Self-publishing is a great way to get your book into the world. But when you self-publish, you take on all the responsibilities that a traditional publisher usually would, including marketing the book, soliciting reviews, sending out review copies, and generating buzz. (And it’s best to start on these things before your book is published.) So, how do you do find the reviewers to help you get the word out? Well, we’ve got some suggestions for you.
But before we get to that – and before you start to contact reviewers – it’s important to understand how to contact them.
What to do:
1. Do your research.
Only contact reviewers who are interested in reviewing the type of books you have written. (See below for some good places to find the right reviewers.)
2. Read their review policy.
Do they only want e-books, or printed books? What genres are they currently interested in reading? Are they currently accepting new books for review? Check out their rules, and follow them.
3. Write a personalized email to the potential reviewer.
No one likes to get a form letter, or spam. Use a salutation, and their name – not just “Hi” or “Dear reviewer,” but rather, “Dear Jane Smith” or at least “Dear Jane.” If there’s no personal name listed, use their username.
Tell the reviewer who you are, how you found them, a little bit about your book, when it will be published. Tell them that if they’re interested, you’d be glad to send them a copy. Specify what format the book will be in (which ebook format, printed book, or if they will have a choice). Thank them for their time and consideration, and say that you look forward to hearing from them. Then sign it, with your full name.
Don’t forget the subject line, either: emails with the subject “Review Inquiry” or “Review Request” will get a better response as they make it easy to identify what your message is about.
Here’s how to write an excellent review query.
4. Before sending your email, spell-check and proofread.
Errors leave a poor impression and make the reviewer less likely to accept your book. They’ll figure your book is full of typos, too.
5. The ultimate purpose of a review isn’t to please you.
Books with reviews do tend to sell better. However, it’s important to understand that reviewers ultimately aren’t written for the author’s benefit. They’re written for the potential reader to give them enough information so that they can make a purchasing decision.
What not to do:
1. If they do accept the book, don’t expect the reviewer to guarantee a review.
Reviewers don’t accept books they have no intention of reviewing, but sometimes they may not be able to – or wish to – eventually review it. That’s OK. They’re not the only reviewer out there. Move on.
2. Don’t expect, or ask for, a positive review.
No reviewer can promise this. Any reviewer worth approaching has integrity and will always post an honest review, whether one star or five. (As people’s opinions will naturally vary, there’s often something fishy when books have only five-star reviews, anyway.)
3. Don’t ask the reviewer to promise a review to be published on or near a particular date.
(Do feel free to tell the reviewer the date of your book’s publication.) Please understand that most reviewers have a big stack of books to review. Reviews take more time than you might think. The reviewer reads the book – maybe more than once – takes notes, then writes and posts the review. You’re asking them to do at least several hours of work for you, on their own time, for free. And they’re not doing it for money, but rather for the love of books, and of reviewing.
This is why you can’t expect a promise of a review by a certain date (or even at all). It’s understandable that you’re anxious for the reviews to start rolling in, but just hang tight, keep soliciting reviews, and one day you’ll have a bunch of them.
4. Never offer payment for a review.
All an honest reviewer will accept is the book itself. Don’t offer a bribe! Paid reviews are not allowed on any reputable websites and can get the reviewer – and sometimes yourself – in a world of trouble, and banned from review websites.
5. Don’t expect an answer to your query.
I know – that almost seems unreasonable, doesn’t it, not to expect the reviewer to reply. The reason that some don’t reply is that many reviewers – especially popular and highly-ranked ones – get so many review queries that it takes too much time to reply to them all. So, they wind up only replying to those they have an interest in reviewing.
6. If a potential reviewer declines to review your book, take it graciously.
Don’t ask why, try to change their mind, or pester them. Stay on good terms – reply briefly with thanks for their time and consideration. Who knows, perhaps they’ll review your next book.
7. After a review is published, don’t comment on the review.
Not even if you disagree with it. Even if the reviewer says something terribly wrong, even factually wrong. Even if they say it’s the best book they’ve ever read. Or the worst! Commenting can make you look petty, overbearing or argumentative, and can turn potential readers against you, ensuring they never read your book. Just. Don’t. Do. It. Ever. (Here’s why.)
10 places to find reviewers for your books.
OK. Now that you understand how to approach reviewers, how do you find them?
1. Amazon’s “Meet Our Authors” Forum
Amazon has a “Meet Our Authors” forum where you can introduce yourself, and also ask for reviews. There are various genre-specific threads too.
