Book Reviewer Yellow Pages
I wrote my first eBook in 1991. In those days, like today,
it wasn’t hard to do if you had something to say and a computer to produce it.
But what was hard, was marketing
those early eBooks. Even if you advertised the book on a service like
CompuServe, Prodigy or AOL, how would you ever find people willing to tell
other people about your book?
I “discovered” the Book
Reviewer Yellow Pages more than five years ago; April 29, 2011 to be exact
(then called The Indie Book Review Yellow
Pages). Newspapers and magazines were still employing book reviewers and
“book bloggers” were considered an anomaly, given the same respect that big
publishers were giving the new-fangled eBook formats like Kindle.
Fast forward to today and those same reviewers—if they are
still writing reviews—most likely have started a blog (and in fact might even
be in this book). An indie author trying to get reviewed by a traditional media
outlet is an exercise in futility. It’s also fair to say that eBooks have made
the big publishers huge profits and now form a permanent part of their
publishing operations.
Book blogging today has grown into a serious business. It is
a necessary marketing tool to promote books and Christy Pinheiro-Silva’s Book Reviewer Yellow Pages—now in its
sixth edition—is the definitive guide to this informal network of book reviewers.
Collectively they rival the promotional power of the large
circulation newspapers and magazines. Individually they can help niche books
break-out to a wider audience. And that’s what book marketing is all about: helping
thousands of small products in scores of categories seek and find their own
passionate audience.
How I met Christy is a testament to modern book marketing,
itself a lesson for new publishers. As a long-time reader of the pioneering
eBook news website Teleread.com, I came across an article saying that her
second edition was available for free. Free is still a popular way to connect
with readers but in 2011 it was the fastest, sure-fire way to get your name and
book noticed. Everyone had Kindles to fill-up and as a book marketer and
author, who couldn’t use a free directory?
By the time the fourth edition was published in 2013 it had
grown to a 778 page tome. Seeing an opportunity for constructive feedback, I
took to Amazon reviews to voice my ideas about what makes this guide book so
important for my clients, and where I thought it could be improved. I’m happy
to say that Christy read that review, contacted me, and took many of those
suggestions to heart.
Here are the two things you should know about the Book Reviewer Yellow Pages:
1.
It
defines a standard of etiquette. Christy’s 10 rules for author etiquette
should be required reading for every author, regardless of whether or not book
bloggers are part of your marketing mix. I confess it is so solid that I based
a section of my own book, Successful
eBook Publishing (Sellbox, 2012) on her advice. The blogosphere would be a
better place if every author took her admonitions to heart in all their book
promotion interactions.
2.
It
codifies the essential facts about a book blogger, so you don’t have to. Shouldn’t
we be able to just “Google” book bloggers and fire off emails to reviewers?
Nope. In reality it isn’t that easy. Trying to find the pertinent information
so you can approach the reviewer who is right for your book (see point 1) is
going to take you hours! There are no
standard website designs for review websites, and you will need to visit each
one (again, see point 1). Here is where the Book
Reviewer Yellow Pages shines. Your small investment will pay big dividends
in saving time in finding the relevant reviewers, and their contact
information.
But one thing still remains the same, as it did for me in
1991. You simply must get people talking about your book if you are ever going
to be a successful author. A book no one talks about is even worse than a book
that doesn’t make money.
And that’s where this wonderful community of book bloggers
comes into play. Let the Book Reviewer
Yellow Pages be your Michelin Guide to the Wild West World of book review
bloggers.
David Wogahn
President, Sellbox.com
Publisher, PartnerPress.org
Author, Successful
eBook Publishing (978-0615710730)
The ISBN for the print version is 978-1937361235.
Link to PDF version: http://step-by-step-self-publishing.contentshelf.com/shop?p=1
Author Etiquette
1. Authors
and publishers must realize that a book reviewer is doing them a favor. Book
reviews are
some of the best publicity in the world, and reviewers perform a valuable
service. If you
don’t
agree, go spend a few thousand dollars on print advertising and see what I
mean. Above all else,
respect the
reviewer’s time and opinion.
2. Know
your genre! And don’t be upset if the reviewer doesn’t accept your genre. We
all have
our likes
and dislikes. For example, please don’t try to submit a BDSM book to a “clean
romance”
reviewer.
Everyone is allowed to enjoy what they want. Just move on to the next reviewer.
Use our
genre index
to easily find the reviewers who will accept your book.
3. Even if
you get a negative review, you should accept it as valuable feedback. Not
everyone is
going to
like your book. It is never appropriate to berate or attack a reviewer over a
negative review.
Google the
negative publicity that author Alice Hoffman received when she decided to
attack a Boston
Globe
critic by calling her a “moron” following a tepid review of her novel The
Story Sisters. Do not
stalk or
harass a reviewer that gives you a bad review. It’s petty, and it may come back
to haunt you.
4. If your
book is unedited or full of typos, then you shouldn’t be contacting reviewers
in the
first
place. Nobody wants to read an unedited manuscript.
5. Don’t
expect a reviewer to pay for a review copy. They are giving you FREE publicity,
and the
least you
can do is pay for the review copy and the postage.
6. If you
would like the reviewer to host a giveaway or a contest, that’s fine, but the
reviewer
should NOT
have to pay for postage or the giveaway copies. Once again, this is a book
promotion tool,
and the
reviewer is doing you a favor. You can either reimburse the reviewer for the
postage costs (via
PayPal or
some other method), or you can send the “contest winners” their copies
yourself. And don’t
be a flake—if
you ask a reviewer to host a contest, make sure you have copies to give away.
If the
reviewer
prefers to mail out the copies herself, then that is fine. Either way, give the
reviewer the
option and
let her decide.
7. Don’t
bug a reviewer endlessly about your review once you have sent the book.
Reviewers
are busy,
and many of them get dozens of review requests every week. If they give you an
estimate
such as “five
to six weeks,” then it is appropriate to ask politely after that time period
has passed.
8. Many
reviewers will request a synopsis of the book to see if they like the subject
matter. Be
prepared to
provide this, and make sure the synopsis is free of typos or other grammatical
errors.
When I get
an e‐mail from an author that is full of errors, I usually just delete it. Do
need help crafting
a review
request? Check out our new review request letters section (next).
9. Always
visit the reviewer’s website and read the submission guidelines before you
submit
your review
request. All reviewers are different. Some want a chapter. Some want a few sentences.
Some just
want a link so they can review the description themselves. Tailor your review
request to
each
reviewer, and you’ll have much better luck getting some free publicity.
10. A quick
thank you note to the reviewer is a nice touch, whether the review is positive
or
not. Also,
once a positive review is posted, make sure you visit the blog and leave a
comment.
Reviewers
like followers, so mention that you’ve followedtheir blog. They also really
enjoy hearing an
author’s response. It shows professionalism
and class.
Our official website: http://www.bookrevieweryellowpages.com
"Book Readers" is listed on page 59.
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