Review and Mini Essay from Midwest Book Review

I am doing something a little different for this review. I am reprinting with permission a review of the newest in my multi award-winning HowToDoItFrugally Series of books for writers, How to Get Great Book Reviews Frugally and Ethically. I was notified via Midwest Book Review's newsletter and what a surprise that was! But it also a fantastic example of what those personal contacts (like Letters-to-the-Editor and thank yous) I recommend to clients and readers of my books can do! I hope it will encourage you to do more of this kind of thing for and with your fellow authors and your readers! 

"Dear Publisher Folk, Friends & Family:

'We all know that book reviews can impact and influence librarians and the general reading public. What is perhaps underestimated is the impact and influence book reviews can have on the author. Last month I was vividly reminded of this fact while reading my review copy of "How To Get Great Book Reviews Frugally And Ethically" by Carolyn Howard-Johnson.

'Here's what I came across in the introduction on page VIII:

"We have all had disasters if we've been around very long. My book of poetry, "Imperfect Echoes" (bit.ly/ImperfectEchoes) was released just after my husband broke his back trouncing around on our roof to save $140 on solar repairs. I became a full time caretaker and part time writer and had not time to market my book. I did occasionally send out a query far a review and one was so special that it made up for the sad reality that few will read the book because few will have heard about it. So, thank you to Jim Cox, Editor-in-Chief of Midwest Book review for that memorable gift."

"I had no idea at the time who Carolyn was or anything about her circumstances. It was just another self-published book of considerable merit by an unknown author and I was trying to establish the Midwest Book Review as a champion of just such folk.

"Since then Carolyn has gone on to a career of writing 'how to' books for authors and publishers and we became 'cyber-space pen pals'. When I thanked her for her very kind words in her introduction, she noted that we first met in person at a BEA convention in Chicago back in 2001. But as I was meeting hundreds (no exaggeration) of folks at that event I didn't remember her specifically.

"But I did recall meeting Carolyn at John Poynter's ebook publishers convention in Santa Barbara, California in 2012 when I was awarded that Life Time Achievement in Publishing award.

"I think she was also in the audience for my 'workshop' at that event -- I recall that one was 'standing room only' it was so crowded in that huge room. A few folks couldn't physically get in because there was no more room -- there was even a line of people standing along the back and side walls of the room. 

"Incidentally, that John Poynter convention was also the first time I met in person my managing editor Diane Donovan who for many years prior to our meeting in the flesh had (and continues to be) the editor for three of my nine monthly book review publication: The Bookwatch; California Bookwatch; Children's Bookwatch. Up until then she was a just a voice on the phone and an email correspondent only.

"I'm now in my 41st year as the editor-in-chief of the Midwest Book Review. That means at the age of 74 I have now spent more than half my life in this position!

"Every now and then I get an email or a letter expressing heartfelt appreciation for myself and the Midwest Book Review from authors and publishers for what we try to accomplish in their behalf. It's those messages of support and thanks that give me a reason to keep doing this job for as long as my health, my wife, and my daughter will allow.

"Here is the review of Carolyn's most recent publication and the one that started me down memory lane:"

How to Get Great Book Reviews Frugally and Ethically

Series:3rd in the multi award-winning HowToDoItFrugally Series of books for writers, 

Author: Carolyn Howard-Johnson
HowToDoItFrugally Publishing

Genre: Nonfiction: Writing/Book Marketing
www.howtodoitfrugally.com
http://facebook.com/carolynhowardjohnson
9781536948370, $17.95, PB, 340pp, www.amazon.com

In the pages of "How To Get Great Book Reviews Frugally and Ethically", Carolyn Howard-Johnson draws upon her many years of professional experience and expertise spent helping writers to avoid pitfalls, misconceptions, and out-and-out scams perpetrated on unsuspecting authors -- and helping them reach their dreams of obtaining great reviews, going on great book tours, and experiencing great launches.

Simply stated "How to Get Great Book Reviews Frugally and Ethically" comprises the complete, comprehensive, and core manual for obtaining reviews and utilizing them in a practical, effective, and successful marketing campaign that includes all those things and for building the readership necessary for a financially prosperous and emotionally satisfying writing career.

