With the recent controversy on the issue of reviews, triggered by Amazon’s decision to remove all of Christoph Fischer’s 1,700 reviews, it seems this is the issue of the day.
Contrary to popular belief, Amazon does not require that you’ve bought a book in order to review it. It does ask that you mention in your review if you haven’t, explaining how you came across it (usually with a simple “a copy was provided by the author in exchange for an honest review” statement at the end).
This myth is based on the fact that Amazon does require that you’ve bought at least one physical item from its shops before you’re allowed to place a review. This is to verify that you’re an actual human, with a valid physical address, instead of a robot, a troll or a spammer. Here’s the story from the horse’s mouth, as reported by Jackie Weger, who contacted Amazon with that very question:
“Yes, you may send the reviewers a copy of the original format of the eBook for example, MOBI, DOC, among others. I do want to let you know that this is at the publisher’s own risk and Amazon is not liable for any files that are sent, or the reviews given to the book if they meet our reviews guidelines. You may also “Gift” a Kindle book to those reviewers so that it can be downloaded to the reviewer’s Kindle device, or Kindle application. Furthermore, regarding any contest (or for example a raffle), we’ll take this as gifting as well, so all the above will apply if Authors decide to perform this market strategy. The tools, such as ‘Rafflecopter’, that could be used for this will also be under the Author’s personal choosing and responsibility of use.”
Now that’s been cleared, how can one go around securing these elusive reviews?
Jackie’s Advice
In her post, What Reviewers Want, Jackie Weger suggests that authors add the following line at the very end of their book:
Thank you for taking time to read [title]. If you enjoyed it, please consider telling your friends or posting a short review. Word of mouth is an author’s best friend and much appreciated.
Examples of people using this little trick to great effect include Mazie Baby, which drew above 300 reviews within weeks of the book coming off a promotion, and Pineapple Lies, a new 2015 release by Amy Vansant, with 270 reviews after its very first promotion. Jackie has also posted a couple of guest posts to present the reviewers’ point of view. They are both very useful:
She also recommends the following:
“Two promotion sites that have made it onto eNovel’s Above the Fold list are booktastik andBettyBookFreaks. Here is why: On a recent ten author/5 day tour. Dionne of booktastik promoted the tour on her site for free all five days. Dionne has also started streaming promotion results for transparency. That is the GOLD Standard.
Betty ofBettyBookFreaks grabbed our posts and was a Tweeting Wizard for our tour and promotion. They pay-it forward. We love ’em.
BookBarbarian has just made it to our Preferred list for Sci-fi and Fantasy. $8 for promotion and BookBarbarian streams results. Transparency. So has BookScream – which sends the author an indepth activity on a book promotion. These all are smaller sites with fewer subscribers, but the owners are doing it right.”
Book Reviewer Yellow Pages And More
My friend MMJaye posted an excellent resource the other day on the subject. The Book Reviewer Yellow Pages, now in its 6th edition, is a huge list of bloggers and reviewers (of all genres) listed alphabetically, which also specifies which genres the particular reviewer accepts.
Romance authors may also enlist the help of Tome Tender, a blog specializing in the genre. Strangely enough, they also review fantasy. Author Zed Amadeo also posted recently a great selection of review resources. He lists four of them in particular:
The eBook Author’s Corner
The eBook Author’s Corner has a great post with an overview of methods authors may use to find book reviewers: Getting Book Reviews: The Methods Award-Winning Authors Use. This post summarizes the experiences of 50 authors and serves as a helpful introduction to the process.
How to Get a Truckload of Book Reviews by Penny C. Sansevieri
This companion to How to Sell Your Books by the Truckload (you can read Zed’s review here) provides details on how to craft a pitch to send to bloggers who review books in your genre and how to ask readers to write a review.
In addition, Sansevieri’s guide suggests ways to tweak your site to make it easier for potential reviewers to find your book and how to run book giveaways.
How to Get Good Reviews on Amazon by Theo Rogers
How to Get Good Reviews on Amazon explains how to find reviewers of your genre on Amazon.com, while also providing illuminating information on the review culture as a whole and possible pitfalls to avoid when trying to get your book reviewed.
Reviewperstar by Buck Flogging
Reviewperstar: 12 Tasteful Ways to Get More Book Reviews describes how to utilize your email list to encourage subscribers to review your book.
This is a helpful resource for authors who already have a sizable audience, whether from blogging or previous publishing experience.