(Tip: Don’t post to the Amazon “Top Reviewers Forum” – it’s only for reviewers to talk about the act of reviewing, not for authors asking for reviews. Authors don’t get a good reception there, to put it lightly. Believe me, I hang out there sometimes and have seen things get ugly, fast.)
2. Amazon’s Top Reviewers
Amazon ranks its reviewers according to a variety of criteria and publishes the list. You can go through the list to look for those reviewers who review books in your genre. It will take some time. Those reviewers who include an email address or website in their profile are usually open to being contacted regarding potential reviews. (Some are not.) Before emailing, read their reviews of books in your genre. Pay close attention to any review guidelines which are included in the reviewer’s profile.
TheCreativePenn has a great blog post on getting Amazon reviewers to review your book.
3. Peruse the Amazon book pages
Check out other books similar to yours, and see who’s reviewed them. Look on these reviewers’ profiles to see if they’re open to review offers, as described above. If so, contact them.
4. LibraryThing & Goodreads
On LibraryThing, people catalog, review, and discuss books. The site also functions as a social networking site and is a great place for authors to connect with potential readers. There are lots of things you can do to get the word out about your book here. One of them is to find reviewers.
LibraryThing offers the “Member Giveaway” – where you can give out your own books. Ebooks and printed books are equally welcome. You set a number of available books to offer, and people will enter a drawing to win them. Usually there are more people who sign up than available books, so there is a drawing at the end of the giveaway period.
Though those who receive your books are not required to review your book, you can let it be known that you hope they do. LibraryThing reviewers can post their reviews on that site, but some often post their reviews elsewhere, such as Amazon.com and Goodreads.
Goodreads is similar to LibraryThing, but bigger. Only publishers can give away books for free there, but you can still find potential reviewers through their groups, some of which are dedicated to connecting authors with reviewers. (Use the group search box to find them.) Before posting review opportunities, be sure to check that the rules of the particular group allow it.
5. Social networking sites
Search for people who review your genre of book on Twitter, Facebook, and other social networking sites, and start making connections. Much has been written elsewhere on how to connect with people on these sites, so that’s all I’ll say about it here.
6. Google
Turn to Google to find bloggers who review books similar to yours. Try various searches such as the name of your genre (e.g. YA, poetry, American history, vampire fiction) followed by one of these phrases: book blog, book blogger, book reviews, book review blog, book review blogger. Try various combinations and think of some of your own, investigate the results, and you’re bound to come up with some good ones.
7. Services which connect authors and reviewers
There are quite a lot of specialized websites which will make your book available to reviewers. Here are a few we know of:
The Bookbag. Publishes book reviews on their site, with links to the books on Amazon.
Author Marketing Club. Submit your digital books for review, and announce your Amazon free download days. Free.
4226 Spruce St. Makes it easy for authors of Kindle books to connect with Amazon reviewers. Free.
8. Reviewer directories and lists
The Book Blogger List. A categorized directory of book reviewers, organized by genre, which makes it easy to locate potential reviewers for your book. Free.
Book Reviewer Yellow Pages (formerly Step By Step Self Publishing). Offers an online directory of book reviewers. It’s free, but they also offer paid Kindle and paperback versions.
List of literary / poetry review publications (many print-based)
9. Ask other authors
Ask other authors you’re acquainted with – either on or offline – who reviewed their book, and who they think you should get in touch with. Most authors are very willing to share their experiences and recommendations. When writing to a reviewer, be sure mention that your fellow author recommended that you contact them.
10. Look close to home & offline
There are plenty of local, offline sources for reviews, too:
- local daily or weekly newspapers
- school newspapers
- organization and company newsletters
- contact local indie bookstores to see if they know of any local reviewers
11. (yeah, forget 10 – we’re turning this baby all the way up to 11!)
The Indie View
The Indie View has a great list of reviewers in a number of genres. They also spotlight reviews and authors. Check it out.
don’t forget us
You know, if your book is arts-related nonfiction, or has anything to do with the Beat Generation, you might check out our very own review policy. We don’t accept many books for review – but you never know until you try! We also sometimes publish author interviews and book excerpts.
Summing up…
That’s all for now. If you have suggestions about getting reviews, please leave a comment. And stay tuned for more articles about promoting your self-published books!
JTan says
Thanks, Denise, for your helpful information.
