Ways for Authors to Up Review Efforts in 2017

Title: How to Get Great Book Reviews Frugally and Ethically
Subtitle: The ins and outs of using free reviews to build and sustain a writing career
Series: The multi award-winning HowToDoItFrugally Series of books for writers

By Carolyn Howard-Johnson

Authors' Web site: http://howtodoitfrugally.com
Genre: Nonfiction/Writing/Careers
ISBN: 978-1-5369-4837-0
Publisher: HowToDoItFrugally Press
Cover by Chaz DeSimone

A review of How to get Great Book Reviews Frugally and Ethically by Carolyn Howard-Johnson

Reviewed by Magdalena Ball, originally for The Compulsive Reader

How to Get Great Book Reviews Frugally and Ethically

Reading Carolyn Howard-Johnson’s books is always a pleasurable experience. It’s not just because of her warm, intimate and accessible prose. Howard-Johnson is something of an industry expert, and she manages to make the most complex processes seem simple fun. Her How to do it Frugally series provides pretty much everything you need to know about all aspects of marketing your books without spending a fortune. The latest in the series, How to Get Great Book Reviews Frugally and Ethically, is no exception. This is a very thorough compendium that goes from importance of obtaining reviews through to building lists, writing query letters, using Amazon, how to deal with (and still use) negative reviews, and a whole lot more. How to Get Great Book Reviews Frugally and Ethically is the most comprehensive book on getting book reviews I’ve ever come across. In her usual warm and easy-to-follow manner, Howard-Johnson outlines everything you need to know to maximise your book’s chances.

Some of the information is a tidy and helpful distillation of commonsense, such as “review trippers,” or how to deal with things like passed deadlines, book bigotry (or publisher bias), what an ARC is, and how to get e-book reviews, even from reviewers who only take hard copies. Other chapters are really innovative, such as creating an early series of contact lists and working them, even (ideally) before the book is written, and “magic bullets” (or bullet points) to ensuring that you get more positive responses to your review queries than negative ones. The latter point is crucial. I often think about what makes me accept a book for review – even when I have an already massive stack, and what makes me reject it immediately, and Howard-Johnson’s “legitimate hacks” are spot on. They really get to the crux of what a reviewer is looking for, not only in the approach or query, but in the way the book is packaged and presented. Howard-Johnson’s chapters on making use of Amazon are also particularly valuable, as this information is both key to sales, and not readily known or easy to find out.

The overall focus of the book is around getting reviews, but How to get Great Reviews Ethically and Frugally does more than simply focus on the review. It really parcels up the entire promotional process around a book and presents it in a handy format for new, and more experienced authors. There are chapters around book tours, quality control, what to do with the reviews you get, and even how you send your book, and I completely concur that parceling a book up nicely, and not stamping it all over with “Review copy” (including on the inner page where a reviewer might be trying to read, which has happened to me), makes a difference in terms of the reviewer’s personal experience with the book and how much value they assign to it.

Frugality is Howard-Johnson’s stock-in-trade, and since none of her suggestions involve a large outlay, I’d say that picking up a copy of this book is about the most frugal and valuable thing a new author can do in order to generate inexpensive and highly credible publicity. The book is easy to read, and rich with Howard-Johnson’s own considerable experience. Above all, I think the point that she makes about treating the acquiring of reviews, not as an ancillary activity, but an integral part of the promotional campaign and one that cannot be skimped on, is key. If you have a new book out, or are contemplating having a book out, you need this guide. How to Get Great Book Reviews Frugally and Ethically is an excellent resource that both beginning and seasoned authors can return to again and again.

MORE ABOUT THE REVIEWER
Magdalena Ball runs The Compulsive Reader Web site and edits its newsletter (http://compulsivereader.com). She is an author in her own right including a book on becoming a professional reviewer titled The Art of Assessment (http://bit.ly/ArtAssessment), and the author of several books of poetry and novels.

MORE ABOUT THIS BLOG
The New Book Review is blogged by Carolyn Howard-Johnson, author of the multi award-winning HowToDoItFrugally series of books for writers. It is a free service offered to those who want to encourage the reading of books they love. That includes authors who want to share their favorite reviews, reviewers who'd like to see their reviews get more exposure, and readers who want to shout out praise of books they've read. Please see submission guidelines on the left of this page. Reviews and essays are indexed by genre, reviewer names, and review sites. Writers will find the search engine handy for gleaning the names of small publishers. Find other writer-related blogs at Sharing with Writers and The Frugal, Smart and Tuned-In Editor.

Reviews: The Answer to Book Sales and Career Success

How To Get Great Book Reviews Frugally and Ethically
Subtitle: The ins and outs of using free reviews to build and sustain a writing career

Third in the multi award-winning HowToDoItFrugally Series of books for writers
ISBN-13: 978-1536948370
ISBN-10: 1536948373
ASIN: BOIMQCKRF5      
BISAC: LAN00400, BUS058010

Distributors: Ingram, Baker and Taylor, Createspace
For more advance information: http://bit.ly/HowToGetReviews

To order as a paperback: http://bit.ly/GreatBkReviews 

Reviewed by Helen Dunn Frame, author

Format: Paperback

Not long after I started reading Carolyn’s blogs, I began using her “Frugal” book series for reference regarding my writing. When Bookbaby.com  recently promoted advance copies of “Great Book Reviews Frugally and Ethically . . . , it delighted me to learn that she also designed her latest book for ease in consulting it on occasion. The timing was great. She published it just as our Writers Group discussed how Amazon handles reviews. Those guidelines are well-covered in this book.