NAKED TRUTHS About Getting Book Reviews Kindle Edition by Gisela Hausmann
Gisela Hausmann specializes in handbooks for Indie authors. Her NAKED TRUTHS About Getting Book Reviews Kindle Edition has been called a “must-read” by 8 Amazon Hall-of-Fame reviewers.
Getting Book Reviews: Easy, Ethical Strategies for Authors by Rayne Hall
Click to view on Amazon
You may remember Rayne Hall from my author feature. Or, you may have met her on Twitter, her preferred medium. She has literally written the book on the best ways to use Twitter – it’s called “Twitter for Writers” and is part of her celebrated Writer’s Craft series.
In November 2015, she had a terribly flattering suggestion for me. She told me she was writing a new book, this time on getting book reviews. She then asked me for a guest chapter. Naturally, I was happy to oblige, and the book was published a few days ago.
You can find out more about the book here, read what I thought of it, and read the first draft of my contribution (the final proof was somewhat altered).
More Resources
Many thanks to Zed Amadeo for his suggestions. Be sure to check out the full post, Practical Writing Advice: How to Get Your Book Reviewed on his blog.
You can find out more about the Book Reviewer Yellow Pages, including information on the paid version, on MMJaye’s blog. She also shared this great tip:
“Another way that worked for me was to use Goodreads to track reviewers of books that have the same trope or branding as mine (romances with a Greek setting or a Greek alpha male). After checking out their reviews (you don’t want to approach the snarky, over-criticizing ones) I messaged them, and most responded favorably. I got seven reviewers from one batch of messages this way.”
As for crime writers, they’re in luck. As author Sue Coletta let us know, “A crime writer who’s spent thousands testing each site shares her spreadsheet at Murder Lab.”
Author Micki Peluso has another tip:
“Whenever i review a book ( I am also a professional reviewer for publishing houses that mail me best sellers to review) the author almost always reads my book without my asking and writes a review. So for almost every review I write I get one in return.”
This is D. Wallace Peach’s tip:
“Goodreads also has a group where authors can offer books to readers interested in reviewing. I received ten requests for books that I sent out about a week ago.”
Updates
These updates are courtesy of Elle Boca:
- Zili in the Sky is not accepting new requests
- Neither is Karleigh Reads
- Just another girl and her books doesn’t accept ARCs for review
- Words We Heart is closed to indie authors for now.
- The Readers’ Hollow is not accepting requests until August 2015
- Jesse Kimmel Freeman only accepts print copies
- The Hard Cover Lover is not accepting requests at the moment
- The Best Books Ever do not accept indie or self published requests
- The Avid Book Collector does not accept any new requests
- Sobookalicious does not accept any requests
- Shell of Imagination is down, as is Kathryn’s Shelf of Books
- Latina Reading is not accepting review requests
- Reviews by Nadine hasn’t posted anything new since March 2015
- Contest Patti does not accept ebooks
- Walker Putsche is not accepting requests until at least October
- Prism Book Tours seems to sell tours instead of reviewing books, as does Masquerade Tours
- Mi vida impredecible is in Spanish
Wow. To think I almost missed this post. An excellent resource for crime…a crime writer who’s spent thousands testing each site shares her spreadsheet at Murder Lab: http://www.murderlab.com. Incidentally, she does mention other genres too, but concentrates on crime.
Wow, a great resource. I’ll add it to the original post 🙂
Reblogged this on theowlladyblog.
Fantastic resources. Really useful. Thanks very much 😉
Cheers
MTM
So glad you found them useful 🙂
Nicholas, thanks for sharing, once again an ace post!
Thank you! 🙂
A great article about a great resources and the woman behind them. Well done!
Thank you, David! Always a pleasure to have you around 🙂
Thanks for sharing this wealth of info. I’ve saved and shared! 🙂
So glad you found it useful! 🙂
Reblogged this on Books and More.
I do book revi on myst especially cozies. I read very few romance. I do not likr graphic violence or sex. I have already to read. This information was helpful for me.
Thanks for that and welcome. Hence your blog’s title, “Mysteries Galore,” I guess 🙂
Yes that is the reason
Reblogged this on Silver Threading and commented:
Great and useful information found here for authors trying to score great reviews.
Thanks for sharing
Reblogged this on MythRider.