Covering every aspect of the book review process from solicitation to exploitation, "How to Get Great Book Reviews Frugally and Ethically" is thoroughly 'user friendly' in tone, content, commentary, organization and presentation.

Basically, "How to Get Great Book Reviews Frugally and Ethically" is classified as a "must" for the instructional reference shelf of any and all authors and publishers be they novice beginners or seasoned professionals. While an essential and unreservedly recommended addition to community, college, and university library Writing/Publishing collections, it should be noted for personal reading lists that "How to Get Great Book Reviews Frugally and Ethically" is also available in a Kindle format ($9.95).

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.

Midwest Book Review Recommends Book on Eastern Thought

The Gospel of Thomas for Awakening

Subtitle: A Commentary on Jesus’ Sayings as Recorded by the Apostle Thomas

Author: Abbot George Burke (Swami Nirmalananda Giri)

http://ocoy.org

Genre: Nonfiction: spirituality, religion, Christianity, esoteric, Eastern thought

• ISBN-10: 1507722540
• ISBN-13: 978-1507722541
• 
  
• Reviewed by James A. Cox, Editor-in-Chief, originaly for

Midwest Book Review

Book available at Amazon: http://a.co/1dO6G3k

Small Press Bookwatch: February 2016

Midwest Book Review

"An extraordinary work of theological commentary by Abbot George Burke (who is also known as Swami Nirmalananda Giri), "The Gospel of Thomas for Awakening" is as informed and informative as it is inspired and inspiring. 

"Very highly recommended to clergy and non-specialist general readers with an interest in The Gospel of Thomas, this outstanding volume is very highly recommended for seminary, church, community, and academic library Christian Studies reference collections in general, and The Gospel of Thomas supplemental studies in particular. 

LEARN MORE ABOUT THE PRESS

Reach Light of the Spirit Press at

www.ocoy.org or

lightofthespiritpress.com. 

P. O. Box 1370

Cedar Crest, NM 87008

505.281.4888

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/light.of.spirit

Twitter: https://twitter.com/Light_of_Spirit

Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/company/light-of-the-spirit-press

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.

Amazon Reviewers Laud New Romance

The Girl in the Bird
Subtitle: Romance and Alien Power in the Current Middle Ages

Author: Christine Talley

Author' s Web Site:

http://talleychristine.wix.com/christinemtalley

Genre: romance/science fiction
Copyright:  2015

ISBN: 1523496673

Purchase at:

http://www.amazon.com/Girl-Bird-Christine-Talley-ebook/dp/B01AMZ84BY/ref=sr_1_1?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1453940888&sr=1-1&keywords=%22The+girl+in+the+bird%22

WHAT REVIEWERS ARE SAYING

5 star review on Amazon

"Really enjoyed the love story, also the setting, held my interest, each time I put the book down could not wait, to resume reading."

5 star review on Amazon

"I thought this was a great story. I found myself laughing and crying with the chara[c]ters and the story. It held my interest."

4 star review on Amazon

"Mrs. Talley has done a wonderful job, her characters are believable … and the plot takes some surprising turns. I thoroughly enjoyed the book"

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.

Reviewer for Night Owl Reviews Gives How-To Book for Writers Five Stars

  How To Get Great Book Reviews Frugally and Ethically is Great for Authors in Search of Reviews!By Carolyn Howard-Johnson

How to Get Great Book Reviews Frugally and Ethically
Series: The multi award-winning HowToDoItFrugally Series of books for writers
By Carolyn Howard-Johnson
Genre: Nonfiction: How-to, business, writing
CreateSpace, 2016340 ppg.ISBN-13: 978-1536948370ISBN-10: 1536948373Available as an e-book or paper 

Originally Reviewed by Dawn for her blog Dawn Reviews Books (old or new)

Any author with a new book out is often faced with a dilemma: The desire to
want to solicit reviews of his/her book but also not wanting to be a pest or 

end up “spamming” people for reviews. In this case, it would be a good idea 
to check out How to Get Great Book Reviews Frugally and Ethically by 
Carolyn Howard-Johnson. Carolyn has many books under her belt and 
years of experience in soliciting reviews of her books. She knows the ins 
and outs of getting her books reviewed and she has learned many 
lessons the hard way during her journey as an author. Guess what?
 She has taken the time to share all those lessons learned in this book, 
and she wants to let you know about mistakes to avoid in your quest to 
get reviews of your book. It is definitely a good idea for an author to read
 this book if you want to know just what those mistakes are!

