Reviews, anyone??
So you wrote a book. And it’s truly a thing of beauty. Prose polished to perfection, you’ve lovingly crafted your masterpiece in the stolen moments around an impossible schedule. You’ve commissioned the most beguiling of covers, invested in an ace editor and painstakingly tweaked the interior formatting to ensure the delicate sensibilities of your reader will not be unexpectedly jarred by a rogue font pairing or flubbed folios. And now it’s time. Time to share your creation with the world. Time to receive the glowing appraisals and positive feedback from your appreciative fans and the top book reviewers in the industry. But hold up a minute. You know your book is clever, intriguing, and the most precocious book in the world, obviously, but how will top reviewers or your adoring fans know, unless they read it? And how will they know to read it, if there are currently no reviews encouraging them to do so?
That’s the gnarly Catch 22. How on earth do you get reviews for your book (so you can sell more books, so you can get more reviews to sell more books)?
Here’s my take: while it still may be unclear as to the level of influence reviews hold in today’s world, I think it’s safe to assume that honest, authentic reviews and feedback, written by real readers will impact book sales. Readers still look for reviews written by their peers (social proof) to help determine whether a book is worth buying and positive reviews can act as a catalyst for sales. Reviews also present an excellent opportunity for authors to get valuable, honest feedback from their readers. Praise is great for your ego (and motivation), but a good critique can help you grow as a writer. Reviews help you relate to your work from a reader’s point of view, which can favorably shape how you approach subsequent projects.
On Amazon, reviews are a substantial part their business. In fact, reviews are highly valued and featured prominently on the site. With Amazon giving reviews that much attention, it makes one think that their role in the book buying process is not insignificant. And, unfortunately, buyers believe they are extremely relevant as well and often base their purchases solely on the opinions of others.
So with this in mind, if you’re an author on LinkedIn, here’s my professional proposal. Let’s swap books and read them, then write and post reviews for one another. And if you’re an avid reader who is willing to post a review as well, let me know and I’ll send you a pdf or free digital copy of my latest release, Twisted Threads. By doing so, you’ve made at least one author happy and given potential customers something to think about. - [email protected]