Denise says
Cloyd,
This site looks nice but there are two issues with it:
– The reviewer lists can’t be accessed without completing a third-party offer.
– Kaspersky shows a warning about a phishing link when the site is loaded.
If you would like to talk about this, please email me.
Denise
Cloyd Concepcion says
Hi Denise, [link redacted] is a great source as well for free list of potential book reviewers (reviewed similar books to yours)
Denise says
Cathy, I’m so glad to hear that you found this article helpful. I wish you much success with the novels!
Cathy says
Thanks Denise for a cohesive listing of what to do. It’s early days for me in the world of marketing my children’s mystery novels, so it’s really helpful. Many thanks.
Indira Sahay says
Thank you for your reply. I shall certainly take up some of your suggestion
Indira Sahay says
I was looking for interested reviewers for two Sociology books written by my late husband which remained unpublished when he passed away last year.the first one is already printed and the second one is being got ready for printing. this will take about three months. As the books are academic I would like to send them to academics with similar interests. What do you suggest?
Layla Rose says
What a great find. I did some freelance publicity work for an author recently, and as a writer myself, it was sobering to see what it takes as an indie author. So much work. And having a disability which is difficult to manage really slows me down. So I’ve got a lot of work ahead of me.
Denise says
Hi Lanre,
I wish I could help, but Empty Mirror is just an online magazine; we don’t publish books. I may be able to answer some questions for you, but can’t recommend any particular publishers.
Denise
Denise says
Hi Walter,
I didn’t recommend steering clear of Amazon’s Top Reviewers. Absolutely, you should contact those who review books in your genre. They can be great sources of reviews.
What I was warning against was trying to find Amazon reviewers in the Amazon Top Reviewers Forum. That forum is a solely a place for discussion amongst reviewers, not a place to solicit for reviews. As many have found out the hard way, authors won’t get a warm welcome there as review solicitations are considered spam.
The forum where you can contact potential reviewers on Amazon is the Meet Our Authors forum. But you might have the best success by just contacting individual reviewers who have reviewed books similar to yours in the past. (Just look at their profiles to see if there’s contact information.)
Hope this clears up the confusion.
Denise
Walter Stoffel says
In part helpful ,in part confusing. Denise, you suggest steering clear of Amazon Top Reviewers(they’re touchy) yet you link to Creative Penn article that outlines process for contacting those same top reviewers.
Lanre Ayanlowo says
Hello, i have two self published books. Can you please help me publish them traditionally?
Tom Turkington says
Thank you, Denise, so much. As a first-time author and technophobe besides, I’ve despaired of generating any sense of direction in my efforts to get my book into the hands of unbiased readers. Your suggestions are clear, concise and orderly, and likely the jumpstart I’ve needed.
Were my book concerned with the arts or the Beats, I’d try to hoist it upon you, but no: it’s a 120,000-word chronicle of the first eighteen years of my life. Trying to make an asset of living in the past. Thanks for your push in the right direction(s).
Denise says
I’m glad you found the article useful, Marcus! I wish you much success with the book!
Marcus De Storm says
Thank you Denise for this information useful as a Self Published Author. As it is difficult to find genuine information and where to go to get my book reviewed. This has helped me very much.
Mdu Rohtak says
Excellent tips, and thanks for the shout-out.
Sheree W. Davis says
Denise,
Thanks for this wonderful check list!
I’m a new self-published author and am grateful for the wisdom you are willing to share!
God Bless!
~Sheree W. Davis
Johnb9 says
Thanks so much for the article.Much thanks again. Great.
ferris robinson says
Denise, Thank you so much for this informative and detailed post! So helpful! And I really appreciate the heads-up on commenting on reviews – I had no idea! I feel like I should be writing them a thank you note for taking the time to read my book, and taking even more time and energy to review it!
Thanks for all you do for writers!
Denise says
Alec, thanks for the suggestion. I have mixed feelings about Reviews Easy. I haven’t used it myself, but from a brief look at their website, it certainly appears to make it easy to search for Amazon reviewers.
Maybe too easy. I don’t enjoy reading e-books and don’t review them. That fact is stated very clearly on my Amazon profile. And yet, authors very often email to ask me to review their e-books. Some of these authors have told me that they were referred to me by Reviews Easy, and they’ve been surprised that I have no interest in e-books.
It seems that somehow Reviews Easy is leading authors to believe that I want to read e-books. (But since I haven’t used the site, I am not sure how or why this is happening.)