When I learned about this latest book, I immediately snapped to attention. This is definitely
 a touchy issue for many authors. I have had both good and bad experiences in trying 
to get reviews of my own books, and as a book reviewer myself, I was interested in 
just what Carolyn had to say.

One big issue that both authors and book reviewers wonder about is whether it makes
 any difference if a book is reviewed in a major media outlet or not. Carolyn actually had 
something to say about that: "I have a traditionally published friend whose book was 
reviewed by Newsweek (back in the days when it was published worldwide in print and 
its reach was arguably unparalleled), and her book still did not earn royalties over her
 advance." (pg. 38) So I guess it really doesn’t make much difference where a book 
review is published. I don’t know many authors with similar stories to tell and I can’t really 
say either way, either. Still, this information does have more strength to it so I think we 
should stop beating ourselves up if we don’t get a review in the New York Times or
 Parents Magazine.

If you think that as an author of a book published months ago you would not find such
 a book helpful to you, think again! As Carolyn says, "[I]t is almost never too early—or too
 late in this new age of publishing—to start working on the review process for your
 book." (pg. 39) She shows you just how to get reviews for your old book! There is
 definitely a way for authors to make an old book new again through the book review 
process. As someone who reads both old and new books (and reviews same books here),
 I don't think the date of publication is a problem unless your book contains 
outdated or obsolete information.

Carolyn also touches on the dangers of sending out review copies of your book to 
reviewers. When I was working for a publishing company, I offered to review some
 e-copies of their books. The publisher sent them to me. Unfortunately, there were 
formatting mistakes in the ebooks. Pages were cut off at the bottom and I was 
unable to read entire chapters. I let the publisher know but she never responded 
to my emails and she never sent fixed copies of the books. Unfortunately, because 
I could not review the ebooks since they were unreadable, I was probably seen as 
someone looking to score a free ebook. It was such a shame, too, because I enjoyed 
what of the stories I was able to read!

Another issue addressed is how there is a major preference for sending out e-copies to 
review rather than print. I used to be a huge e-book reader but, for some reason or another, 
that changed. I stopped reading e-books for a long time and mostly read print books. 
Any publisher or author who contacted me asking what format of a book I wanted to 
review was told “print” and of course they bowed out in sending that review copy. But the 
problem was that print was more convenient for me. My life was crazy-busy at that time, 
and without any e-reader of any kind to keep with me, I could only spend most of my time 
reading with a print book. These days, I am making time for reading e-books (starting with 
this one), but if a reviewer says they prefer a print copy, then either send them a print or miss
 out on their review. That is just the way it is. As Carolyn says on page 118: "And don’t try 
to convince reviewers to accept the e-copy over the paperback. It’s insensitive; if they accept
 your book, they should be able to read it in whatever form they prefer."

However, I understand the hesitation of sending a print book because a review cannot 
always be guaranteed. I have sent out print copies of my own books to reviewers in the 
past and I never got a review on many of them. Of course I was angry at the time, but
 then I considered it a lesson learned in researching potential reviewers. (And even 
with reputable book review sites, like Night Owl Reviews – which I review books
 for – there is still no guarantee a book will get reviewed. Some print books I have sent
 to NOR never got a review. It happens!)

And again, there may be a reason why a book does not get a review...

