Dan Poynter

Once you transition from having a manuscript to holding an actual book, your job as an independent author switches from writer to promoter. Even if you or your publisher has hired a professional publicist for your title, making the public aware that your book exists should be your top priority (if you care about sales, that is). One part of a successful publicity campaign is having reviews for your book, and even as an independent author there are many ways to secure some solid, unbiased reviews.

First of all, make sure you have plenty of copies of your book on hand (as well as a nice budget for postage!). Traditional means of getting reviewed, like simply submitting to magazines and newspapers, are dwindling. Therefore, the Internet should definitely be your first resource for finding review outlets. On Dan Poynter’s ParaPublishing.com, for instance, you can find a detailed guide to getting book reviews.

This guide offers invaluable information on where and when to submit for reviews.

When you find an outlet that will review your book, pay close attention to its submission guidelines, as they can vary depending on the reviewer. If you don’t submit in exactly the way their website directs, your submission will likely end up in the trash.

You should also have a simple cover letter that you can tailor to each publication to which you are submitting. Keep in mind that these publications receive thousands of submissions a year and simply cannot review everything that comes to them (although some will offer the option for you to pay to get a guaranteed review), so they will not read a long letter. Pertinent information to include is

• a sentence or two about the content of the book
• the name of your publisher
• the book’s page count
• the book’s publication date
• your email address and phone number

Keep timelines in mind, too. You must submit to larger-scale publications (such as monthly magazines) six months prior to your publication date; to trade publications, newspapers, and weekly magazines three to four months prior to your publication date; and to online outlets and blogs one month prior to your publication date.

Another great source for reviews is Amazon.com. Look up other books that are similar to yours, scroll through the reviews that have been posted, and email the reviewers that have put up competent and complimentary reviews. Clicking on reviewers’ Amazon usernames will direct you to their profiles, where you can often find a way to contact them. Add a line to your form letter stating why you think a particular reviewer would enjoy your book based on their preferences, and clarify that if they do want to look at your book, it will be theirs to keep as a thank you.

While you’re online, don’t forget to look up blogs! They are fantastic outlets that grow daily in both readership and content, and you can find them through keyword searches and writers’ organizations. On Technorati.com you can search millions of blogs by category and see their “authority,” which tells you about a site’s standing and influence in the blogosphere, based on its linking activity and other factors. At Alexa.com, you can see detailed information about each blog’s traffic levels, which helps you easily decide which blogs to prioritize in order to maximize your book’s exposure. Bloggers almost always list their email addresses on their sites, so whip out that cover letter and send it over.

If you have your heart set on having your book reviewed in a newspaper or magazine, look up the publication online and find a contact email. Send a personalized email version of your form letter (again, emphasize why your title is relevant or interesting to them in particular), and ask to whom you can send a free copy of your book. A helpful resource for newspaper and magazine contacts can be found at John Kremer’s website. However, these outlets are becoming harder to break into, so balance your outreach here with the aforementioned online sources.

As you can see, the process of securing reviews can be both daunting and time-consuming. There is no guarantee that reviews will be positive, so don’t spend too much time or resources on submissions unless you have complete faith in your product (of course you do not ever have to use a negative review).

Why go through the whole process of submitting your book to reviewers at all?

Having reviews that you can post on your website and marketing materials adds a level of credibility to your title, and even a negative review is still exposure. Most importantly, reviews are crucial to your distribution efforts; libraries, for instance, rely heavily on reviews when deciding which titles to carry. Reviews can literally make or break a book’s chances of surviving in the market, so if you want your book to have shelf presence, start submitting!