One thing that I've been both pleasantly surprised by and disheartened by is the process of garnering and asking for reviews for my novel, Toe the Line (here).
I read many articles about e-book and e-publishing success stories. In most cases they state that positive online reviews lead to their success (as stated in the article linked here). Each time I read it it sounded so arbitrary and ethereal. How did one go about getting reviews? I knew that there were companies out there that provided reviews, how much? What type of review did you get?
The first thing I learned was not to count on friends and family for reviews. Initially this was disheartening for me. Then I realized how few reviews I've actually posted on Smashwords or Amazon. Even for books I love I rarely post glowing reviews. Why should I expect from my friends and family something that I have never provided to anyone else?
I was not impressed with this avenue. It petered out quickly and the reviews left me wondering if the readers had truly read the entire book. First they cited only passages from the beginning and I've gotten more helpful and deep critiques from the YA reviewers I discuss below.
The second thing I found was that Book Blogs (here) is a spectacular avenue for finding reviewers. Sure a majority of the reviewers on the site are Romance novel reviewers and there also seems to be an overwhelming bias toward vampires and young adult novels, but I've had more luck using this venue than any other. The reviews I got (here), (here) and (here) all came from this site. There are three times that many I just didn't want to write and link (here) nine times.
Finally, and this is the key, I was contacted by Cheryl Masciarelli through LinkedIn about her company, Partners in Crime (here). This is a virtual PR business that helps young authors link up with publicists, bloggers, reviewers, and more. Basically it sounds like she would do all the leg work that I am currently doing.
Again, the question becomes is it worth the money. The results from the "for charge" review sites were not worth the dough and I didn't get as much as I hoped. Maybe there is something to be said for slogging ones own way through the morass. At this point I'm considering Miss Masciarelli et al to help out with On the Edge. We'll know if the investment pays off in my AAR following that release.
6 comments:
I also considered spending money on reviews, but after quite a bit of research discovered that it worked for a few but was not the yellow brick road it was lauded to be. I'll just keep plugging away myself.
I was also surprised at the lukewarm response to my release by the majority of my family and friends. I'm sending out review requests, but it's slow going. I've had three acceptances in two weeks. I did decide to book a blog tour, mostly because I'm a new author with no real platform and since I plan to be in this for the long haul, I feel that it's a start. I'll let you know how it goes!
Great post though...and I look forward to reading your book and posting a review. :)
Kristi
Thoroughly unimpressed barely scratches the surface of my thoughts on the paid reviews. I agree that slogging it through is okay, but I still wonder if there isn't something to letting the experts handle it. I think slogging one review at a time is effective, but perhaps there is something to the Cadillac service of an agent working for you. I can say this much, the Ford Nova service I used wasn't worth the time or the money.
Thanks for the comment. I hope you'll write some more.
Please do keep me informed. I started The Corpse Goddess today. I'm thinking of posting your first line in the blog tomorrow and hope you don't mind if I include a link to your site.
So far it's a lot of fun to read. Good job. I've never tried it, but I think a guest interview about your experiences writing The Corpse Goddess might be fun. You up for that much exposure?
Thanks for the comment. I hope you'll keep checking back in and adding more.
Kristi is on the right track with the blog tours. Blog tour coordinators already have lined up real book bloggers and will do their best to match your book with bloggers who read your type of book. The cost of the tour and supplying the book pays off in the buzz generated around the web by the reviews, book features and giveaways available during the period of the tour. While this won't guarantee you sales, it light the fire of brand recognition which you then keep on feeding coals by tweeting, interacting on your Facebook page, finding blogs which suit your topic and pitching for guest post spots etc. Thinking up a weekly meme that will have folks visiting your blog.
I think you are right, btw. I plan on releasing my next novel in a far less piece meal approach. That should provide more fodder for this AAR series if nothing else. Thanks for the input. I hope you'll feel free to comment again.
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