Reviews: Why (and Why Not) And How

[Dale]

I ran across this very interesting article on getting Amazon reviews, what they are good for, and why they probably are not half as important as we tend to think. It may help you with getting reviews . . . and with not driving yourself nuts over it if you don't have that many.

[Anna]

Thanks, Dale. I'll read it during my tea break!

[Sam (Rescue Dog Mom, Writer, Hugger)]

Thank you, Dale, for passing on this article. Hugs

[Trana]

Thanks for sharing, Dale.

[Carole]

Great article.

[Dale]

You're quite welcome, all. I'd be interested in your takes on it.

[Anita]

Great article and very timely for me. I have a new book that hopefully will be published by early June. I am already setting up my launch promos. Thanks for posting.

[Carole]

It was informative and covered a lot of ways to get reviews. I liked the way he stressed that asking for review exchanges is a no-no. A lot of authors come on threads and ask for that.
When I began this journey it was easier to get reviews. There were not a lot of rules. I would send out a couple of hundred books and get a couple of hundred reviews. When Amazon began purging the reviewers, many solid reviewers lost their voice.
I rely on blog tours and giving the book away on KDP for a weekend to get reviews and he's right- it translates to very few reviews. He makes a point that people aren't leaving reviews if they don't finish the book. I hadn't considered that and it was an interesting concept. There is just so much content on Amazon, and I think people download dozens of those free books and never get to them.
It's strange because my joke book has close to 12000 ratings. The publisher never runs it for free, and the paperback has been a bestseller now for over a year. But the book sells and every day there are dozens of new ratings. The book does have controversy- the publisher included a joke with a same-sex couple (the joke was not sexual, just another version of a family - the book is inclusive) The second joke book hasn't done as well but has no controversy. I think a lot of people feel compelled to support or comment about the book accordingly. So perhaps, controversy is the key?

[Anna]

Amazon brought in a rule that people had to have spent $50/£30 in the previous year (or similar) before they would publish reviews that are left. I've had people say they left a review but can't see it - a while ago now. I'm hoping they've dropped the rule.

[Dale]

Anita wrote: "Great article and very timely for me. I have a new book that hopefully will be published by early June. I am already setting up my launch promos. Thanks for posting."

You're quite welcome!

[Dale]

Carole wrote: "It was informative and covered a lot of ways to get reviews. I liked the way he stressed that asking for review exchanges is a no-no. A lot of authors come on threads and ask for that.
When I bega..."

Thanks for the detailed insights, Carole. You're probably right that controversy helps sell and gains comments, but I think there is also a tendency for fewer people to read book 2 than book 1. I've noticed the "diminishing returns" on my sales of my Howard County books. I don't have a ton of reviews on any of them, but book 1 has the most, book 2 fewer, and book 3 fewer still. As I recall, the rankings also reflect that tendency.

By the by, I'm giving Booksprout a try. Anyone ever use that?

[Carole]

I have. I used it for Bulwark. I also think we used it for one of my son's books. The best result was from —— I can’t remember the name but we paid to post an arc of our books there for free and ran a promo with MJ Rose. We got dozens of reviews but it was an expensive way to get them. Also, there were a lot of trollers who loved to trash the books for fun. It was my initiation into those mean reviewers who work in packs to destroy an author's confidence. I checked my emails to see if I could find it, but I couldn't. Many times the reviewers thank the site for the arc copy.

[Carole]

NET GALLEY!!!!!

[Anita]

I had the same experience with Net Galley, won't use it again.

[Anna]

Ooh... thanks for the red flag.

[Cate]

Great article. I feel better for not chasing reviews. I just don't have time for it!

For ARCs I used Booksprout and got a few reviews from there, no trolls. Everyone was nice, even those who didn't entirely enjoy the book.

[Carolyn]

Interesting article, as Indie authors it really does seem a struggle to obtain reviews, but good to know it's maybe not the be all and end all. I find the idea of sending digital copy of book out to strangers stressful, and will consider the many options in this article.

[[deleted user]]

Dale wrote: "I ran across this very interesting article on getting Amazon reviews, what they are good for, and why they probably are not half as important as we tend to think. It may help you with getting revie..."

Thanks for sharing this. I welcome anything that keeps me from going any more nuts than indie writing has already made me.

[Dale]

Barbara wrote: "Thanks for sharing this. I welcome anything that keeps me from going any more nuts than indie writing has already made me."

Sure thing. The writing isn't what makes us nuts so much as the marketing. ;-)

[Carole]

I used The Book Commentary for an editorial review of my son's book. It was affordable and gave a wonderful review. They have a mailing list as well. Check it out https://thebookcommentary.com/view-bo... I then ordered reviews on my Bulwark series. Hopefully, it will yield a sale or two.
I've used Kirkus, Foreword, Book Trib, Feathered Quill, as well. I noticed in the Commentary's featured books, there were traditionally published books as well.

[[deleted user]]

Dale wrote: "Barbara wrote: "Thanks for sharing this. I welcome anything that keeps me from going any more nuts than indie writing has already made me."

Sure thing. The writing isn't what makes us nuts so much..."

That is so true. I have to learn to embrace the fact that I wrote it, I think it's pretty good and if nobody buys it, well that's just the way it is.