Navigating The World Of Online Book Reviewers
My book is finished. A release date has been set. So…now I gotta figure out how to get people to find it and buy it.
The Kindle listing on Amazon was the first store link to go live.
This challenge wasn’t some surprise out of the blue. I knew this was coming. But my novel never had a release date planned six months to a year ahead of time. There isn’t a team of publicists on stand-by ready to spread the word. So it had to start digitally hoofing it and virtually knock on doors.
I’m not going to post a link to each and every blog or publication that I personally submitted to because everybody’s book is different. But I can suggest a few listings and things to have ready before you begin.
A Copy Of Your Book
Whaaaaaat? Yes, you need a copy of your book. I do not have a physical copy of my own book as of yet (an Advance Reader Copy), so I have been using the final digital layout (an eARC). And when going digital, different people have different preferences. Some will prefer PDF, others an ePUB file, and still more a Kindle MOBI file. Kindle devices do not natively read ePUB files because that would be too easy. I actually used the Kindle Previewer app to convert my ePUB file to MOBI and I would suggest doing the same if you looked into the self-publishing route like I did for a time, or if you decided to go in that direction. If you have physical copies of your book–awesome. Now you can send copies to anyone who insists on a printed version.
I should also note that the publisher of my book will also be making a digital copy available to registered reviewers. But in the interest of time, I wanted to reach out to folks as soon as possible rather than hope the right reviewer stumbles upon my book.
Details About Your Book
How many pages is your book? How many words? Some people ask for the prices and ISBN codes. Got your blurb ready? You’re going to be including it a lot. How about your bio? Brush up your synopsis. Everybody asks for something a little different and it’s better to have all those things from your query phase dusted off and ready to go.
A Press Release
Most blogs I came across didn’t ask for this, but there is likely more than one online or hybrid magazine you’re going to submit to for reviews, so it’s nice to have and include if they ask for it. There are more than a few articles out there about writing press releases for books and I am certainly no expert at it, but I’m glad I took care of that ahead of time.
Listings of Book Review Sites and Blogs
Here are a couple of sites that I found useful in giving me listings. In the best cases, you’ll submit to ones you are familiar with. If you haven’t started following folks who publish reviews of your book’s genre yet, it’s time to get cracking.
theindieview.com
The Indie View: Reviewers List
Pages and pages of listings, including direct links to review and submission policies. Very handy and manageable.
blog.reedsy.com/book-review-blogs/
Best Review Blogs by Reedsy
Reedsy is a service-for-hire site for getting your book made, but the listing of blogs is filter-able and free. I found it very useful to be able to sort by genre and traffic and catch opportunities that I didn’t find on IndieView.
https://blog.reedsy.com/book-review-blogs/
Other Ideas
There are ways to pay for a review of your book, and Google will be more than happy to help you find those sites. Google can also help you find sites in your genre that slipped through the listing cracks.
It also took me a couple of days to remember that my local writers’ association offers book reviews for local writers. I joined months ago and had forgotten, so my fingers are crossed that at least one review will come my way.
Of Course, There’s More
The options and possibilities for getting the word out about my book feel endless at times, but the valuable listings of sites all in one place helped me a lot. Following sites and personalities on Twitter has also been helpful over the last couple of years, so I already had a good idea of who I wanted to submit to.
This article is by no means an exhaustive list of every way to get your book in front of people who will be willing to review it, but I hope it can get you pointed in the right direction. Or at least the ones I went in. We’ll see if it works out.