As it stands, a reviewer really cannot guarantee that he or she will indeed review your book. 
Aside from the formatting problem that I mentioned earlier, other issues with a book may hurt
 its chances of getting reviewed. I had another situation in which someone contacted me 
through Twitter asking me if I’d review his book. The information he provided about his book 
sounded interesting so I agreed and he sent me an e-copy of his book. Unfortunately, 
I discovered that there was an inappropriate scene in the story of children and nudity. 
I let the author know that I really don’t like reading suck books and decided not to review 
it after all. He did not take it well. Most authors probably expect a reviewer to review his or 
her book if he or she agrees to do so and they go to the trouble of sending it, but the reality
 is that a reviewer IS NOT under an obligation to write that review. There will always be 
something that can prevent it from happening.

This is pretty much why I limit the books I review on my book review blog
 (http://writedmc.livejournal.com/) to books that I have personally come across and want 
to read. Sometimes, my daughter will recommend a book to me and I just may review 
that book, too. But ultimately, the books I review on DRB are my own personal selections. 
This is why I note on the profile that I do not accept pitches from authors to review their books.
 I cannot guarantee a book will be reviewed. If a book grabs my interest and they send it,
 great! But I cannot and will not promise them a review on this site. Also, I may take some 
time to read a book. I am not a fast reader. Most authors want their reviews yesterday. 
This is also not something I can promise them. But I do promise an honest, fair and 
FREE review. Take it or leave it.

I don’t agree with the general idea (or her opinion) that “hack” is a dirty word. (Page 95) 
It doesn’t have to be! Thanks to Life Hacks and several articles on “parenting hacks” or 
“study hacks,’ the word “hack” is fast becoming synonymous with smart, crafty, quick and
 inspired. I love Life Hacks and also the “parenting hacks” because those kinds of 
sites, memes and articles are brimming with ideas on how to save time, money and your 
strength. In the past, I felt bad having the “hack” label as I worked as a freelance writer 
and as a ghostwriter and wrote about various topics, but these days a “hack” in no longer
 necessarily “bad.” So fly your hack flag proudly!

Many authors may not be sure of who to contact or where to send queries in soliciting 
reviews of their books. Take heart! There’s a handy list of book reviewers, both large 
and small, included in this book. That’s awesome! However, I think she should 
add Night Owl Reviews

When I was working in marketing for a publishing company, I regularly pitched book 
review bloggers who invited such solicitations about the authors I was representing to 
see if they wanted to review any of their books. I never considered such mailings a 
“query” though Carolyn does in this book. As someone who has also worked as a 
freelance writer, I could see how calling such a letter a query. This is, after all, a 
professional correspondence meant for business purposes. You are not trying to socialize
 with a reviewer or try to all of a sudden be their BFFs. No, queries mean business, 
and the author should approach the process of soliciting reviews of his/her book as such.
 I like how she walks the author through the process of crafting the query letter. 
The newbie author faced with the task of getting reviews for her book might freeze in terror, 
unsure of what to say. Here Carolyn takes the author’s hand and guides them 
through the process each step of the way, in words that are easily understood and 
brimming with hints for ideas.

This book shows you not only how to get reviews but also what to do with them – and 
how they can go a long way in making your book look great! That can also help boost 
sales even if the reviews do not.

I like the suggestion to thank a reviewer for a nice review. Myself, I don’t really care
 if an author thanks me or not, but the thank you notes are nice to receive. On the other 
hand, I do thank people who review my book, if I am able to. It is just good manners to
 say thank you! However, I don’t agree that a thank you note should always be on paper 
and sent through land mail. First of all, I absolutely, positively DO NOT want to give out 
my mailing address to just anybody. I feel safer giving out my email address. Second, 
it is really unnecessary to get a thank you note by land mail when an email can be 
sent instead. I really don’t care either way. Lots of authors have contacted me via email 
with a thank you note for reviewing their book, and I was just fine with this. It did not bother 
me at all. The same goes with authors who thank me in a comment on a blog post or in a 
tweet. They are still saying "thank you" and that is what matters. It is even better whey 
they share the link to a review of their book on social media. (That right there is a great 
way to show your gratitude for a review!) So, while Carolyn feels such notes MUST 
be on paper and go through land mail when thanking a professional reviewer for a review, 
I disagree and feel that an email should be just as good, too. I also don’t think sending 
a small gift as a token of appreciation is a good idea, either – but that is just my opinion! 
Even so, she recognizes this is not always possible and offers alternative methods for
 expressing your thanks for a review, and I think that they are good suggestions too. 
I like the Twitter suggestion – which is also always nice!