The site may be a good resource. But authors who choose to use it should double-check the reviewers’ profile information and preferences!
Thanks again —
Denise
Alec Stone says
Hi, don’t forget about reviews-easy.com.
This service is doing all the work for you. You only have to register and search the Amazon the reviewers by categories, products they review or by personal details. Then, a list of reviewers with contact details will be generated and you can download it. Then you can send personalized emails to all of them or do what you want with that data.
Denise says
Hi Tim,
Most authors self-publish because they want their work to be read. But there’s no sense in publishing if you don’t feel compelled to.
While most people who write never publish, some of those still have a few books printed for themselves, family and friends who have expressed an interest. It’s an option. And, in that case, you needn’t bother with arranging for reviews, or with other promotional methods.
Others wish to reach a wider readership so look into either traditional or self-publishing, and eventually spend time promoting their book.
If you fall into the latter category, then self-publishing may be for you. But if you don’t, just keep writing for the love of it — and ignore those who pressure you.
all best,
Denise
Tim Williams says
after reading everything that i’ve read i find myself asking …why self publish it seems like more of a pain in the ass then what it’s worth . i mean is this he only way to to go ? i write because i like to write not to share. the only reason publishing has come up is cause everyone that reads my book won’t stop bugging me about it . anyone hit me up cause i don’t see the benefit . thanks
Denise says
Hi Rena,
Thanks for your comment. I’m happy to hear that you found the post helpful.
Unfortunately I’m one of those reviewers who is often full-up on books to be reviewed…but I try to make time if just the perfect book is offered. There just isn’t enough time, though, to read – and review – everything I would like to.
Thanks again!
Denise
Rena George says
Thank you for such a helpful, informative post, Denise. Authors really do need to put in the work to find approachable reviewers – and be prepared to overcome disappointments. Most reviewers are so overburdened that they have closed their lists for the foreseeable future. However the more potential reviewers an author can contact, the greater the chance of success. Perseverance is the secret, I think.
Denise says
Erik, I’m so glad to hear you found the guide to reviews helpful. Good luck in finding reviewers! – Denise
Erik D. Weiss says
Thanks, Denise!
This is a fantastic little guide, great for new writers like me, eager to get my two fiction books out there. This is great advice, and you’ve inspired me to get to work getting my books reviewed and more visible!!
Erik
J Haeske says
If I only had known then what I know now… Thanks for that, Denise.
Denise says
Glad we could help, Molly! Good luck with the book reviews!
Molly Gambiza says
Hi Denise,
Thank you very much for taking your time to share this helpful information. That’s very generous of you. I am after honest reviews for my book A Woman’s Weakness. Now you have given me the directions, the ball is in my hands.
Thanks!
christynathan930 says
Hello Denise,
I have a question is that any website which can give all the details of ebooks like how much ebooks are sale and in which with reviews because if any tool provide all of these things in one place it will be really helpful for many publishers.
christynathan930 says
Thanks for the great information and also for great tips too, and now I also check my book reviews.
Jyoti Arora says
Thanks, really informative post.
James Jean-Pierre says
Thank you for this post, this list will definitely boost up my reviewer count.
Danita says
AMAZING! Thank you so much.
Denise Enck says
Hi JT,
Congratulations on the publication of your book! Getting reviews is definitely a challenge. Without having seen your book or query email, I’m not sure why you haven’t had positive responses to your review query. But a lot depends upon the particular reviewers contacted, and how they are chosen.
First, do your research to find reviewers who review the types of books you write, and who are currently accepting books for review.
For example, I’m a reviewer; I clearly state on my review page here on Empty Mirror that I review Beat Generation and art-related books, do not review fiction, and am not accepting more books for review for the next few months. However, almost every day I receive review queries from authors who didn’t bother to read that; they offer me books about knitting, fantasy fiction, memoirs, guitar chords, children’s books, cooking, and more. I receive a lot of these, and most of them are deleted without reply.
There are websites which categorize book bloggers/reviewers by the genres they review; those can be really helpful in finding the right reviewers. Or go to Amazon and see who has reviewed similar books to yours, and see if they have an email address on their profile.
Second, sometimes it’s in the way that you approach the reviewer. Many queries I’ve received have been very impersonal, had spelling errors (doesn’t bode well for the book), were poorly written, required me to click a link to find out about the book, or wanted me to download free from Amazon on a particular day. Make it easy for the reviewer – address them by name if possible, give a brief synopsis of the book, tell where and when it’s available and in what formats. Don’t require the reviewer to do additional work to find out the basics about your book.
