Do Book Reviews Matter?

In this week's guest post, Terry Whalin, the author of numerous books including Jumpstart Your Publishing Dreams, discusses the role of book reviews in publicizing books.

The Sunday edition of the Arizona Republic newspaper has a circulation of over 500,000 copies. Each week in the Arts and Entertainment section, they review four books. I normally read these reviews because I'm interested to see which four books are selected each week.

Last week the Republic reviewed a new thriller from a first-time author, Steven Gore called Final Target. With the limited review space, all four of the books are always positive and the review for Final Target was no exception. I looked for a copy at my local library but they did not have it so when I was in a local bookstore last week, I picked up a copy of the book, which is an oversized paperback (tall for a mass market-sized book). I've not started to read it yet but I would not have known about this book or purchased it without reading the review in my local newspaper so it had significant influence for me. The newspaper's choice of a thriller from a first-time novelist struck me as unusual. Most of the reviews are from well-established writers who have released a new book but one which will likely become a bestseller. What drew the book review editor to pick that thriller out of the stack?

Years ago I was the book review columnist for Christian Parenting Today (a magazine which no longer exists). I selected ten to fifteen books in a broad range of topics and genres for the audience, read the books and wrote my reviews. The magazine circulation was about 150,000 copies and I received stacks of "review copies" from various Christian and general market book publishers. In fact, it took my continued maintenance to open the packages and see the various book possibilities--much less to actually read and review the titles. My limited experience made me wonder how many books each week the book editor at the Arizona Republic receives for review consideration.

Last year, Janice Harayda wrote a Soapbox column for Publishers Weekly called "Critics Don't Need Free Books." She worked for 11 years as the book review editor for the Plain Dealer in Cleveland. Here's the sentence which stood out to me in her article: "At the Plain Dealer, I got more than 400 books a week from publishers, a landslide hard to handle even with another person helping me." The Sunday circulation of the Plain Dealer is similar to the Arizona Republic or 400,000.

See the long odds to get your book reviewed in a major city newspaper? It's somewhere in the range of four books get reviewed out of over 400 books that are received. So do you give up and not try to get book reviews? No, you simply try more niche oriented markets where your probability is more likely of getting your book reviewed.

Recently Publishers Weekly wrote about this topic of book reviews. Peter Hildick-Smith who works for Codex Group, a company which tracks the impact of reviews on sales said in the article, "reviews help both to raise awareness of a book and to persuade people to buy it."

Here are some websites with lists of places that review books:

Karina Fabian has a lengthy list of review sites. The Complete Review contains 240 book review sites. Midwest Book Review has another great resource list of book review sites.

As with any marketing effort for book reviews, there are several elements to keep in mind. First, select your targeted publications carefully. Do they review your type of book? If so, how frequently? Which editor handles the book reviews? Make sure you address the right person. Second, a key ingredient is follow-up. After a short period of time when you are certain the book has arrived, place a short phone call to simply see if the book has arrived and will be considered for review. Your conversation isn't chatty but short and professional. If the editor says they will be considering it, then call back in a few weeks and see if they had a chance to read the book. The follow-up shows you are professional and are expecting results from the review copy.

Possibly your publisher is handling these book reviews. The time and number of books that they push for review are limited. In a proactive way which encourages your partnership, ask your publisher's publicist for a list of where they sent your book. You want this list not to criticize their efforts but to go to the places they did not promote your book.

Book reviews matter and are another element to include in your arsenal for marketing and promoting your book.

Terry Whalin has written more than 60 nonfiction books and been published in more than 50 magazines. For five years, he was an acquisitions editor at a book publisher and he's a former literary agent. Now Terry is a publisher at Intermedia Publishing Group. Terry encourages writers of any level (from beginners to professionals) at Right Writing.com. To help people pursue their own dreams of a published book, Terry has written Jumpstart Your Publishing Dreams, Insider Secrets to Skyrocket Your Success. Pick up Terry's free ebook, Platform Building Ideas for Every Author.

Comments

[Fiona Ingram]

I have heard arguments for and against the value of book reviews and I am for them. Obviously each author will find the kind of marketing niche that works for their genre. I can only say from my own experience that book reviews are a positive element in one's marketing. I got my agent for my second book based on glowing reviews of my first book, and in additiion, I was able to get a distributor in South Africa (where I live) even though my book is published in the USA. Again, good reviews, and the large number of them that I have garnered from professional or industry experts have helped immeasurably.

[Graham Storrs]

When I got a book deal with a commercial publisher for my sci-fi thriller, TimeSplash, I was quite happy with the idea that the book would be published in electronic editions only - no print edition is planned. What I didn't realise at the time was that almost no reviewer - not the big sci-fi magaziness, not the newspapers, not even the major genre websites, will even look at ebooks. They just do not want them. Some have told me it is just that they (or their pool of readers) do not yet have ebook readers. Some seem to think that ebook-only publication is equivalent to self-publishing. (It is not.)

The end result is that I had no reviews prior to my book's launch and only a handful since. I have certainly become painfully aware that, without reviews, no-one knows your book exists!

[Dana]

Thanks for your note Graham. Because only a small percentage of people own an ebook reader, publishing only in that format does limit the market for you book. But even for printed books, reviews can be hard to come by (especially in newspapers) due to the large volume of books being submitted for review. Online promotions will probably be the most effective for you, especially through sci-fi blogs, websites, groups, and forums. Perhaps you can offer book excerpts, discuss the genre, etc.

[Ascensionforyou]

Interesting comments from Fiona and Graham .....Dana...i am more and more coming to realise that nothing happens without a continuous monumental effort in your promotional efforts.

When 'life' is so busy with a day 'job',home to run and look after too ....the 'digital 'route I feel is becoming more and more the way to go. Sometimes I have felt so down / frustrated / helpless (akin to feeling like i am in a sweet shop but not knowing what sweets to have) though knowing there are resources and advice to draw upon from such as yourself and Lynn provides hope for us all in the future.

My next book that i have just finished called Lessons from God - The Indweller of our Hearts i will surely be going the e-book route. Thanks again Dave AscensionForYou