If you are like me, an experienced writer, her latest creation will help you loosen the cobwebs about ways to garner reviews that you may have forgotten. You even might learn some new techniques.

In every book in her “Frugal” series, whether for editing or promoting, Carolyn generously shares with readers the methods she has used successfully. The appendices offer samples to follow including query letters, media kits, and media releases. Add it to your reference library and follow the path to get reviews today.

ABOUT THE REVIEWER

Helen Dunn Frame is the author of Wetumpka Widow, Murder for Wealth, a complicated story told from several viewpoints and fired by greed, manipulation, murder, romance, and sex. Learn more about her on her author's page at
http://www.amazon.com/Helen-Dunn-Frame/e/B0054LDOBW

MORE ABOUT THE NEW BOOK REVIEW

The New Book Review is blogged by Carolyn Howard-Johnson, author of the multi award-winning HowToDoItFrugally series of books for writers. It is a free service offered to those who want to encourage the reading of books they love. That includes authors who want to share their favorite reviews, reviewers who'd like to see their reviews get more exposure, and readers who want to shout out praise of books they've read. Please see submission guidelines on the left of this page. Reviews and essays are indexed by genre, reviewer names, and review sites. Writers will find the search engine handy for gleaning the names of small publishers. Find other writer-related blogs at Sharing with Writers and The Frugal, Smart and Tuned-In Editor.

The Secrets to Great Reviews

I usually post only reviews on this blog (see the submission guidelines in the left column!). It is open for authors, publishers, reviews, and readers who want to spread the word about the books they read. Today, I'm republishing a note I wrote to the subscribers of my SharingwithWriters newsletter because it deals with reviews--and, I believe, can be helpful to all those who contribute and visit these pages. Here it is:

Dear Subscribers:

Perhaps the hardest job I have is to convince my clients that a critical review can actually be beneficial to the sales of their book. (The other is convincing them that marketing a book is not selling a book but an act of consideration—that is identifying their readers so they can be helped or entertained in the way they like best!)

Back to reviews. I was reading a review for The Small Big: Small Changes That Spark Big Influence by Steve J. Martin and Noah Goldstein with Robert Cialdini in Time magazine. And there! Right there! Was the clincher. It leads with, "At first glance, little differentiates Berkshire Hathaway stockholder reports from those of any other major corporation. But look closer. Even in years when Berkshire has been unimaginably successful, [the Berkshire Chairman draws attention] to a snag or strain in the company."

"What," you may ask, "does that have to do with my book, or reviews for my book?"

The review amplifies a bit: "Researchers who study persuasion know that messages can be amplified when people present a small weakness in them, which in turn garners a higher level of trust."

As those of you who have read my The Frugal Book Promoter know, I don't advocate slash and burn review tactics—for authors who review books or authors who take the lowest road and denigrate their competitors' books. But a review that is honest, one that tempers praise with a little helpful critique, can be of far more value than one that looks as if it were written by the author's mother.

Apparently this book also suggests that those with something to sell might "arrange for someone to toot your horn on your behalf." It gives an example of the old switch tactic that I've had car salespeople use on me when they turn me over to someone who is "more experienced," or "in a better position to cut me a deal."

Another lesson: Use potential. Facebook users introduced to "someone who could become the next big thing" were more convinced than they were from a mere list of his or her credentials, however stellar.

And while we're at it, one of the first "lessons" I learned about endorsements (they're sort of like mini reviews, right?) is that you can write them and present them to someone in a position to influence your particular readers in the query letter you write to them. You tell them that if they prefer they can chose one one of your prepackaged endorsements--edit it or not--or write one of their own. It's a way of keeping control over the aspects of your book you'd most like to have at the forefront of readers' awareness and—at the same time—being of service to the person you are querying. You will also up your success rate for getting an endorsement because many movers-and-shakers aren't necessarily writers and the idea of writing an endorsement from scratch scares the beejeebees out of them!

You can do the same thing with a review. Write one the way you would like to see it (using some of the techniques outlined in this note to you), and let someone else—someone with tons of credibility--sign off on it. If no one does, you can use the review in your media kit with a note that it is a "sample review." That's honest and sometimes needed when you're finding it hard to get that first review! By the way, that's another tip you'll find in The Frugal Book Promoter along with ways to avoid paying for a review and why you should avoid paying for one.

Happy writing, editing, and promoting,

Carolyn

PS I’d love to see those of you who live in the LA area at the coming Digital Conference (http://www.wcwriters.com/dasp/program.html) for sure, though hotel accommodations are available for out-of-towners. I’ll be speaking on “Using Createspace as a One-Stop Shop for Digital and Paper” and “Digital Marketing Made Simple.” Get more details by scrolling to the bottom of this newsletter for my coming presentations. 

----- 
The New Book Review is blogged by Carolyn Howard-Johnson, author of the multi award-winning HowToDoItFrugally series of books for writers. It is a free service offered to those who want to encourage the reading of books they love. That includes authors who want to share their favorite reviews, reviewers who'd like to see their reviews get more exposure, and readers who want to shout out praise of books they've read. Please see submission guidelines on the left of this page. Reviews and essays are indexed by genre, reviewer names, and review sites. Writers will find the search engine handy for gleaning the names of small publishers. Find other writer-related blogs at Sharing with Writers and The Frugal, Smart and Tuned-In Editor.