(However, include a link to Amazon – or wherever the book’s sold – so they can investigate more if they want to.)
Your query should contain everything necessary for the reviewer to make a decision.
Also – make sure the book is in good shape and ready for review. Sometimes, before accepting an already-published book for possible review, I’ll read the sample on Amazon to see if it appeals to me. If I find excerpts full of typos, formatting errors, or awkward writing, I won’t accept the book.
It’s harder to find reviewers for some genres than others. For example, fiction, YA and children’s book reviewers are plentiful (though often overburdened); reviewers for non-fiction, art and poetry are a little trickier to find.
But some of it is just timing, and a little bit of luck. Most reviewers get lots of queries and have to turn down even books that sound really enjoyable to them due to time constraints. But following the tips above can give you better odds.
You might also take a look at our article, “How to write an excellent review query” –
http://www.emptymirrorbooks.com/publishing/how-to-write-an-excellent-book-review-query.html
Good luck, JT! If you have further questions, just let me know – I’d be really glad to help.
all best,
Denise
jt says
I published my book in may, overlooking the need for a review. Since the time I must have approached 200-300 bloggers/sites for review unsuccessfully. any advice to get a free review?
regards, jt
selfpubber says
I’ve used http://www.selfpublishingreview.com and it worked out pretty well. It’s a paid review, but it wasn’t a shill review (i.e. overly nice).
Denise Enck says
Thanks for the tip, Emily!
Be careful though, if you’re posting those reviews on Amazon. Amazon doesn’t allow reviews by “reviewing circles” (groups of people who review each other’s books) and has been known to revoke reviewing privileges for those caught doing it.
all best,
Denise
Emily says
I’ve used easybookreviews.com a few times. If you are willing to review other books in return it is a guaranteed way to get some (honest) reviews.
I’m also going to try story cartel but my books are already in kdp so I can’t have them available for free anywhere else at the moment. Also, story cartel aren’t amazon verified purchase reviews.
John Scherber says
Self-publishing evolves. Up-to-date information can be found in my book, A Writer’s Notebook, along with 20 other topics that writers need to move their projects ahead. Help is here, so why work alone? Check out my website for a sample.
http://www.sanmiguelallendebooks.com/writernotebook.html
Gerard Thomas says
OMG! I’m so happy now you’ve mentioned everything from A-Z.
Empty Mirror says
That’s a great idea, Lenita! Thanks so much. I’ll edit the article to include that. I’m glad you got a good response!
Lenita Sheridan says
This really helped me. I already got one “yes.” You might tell people to put “Review Request” in the subject line, otherwise they might get ignored the way I did when I put “possible book review?” I learned the hard way, but one website fortunately told me what to do, so I changed my tactic from then on.
@IolaGoulton says
10 ways to find book reviewers (and some useful links) #writing #reviews
Empty Mirror says
Thanks Iola. I hadn’t heard of this one before, but I just checked it out – great resource! – Denise
Iola says
https://storycartel.com/ is another resource for authors to connect with reviewers.
@marqjonz says
Exclnt!
Caimin says
Excellent tips, Denise.
I’ve had a great response to a simple, polite email I send to people who’ve reviewed a similar book to mine (#3 on your list).
I send several review requests at the same time and combine it with a KDP free promo. That way, the reviewers can instantly download the book at no cost and when they come to review it it’ll have the “Amazon Verified Purchase” tag.
Bonus: these types of reviewers tend to write thoughtful, useful reviews.
@Phaedra4Real says
Dan’s right, great write-up.
ChaoticReader says
Great article on how and where to find reviewers for your book. http://t.co/wtpNTZszk5
Empty Mirror says
So happy to hear you found it helpful! I wish you all the best with your book! – Denise
Vennie Kocsis says
This was so very informative. Thank you for providing these resources for us budding authors.
Empty Mirror says
Thanks, Rinelle. I’ll add it. Unlike LibraryThing, GoodReads’ giveaways are only through publishers rather than authors, which is why I left it off the list. But I forgot about the forums! So I’ll add it to the list. Gracias. – Denise
Rinelle Grey says
A very extensive list of resources, I’ll be trying some of these.
One you missed is Goodreads. There are several forums that have dedicated space to helping authors find reviewers. Make sure you check that this is OK though, some groups encourage it, some dislike it.