Thanks for sharing all that, very helpful! I read Christoph Fischer’s post about his reviews getting removed, and it’s a rather stark reminder that being exclusive to Amazon can really turn against you. Whether as a reader or as a writer!
I know what you mean. For me, the pros outweigh the cons, but I don’t blame anyone hedging their bet!
Good resources there Nicholas, will definitely be checking a few of those out. 😀
Hope you find them helpful 🙂
Reblogged this on CrazyEnoughToWrite and commented:
Still in a bit of a funk but I saw this and felt it was a very good topic to pass along.
It just occurred to me to mention this. I bought Christoph’s book, ‘In Search Of A Revolution’ as a download. I haven’t read it yet, so not reviewed it. No doubt I will be ‘guilty by association’ when I eventually submit the review. But to hell with that!
Best wishes, Pete.
Lol – you can’t be too careful nowadays, can you? 😀
Wonderful resources here. I’m looking for reviewers for my short stories on Amazon. Anybody know reviewers who do short stories? With so many Kindle Singles out there, you’d think reviewers might like quick reads to review but I’m having trouble finding reviewers for my Kindle Singles.
This is one of the best posts on reviews I’ve seen. Thank you!
Does that cat write reviews? I think I’d like to have his (or her) opinion when I’m shopping. 😉
That’s actually the look on my wife’s face. I had to photoshop her picture into a cat for obvious reasons 😉
Thanks for reminding me, I’ve got to get that particular plate spinning again.
Lol – don’t we all? 😀
How to get a good review? Write a good book.
Lol – fair enough. Although I’m pretty sure that genre also plays a part 😉
Thank you for the great post.
A pleasure – and welcome! 🙂
Here’s the second one out of three that’s not accepting. This one is closed to indie authors for now (but there is no date): https://wordsweheart.wordpress.com/review-policy/
I’ll add that info to the post as well, thanks!
This one isn’t accepting any requests until August 2015: https://www.thereadershollow.com/review-policy.html
Thanks, I’ll add that to the post 🙂
This one is only accepting print copies, but I didn’t see in what country the reviewer lives https://www.jessekimmelfreeman.com/review-requests.html
Thanks! 🙂
Another one that’s not accepting requests until further notice: https://www.thehardcoverlover.blogspot.com/p/review-policy.html
Thank you!! 🙂
One of the links has crashed my browser twice. It seems it was hijacked by a third party. It think it was TheReviewNotes on blogspot.
Thanks, I’ll add it to the post 🙂
FYI – the first one I checked from https://www.bookrevieweryellowpages.com/book-reviewer-list.html is not accepting new requests: https://www.ziliinthesky.com/p/helpful-info-about-my-reviews-and-blog.html
Oh, right! Thanks for that, I’ll add it to the post 🙂
Are there detailed guidelines for review on Amazon and proof someone(s) violated them?
Amazon has review guidelines (you can find them on https://www.amazon.com/gp/community-help/customer-reviews-guidelines). They’re actually pretty simple.
The second half of your question is the tricky one… 🙂
They are pretty general. Plus the requirement is “Anyone who has purchased items from Amazon.com.” It doesn’t specify the item you are reviewing.
This one from the FAQs page could affect peer reviewing: “An artist posts a positive review on a peer’s album in exchange for receiving a positive review from them”
Yes, they are pretty general. And no, as I explained at my post, you don’t need to have purchased the item in question. That’s just a misunderstanding.
The problem is that Amazon doesn’t really explain what happened when they remove reviews, so people are reduced to guesswork 🙂
Thank you so much for this post!
A pleasure – and welcome 🙂
Thanks for another very insightful post, Nicholas. As a reviewer, it is always helpful to try to understand what authors are going through when they reach out for reviews so I can be more empathetic of their needs. With the proliferation of both indie writers needing reviews and book review blogs being inundated with requests, we all know misunderstandings and hurt feelings are going to happen, but I’d rather keep mine to a minimum, and posts like this give me the resources to try to do that.
You’re one of the reviewers I follow religiously, partly because of your great reviews and partly because of your considerate manners. So, I’d say you’re already doing it right 🙂
Reblogged this on Author P.S. Bartlett and commented:
Super post and great timing. I favorited it and plan to comb through it when I have a little time. Thanks so much.
A pleasure! Glad you found it helpful 🙂
Oh, man, I’m so out of the loop lately!! I had no idea Christoph was going through this. Damn. I’ll have to shoot over there next. Thanks for including the link so I can get up to speed.
