only want to push their book or services.
No, Dwayne, you aren't a jerk. I am one of those guilty authors who doesn't always read the rules (I say sheepishly). I see a post like 'Promote your books', get overly excited and immediately post my books. Immediately, you reprimand me and duly so. After my apology, I tiptoe out of sight for awhile. Conclusion: authors like me make you look like a jerk when you're not (although you do scare me....:)
I think Dwayne is pretty patient. It's absolutely annoying for people to drop in promote their books where they aren't supposed to. One of the mods here once said it's like having a picnic and a bird flies overhead and poops on the picnic blanket. :-)
Gail wrote: "Hi Melissa and Rose, on the chance of sounding stup...uh...uninformed, what are bookmarks? Gail"We use a bookmark to highlight the reason for buying the book, to be a nice added value when posting a book off, and I never thought of this, but adding a "I'd love a review at..."
A nice thick cardstock and a graphic image on the front works best, with sales blurb and purchase URL on the back. You can print them via most commercial printers and they post to you.
Mod
I'm too lazy to be mean. So I'm usually just neutral, and say what I mean to say - that takes the least effort.
Viola wrote: "Another writer has suggested Story Origins. I am trying them. It is a way to connect with other authors."This one seems interesting, I might try this myself...
Dwayne wrote: "Roxie wrote: "Hi—a question for those who used review groups here on Goodreads—what’s the protocol on that? Just barge in and ..."I'll second Tomas on this one. As moderators, we're not fond of p..."
Actually Dwayne I think you are an excellent moderator (as is Tomas). Keep it up!
I've gotten about half of my reviews through the different groups on Goodreads. Expect though that at least half of the people that agree to give you a review will forget or won't bother to leave a review. This is not just Goodreads but in general. So it's good to contact as many reviewers as possible.Finding reviewers has been a challenge of mines. What I've tried in more recent times is reach out to book bloggers that review your genre. I tend to get more interest. People that are seen as "influencers" or subject matter experts in the genre are great to reach out to for editorial reviews because those reviews tend to hold more weight to buyers and give you added exposure to their large following.
Book Sirens has a large directory of reviewers categorized by the genres they reviews. It will tell you their follower count and if the reviews are paid or free.
I just started using BookSprout to get reviews for my ARC (so I'm hoping to get more reviews that way). I have not used Voracious Readers but I will definitely be looking into them next!
Viola wrote: "William wrote: "What has given me the most reviews (I borrowed this advice from other authors) is to have a page at the end of my ebooks that thanks the reader for reading, says I hoped they enjoye..."I really love this idea and have decided to implement in into my book end where the "About The Author" appears. Thanks for this tip. Valuable.
Melissa wrote: "Most of my reviews have come following events and school visits. I always give out bookmarks with my info and I mention why reviews are so helpful. Afterwards I usually get a handful each time. Hop..."That is such a great idea! I am definitely stealing this tip ;)
This topic has been frozen by the moderator. No new comments can be posted.
