Getting a book reviewed is easy once you have the hard copy in hand from the printer. While they do cost you money to send out, the return on investment can be invaluable. Peter Bowerman of The Well-Fed Self-Publisher sends out copies of his book for review daily. It is not uncommon for him to send out 3-5 review copies a day!
Spreading the word increases sales, stimulates conversation, and gets the word out about your book. The book marketing that results from a book review is invaluable! How do you find reviewers? Patience and persistence is needed. Start local and branch out from there. Many traditional avenues for book reviews (newspapers and magazines) are drying up so you may need to be a little creative in your approach to creating a list of potential reviewers.
To develop your list of potential reviewers consider:
Create Mailing labels for every reviewer and then stamp the books with a rubber stamp (cheaply made at the local print shop): Review Copy – Not for Re-Sale. Then make sure you include a little professional “cheat sheet” that is similar to a press release. It should contain a quick reference for the reviewer of:
Now sit back and wait. This can take as long as 6 months…sometimes longer. Do NOT follow up with a phone call or email or snail mail letter checking on the status of the review. Do follow up with a snail mail one page cover letter, brief bio with your professional photo, and any relevant clippings to provide additional information for the reviewer. Refrain from asking about the review even in this letter. Focus your efforts on looking for more reviewers.
Don’t forget that customers can be not only your biggest fan but great reviewers as well. Ask them to post their impressions on Amazon, Barnes and Noble and any other sites that host your sales.
Keep copies of your reviews and use quotes from them to continue promoting your book. File a copy in your press kit and post them on you website in separate page. Marketing your book is not as hard as you might think. With a little creativity, you will get your book in the right hands for some really good reviews.
KISS (Keep It Simple Silly) is the perfect acronym for authors to embrace. Short simple sentences are not only easier to read but get the point across faster. When people really “get” something in your book they are more likely to talk about it and spread the word. Spread the word and sell more books.
Readers today do not want to reflect on or respond to lengthy parcels of writing. They want the meat and potatoes of the work laid out for them in language that is easy to follow. Honestly, while James Joyce and Herman Melville produced outstanding literature that has stood the test of time, who reads their work casually? Academics may read it but most students will look for the movie version or the Cliff notes. Why?
Think back to kindergarten…writing was fun! Exciting! When we were first introduced to learning how to write it was a socially active engaging experience. We used simple language to learn phonics skills and built word walls. Writing was interactive! Reading was Dick and Jane and Spot and Puff and all their silly adventures. Then we graduated to Dr. Seuss and the art of rhyming word families. Oh, the places we did go with our reading!
As authors, we need to get back to that simple carefree use of language. We need to write to be read in a way that engages the reader and makes them excited about the content. Throw out those long passages of describing the scenery. Economize on the length of word and the details. This is not 11th grade where you have to show your knowledge of the language, the rules of grammar, and the depth of your vocabulary.
Readers prefer:
Everytime an author interjects more than a “said” in dialogue they are butting in the scene. The author should remain as invisible as possible in the work. Show readers through dialogue the conflict and action of your story. If you are describing a snow storm does the reader really need to know what each flake looks like as it falls to the ground? Remove words that are not found in everyday language. Honestly, who really uses words like “ubiquitious” and “mendacious”?
Writing to be read means tightly scripted work. Cut, pare down, and chop away at pretentious writing no one really wants to read. Sometimes the simplest writing can put forth the most complex ideas. Make every word count.
Blogging is a great way for authors, entrepreneurs, and speakers to generate an audience for your books/products/services. People love blogs that present the writer’s personal perspective on a lesson or experience. Now that is not to infer that the article entry should be a boring rendition of how you baited a hook and caught a trophy fish last summer. That would make people run shrieking for cover.
Content – Authors and speakers who blog want to populate their blog with information and resources that their readers will find helpful, beneficial, or interesting. Content in your blog should be stories about what you have experienced in a particular situation that resulted in decisions and actions. What did you do? How did you either get out of the pickle you were in or how did you improve your approach?
Size – How much do you say? How long should you make each paragraph? The general rule of thumb is to write for the short attention span of the modern reader. We are inundated with material to read and process each and every day. Keep it short and sweet. Ask a question, tell a brief and pointed story, and then provide an answer or pertinent point for the reader. Less is more. If readers want to know more let them comment or go to your website and hire you!
Now get out there and practice! Find what works for you and your audience. Carve out your niche and start building your audience.
Blogging is a quick way to generate excitement, stir up controversy, and get people talking about a variety of topics in a short space of time. Why should you as an author blog?
Simple answer: To create a ready made audience for your book.
Complex answer: To create a ready made audience for your next book.
Wait a minute! That is the same answer! Yes, but if we peel it apart there are many layers that could be examined.
Blogging creates excitement and gets people interested in what you have to say. As you the author begin to generate the excitement and stir the waters you begin to be recognized as a possible authority in the field you write about both in your blog and in your book. A made to order audience begins to develop for your book.
The more complex answer is that as an author we truly never know what the fickle audience wants at any given time. We can make educated guesses based on studies, surveys, etc. The world of information has become so fluid with the accessibility of the web that we as authors would be foolish not to use it as a medium for testing the waters.
What if you as an author began to blog about the different chapters of your next book? Could you get immediate feedback for content development? You bet you can! Fiction or non-fiction, you get to create and collaborate with the very people who will be in your book audience.
Put blogging on your author “to do” list. Schedule it. Perhaps it can be your warm-up activity for your daily writing sessions. Begin with a short personal paragraph or two and build out from there. You will find your voice just like you will find an audience.
Now get out there and start blogging!
Prior to sending your manuscript out for editing, preview it for ”tightness” with a critical eye to detail. Do you have a general outline for your book? Go back to that and review it then look at your work chapter by chapter to see how well your work sticks to the original outline and premise for the work.
Go to the first chapter of your book and find your thesis statement. It should be relatively obvious and in the very first paragraph of your work. After you find it, underline it. Then go back in the rest of the chapter and highlight ONLY the parts that are directly related to your thesis in that chapter. How much of the work is thesis centered? How well do you communicate the supporting details to prove or expound on your thesis? How much fluff is there?
The fluff has to go! Tight writing requires an economy of language and a straightforward approach to the topic discussed. Sentences that are more than 17 words should be re-evaluated for unnecessary verbosity. Remove any fluff or unrelated material (save it for another section of this book or for another book – even for a handout or workbook when you start speaking in public on your book).
Then take what is left and organize it according to the outline you used earlier to craft your work. Turn some of what you wrote into bullet statements, some into supporting paragraphs, etc. Your work should fall more naturally into place if you do this. The writing will be more cohesive and the entire work will be logical and easy to follow.
The following questions are things you want to have a fairly firm answer before shopping for an editor. These are structural questions and not content questions. When shopping for an editor these are the kinds of questions they will ask and you will want to be prepared to answer. Nothing makes you feel more like the ninth grader who is not prepared for an oral quiz then not having a good answer on the details about your own work.
- What is the estimated word count for the entire work?
- Will the work be paperback or hardcover?
- Will you have an index?
- What deadline are you working toward for the completed work/edit of the draft?
- What deadline are you working toward for completion of all revisions?
- How many charts, tables, graphics, etc will be sent ?
- Do you have citations and references? If so, what style will you wish to employ?
- Will you have footnotes?
