REVIEWS MATTER

by Alexa Bigwarfe

I hear it from authors all the time. “I don’t want to think about all that marketing and publishing stuff. I just want to write!” Of course you do, but the publishing industry has changed, and if you want to be successful as an author, you have to start learning the business of being an author. Whether you are published by a traditional publishing house, or you self-publish or choose to go the hybrid route, there are things beyond writing you should be thinking about.

You’ve put a lot of time, effort and energy into writing a good book, why would you not want to also put in the efforts to make sure people can find and buy that book? 

There are many important elements that go into selling a book. You need a platform (ie, readers!), you need great meta data associated with your book, a marketing strategy, and you need a lot of reviews.

Oh, the dreaded reviews. Of all the things mentioned above, reviews are probably the last thing you want to think about as an author. However, reviews, and getting them, are one of the biggest hurdles an author will face. It can take a long time and a lot of marketing before reviews just start happening on their own for your book.

Most people in your inner circle have never published a book and have NO idea about reviews or what they mean. Take some time to educate your inner circle, your readers about the importance of reviews on your book so that you can get a large number of reviews, in an ethical manner.  

1. Book reviews are TRULY influential to future sales not only from readers, but also book buyers, librarians, people looking for speakers, etc. 
2. REVIEWS MATTER. The more activity on a book – from views, sales, and reviews, the higher the book will rank in both search results and in categories. This is critical for receiving organic traffic and book sales.
3. You may NOT give away copies of your book IN EXCHANGE FOR a review, per Amazon terms of service. You MAY give away as many copies of your book as you’d like prior to (and after) your launch. But it’s only in the hopes that these readers will love your book enough to share about it and go leave a review. Gently ask them to leave a review if they would like.
4. In order for a book review to be accepted by Amazon, the person must have done one of the following: purchased the book through Amazon directly or have left multiple reviews on other Amazon products in the past. This is important for your launch team to know. 

In summary, most people have no idea what you need them to do to best help you succeed with the publication of your book, unless they are also a published author. As you prepare for your book launch, take the time to educate your advanced readers. Let them know the importance of reviews, particularly within the first few days of launch. 

Reviews matter.