I found the section of the book discussing what criteria Amazon uses to pull a review 
for a book a very interesting read. I have heard a lot of discussions from disgruntled 
authors AND reviewers who had a legitimate book review deleted. They always said 
that Amazon gave them some vague reason for deleting the review. I have reviewed 
many books on Amazon, as well as other products I have bought from there (like a 
diaper bag!), and never ran into any problems. One of the things Carolyn noted is that a
 professional book reviewer can also be suspect according to Amazon and that Amazon 
may pull such a reviewer’s review. I review books for Night Owl Reviews but have never 
had any of my reviews of other non-NOR books pulled from Amazon. I never post my 
 reviews on there (per NOR’s guidelines) and all of the reviews I have posted on Amazon
 were ALWAYS for things I bought directly from Amazon. This is my own personal policy. 
If I did not buy the item from Amazon, I just won’t post a review of it on Amazon. 
This is why I started my blog. I wanted to share reviews of books, but some of those books
 I have read were NOT Amazon purchases! So I post my reviews of such books here. 
All the same, like I said, I have never had problems in getting a review I posted on Amazon 
deleted for some reason or another. I know they probably wish I would post more reviews 
of books I bought from them more often but I am just a slow reader buried with books to 
read!

Also, Carolyn shares what you can do about reviews that disappear from Amazon. 
My advice? Don’t freak out. As Carolyn explains in the book, there could be a number 
of reasons why a review disappeared. She tells you what actions to take and how to cope
 with such a situation. The big thing she (and I) want authors to keep in mind during a situation
 like this is to not automatically fire off a negative and angry email to TPTB. 
As Carolyn says, “You aren’t required to put negative energy into the universe.” (pg. 234)

And while we’re talking about the downsides of book reviews, let us not ignore the fact 
that some authors may thumb their noses at getting their book reviewed by an amateur 
reviewer or by a book review blogger with no following. I don’t think it’s a good habit 
to do such a thing, although I understand such authors’ reasons for taking this stance. 
However, it’s really a judgment call. Carolyn reminds us that it might still be a good idea to 
consider paying attention to such review requests, As she writes in this book, "Don’t turn 
your back on an opportunity until you know what you might be gaining—or losing." (pg. 249)

I know that I personally do not have much of a readership on this blog (can’t find out that 
info for my reviews appearing on NOR), but I do like the opportunity to review new books 
here. I usually only contact authors that I know, however, because they won’t refuse to
 send me a copy of their book to review just because I have a low readership. I would not
 do such a thing to them, either.

I like the Q&A section and the sample letters at the back of the book are also very 
helpful. There are also tons of ideas on how to get reviews for old books. Her
 “Never say never!” attitude can get authors of books published a year or more ago to put 
on their marketing caps and start thinking of new ways to get old books out there again 
with new reviews that just might give their books a second life. I love the catalog idea! 
I have authored and co-authored many books so I definitely could use something like 
this to promote my books.

How To Get Great Book Reviews Frugally and Ethically is a book that offers up a ton 
of useful information to an author trying to get reviews of a book. It won’t tell you 
how to put together your media kit (you will need to get her other book, The Frugal Book 
Promoter, for that info), but it gives authors a really good jumping point on how to solicit 
for reviews without looking like a pest. And if anything, this book will arm authors with 
the information they need to get reviews for books and how to make those reviews 
go the extra mile in order to generate more interest, more publicity, and hopefully more
 sales! This is certainly a book that every author should keep handy and one I know 
I will be referring to again for later use.
Five stars.

Disclaimer: I was provided with a complimentary copy of this book to review for this blog.

Tags: book review, book reviews, books, reviews

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.