All these excellent resources, Nicholas! You’re fabulous!! So, what’s the verdict, anyway, does “the author gave me a copy for an honest review” still work? Because I’m reviewing a free book now for someone’s launch. Crazy, right? All of a sudden publishers’ PR dept started sending me free books left and right after reading my reviews on Goodreads. Go figure. Problem is, I don’t want to become known as a “book reviewer”. I’ll never get any work done. Ah well, that’s a problem for another day.
I have the same problem. I’ve actually had to start saying no!
Yes, the “honest review” still works 🙂
This is great. I’m off to check out the resources. What I need is a post entitled, “How To Get All The People Who’ve Told You They ‘Loved Your Book and Will Post a Review’ to Actually Do It!” 🙂
Lol – let me know if you figure that one out 😀
Begging doesn’t work. So far that’s what I’ve learned. Next up… pleading!
Let me know when it’s time to send in cousin Vito.
Reblogged this on Have We Had Help? and commented:
More advice and info from Nicholas. 🙂
Wonderful. The possibilities are growing. 🙂
Indeed! 🙂
Where does one start? Very confusing if you don’t yet know how to blog.
Thanks anyway, Nicholas.
Well, you can start by going through the various blogs and websites mentioned in the post and ask for a review.
Reblogged this on Juliet Aharoni.
I’ve read one or two of these. It also takes some serious investigative work and some conscientious effort on the authors part. What they did to Christoph Fischer’s was wrong on so many levels. So many people, book reviewers and bloggers, reach those numbers. I’m hoping he can somehow get them restored.
Let’s hope so! I still don’t have Amazon’s side of things, but that’s part of the problem, isn’t it? That they don’t seem to have explained their reasoning…
I read of Christoph Fischer’s situation with his reviews, which was the first i have heard of this issue.
This is a great post (again) by the way, Nicholas. If you’re not careful, i could find myself populating my blog with reblogs of yours. – joking, just really great posts!
Lol – that’s a great compliment, Steve, thanks 😀
Thanks for sharing this helpful piece, Nicholas. 🙂
A pleasure 🙂
In my experience as a fledgling indie author over the past six months or so, review blogs are one of two possible types: too big to even respond to a query, or so small that they are suspect as actual review blogs vs. people who just want free books. Thank you for these resources!
Lol – fair enough. A free book for a review is a good bargain anyway, of course 🙂
Not if they never review it! (I’ve lost count of how many review blogs I’ve sent RCs to, that never posted a review.)
In that case, I hope the resources in the post help 🙂
Reblogged this on A place to write, read, discuss and explore the literary world. and commented:
Thank you, Nicholas, for these excellent resources 😀
I’m so lost on this topic. What happened?
Amazon decided to remove all of Christoph Fischer’s 1,700 reviews. Many of those were for Indie authors.
Ouch. So that’s what started the panic about reviews being wiped out.
Yep. And Amazon’s seeming indifference to his repeated questions.
Did somebody report his reviews or was it unprovoked? I’ve heard that people who take the review rankings very seriously will try to get the ‘competition’ banned by reporting. Claiming someone was paid for a review is a big thing right now.
He suspects someone reported him for plagiarism, of all things. There’s a link at the top of my post, if you wish to find out more 🙂
Slowly reading through it while getting the day started here. Thanks.
Reblogged this on Legends of Windemere.
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A great post. You may be interested to know that a colleague who had put on a review for me, Amazon took it off, saying she was a friend. I challenged Amazon saying I only met her once a month at a writing group – I didn’t know, anything about her personal life, and they put tyhe review back on.
That’s interesting! Thanks for sharing 🙂
Almost two years ago, I had my eyes opened to some of the issues concerning Amazon reviews. As well as the criticism of Amazon using automated systems to detect ‘friends’ there is a veritable industry of negative reviewing out there that we all need to be aware of. I wrote this post at the time.
https://beetleypete.wordpress.com/2013/07/22/reviewingthe-truth/
Best wishes, Pete.
Many thanks for sharing, Pete! 🙂
Very useful list of resources. Thanks, Nicholas
Glad you found it useful! 🙂
Reblogged this on Sally Ember, Ed.D. and commented:
Great resources from Nicholas Rossis on getting legitimate #bookreviews
Thanks for sharing my post here and for the additional helpful information on book reviews!
Thank you for the great post! 🙂