Goodreads Authors/Readers discussion
II. Publishing & Marketing Tips
>
Learning patience as authors
date
newest »
newest »
Michel wrote: "In the last few months, I noticed a litteral explosion of messages from mostly new/beginner authors advertising their books while expressly soliciting for reviews, sometimes as part of an exchange ..."Hoprefully, novice authors will read your post and heed the cautionary advice inferred. Unfortunately, too many jump into the field without first performing the research.
Most public libraries provide entire sections dedicated to books, articles, and periodicals written by well-established authors, publishers, editors, marketing and promotional sources with proven success in their fields that expand upon the information you provide.
Thank you for this advice. Very helpful and real to life! Sincerely, Mark
A first-time published author in 2022
That sounds about right. First time children's book author 2022
I would never pay for a review and do not respond to the e-mails I've received asking to review my book. Not only do I think it's unethical to pay for a book review, but there have been scammers who have asked for a copy of your book to review, only to have the free book you provided show up on a secondary market for less (or more) than the cover price of your newly released book. You do expect to see books offered by secondary dealers a year or more after the release of your book, but not within the same time frame.No most authors cannot expect to compete with bestsellers, but it is always best to do what you can to promote the book using what resources you have at your disposal. In fact, many publishing contracts will now address what the author is expected to do in terms of promotion.
While it is true that sales may drive reviews, it is also true that reviews may drive sales. They are not mutually exclusive. Many people may love a book, but not feel comfortable in the role of reviewer; conversely, positive reviews may encourage a reader who is on the fence about a purchase to take a chance on a book.
Soliciting reviews are also against terms of service on sites like Amazon; so tread carefully.
Reviews are merely personal, and therefore, subjective opinions. One reader's "Best book ever!" may very well be another reader's "Worst book ever!", which is why most astute readers do not allow a review to influence their choice of book purchases one way or the other.The vast majority of readers, for whatever reason, never post a rating or review.
Authors should, therefore, focus upon striving to continuously improve upon their writing, editing, promotional, and marketing knowledge and skills rather than obsessing over accumulating ratings and reviews.
Thanks, Michel.It's refreshing to read your take on the review dilemma, along with the other comments, especially since I recently found myself sliding into the trap of politely asking/nudging readers in that direction. So many resources/pundits suggest this, that, & the other strategy that it's tough to keep even-keeled through it all.
I wish I'd read this thread before publishing a couple posts on my website. Guess it's time for some revising.
Thank you, Michel and all who've added their two cents. Here's mine:I've written a published novella and I've been actively (albeit, in fits and starts) requesting unbiased and forthright reviews for a gratis copy of the pdf or e-pub file. I've received the ok from my publisher to do this.
My publisher is a relatively new indi publisher out of England. I'm based in the US. My novella is available for purchase as an e-pub through their website only, which means it's not Amazon, not on Kindle, blah blah. So, if folks don't find it there, they won't find it.
I can't offer a free giveaway or anything like that, I'm not on Amazon, etc., and paying a publicist or marketing company isn't a viable option for me. Hence, I'm kind of limited by what I can do.
Compounding those challenges is one of a personal nature: a beloved relative is ill and has been, and requires more and more of my time and energy, leaving less of both for promoting my novella, querying my other novels, or writing (which, btw, I love to do but can't even think about doing right now).
The OP mentions patience and persistence. Believe me, Michel, I have both, in spades. Since I first started writing, I've written six novels, queried hundreds of literary agents before getting an offer of representation (which ultimately didn't pan out, but sure was nice while it lasted), had two novels read by a two-time Edgar Award-winning author, beta-read numerous manuscripts for fellow writers who are now doing fantastic and I'm over the moon for them, but man, I hope my patience and persistence pay off one of these days.
Until they do, I shall continue to help my fellow writers when I can, and query once in a while, and post requests for honest reviews of Somebody Knows Something here on Goodreads in exchange for a free pdf or e-pub file, in hopes that more positive reviews might translate into greater interest and hopefully, more sales for my little novella.
Is it a mistake on my part? God, I hope not. But I'll just have to wait and see.
K.K., I understand your problem and I can only say two things: first, good luck with your book; second, keep an eye out for possible hackers/fraudsters/scammers. Requests for reviews usually attract them like pest.
Michel wrote: "K.K., I understand your problem and I can only say two things: first, good luck with your book; second, keep an eye out for possible hackers/fraudsters/scammers. Requests for reviews usually attrac..."Thank you, Michel, for your response. I appreciate your reminder to remain cautious and vigilant. As for luck--that's something we could all use.
Michel wrote: "In the last few months, I noticed a litteral explosion of messages from mostly new/beginner authors advertising their books while expressly soliciting for reviews, sometimes as part of an exchange ..."Great advice, Michel.
I'll add that I've noticed that lots of people, particularly new authors, are here on GR asking for reviews from folks who are no longer active on the site, or requesting one from someone who has no interest in their genre.
Before asking anyone who offers reviews, check their profile to see:
- if they're interested in your genre
- when they last posted a review
- if their reviews are individualized or just a bunch of "I loved/hated it"
- what their average review rating is.
Anyone whose average is 3 or less is going to be very hard to please, regardless of genre. And while every review posted to Amazon helps get you to that magic "50", a series of average or less-than-average reviews might discourage the readers who rely on reviews to make their choices (and there are some of them out there).
Also, be VERY wary about anyone who has his profile set to 'private' and who also just joined up on GR. That is often the mark for scammers/hackers/fraudsters.
Sigh, I just want to write. I despise the marketing aspect of being an author. I'm glad I have a day job ( as a journalist) to keep my need to write nourished. Great advice to be patient. Slow and steady!
The best authors are always the ones who write because they enjoy it.
Gifford wrote: "Michel wrote: "In the last few months, I noticed a litteral explosion of messages from mostly new/beginner authors advertising their books while expressly soliciting for reviews, sometimes as part ..."I get what you mean by the average rating, but isn't it good for readers to get an honest opinion of the book? And for you, the author, to find out what works and doesn't? It's incredibly rare for books to always get 4/5 star reviews; if the book's reviews are all excellent, I'll probably avoid it. It would seem like the author has bribed/paid the reviewer for a positive review, even if that's not the case.
This is all my opinion, though. Others may think differently 🤷♀️
First off, many publishers, like Amazon, look crossly on book reviews gained via exchanges, payments or gifts, something that may end up with the authors in question being banned from their sites. They prefer by far spontaneous, unsolicited reviews and ratings from the readers, as the validity of reviews obtained via exchanges or payments will be put in doubt by many readers. Even worse are the cases of 'reviews' which were actually made by the authors on their own books (all 5 stars, of course!), a practice that smacks of dishonesty in my opinion.
Second, unless you are already a celebrity, like Prince Harry, or a bestselling author, don't expect quick fame and success. Millions of other authors around the World are competing already for the attention of readers and hoping for success and revenus from their books. Unless you spend a lot of time and money on marketing and publicity, attaining litterary success will commonly take years. Even spending money is no guarantee of becoming a bestseller: you still have to prove to readers that your story is worth becoming a bestseller (unless again you are already a celebrity, in which case you could publish a dud and still have readers flock to your book just because of your name).
Third, soliciting reviews for your book(s), with or without exchange or payment, will attract an army of scammers intent on defrauding you or on stealing your book story from you so that they could publish it under their own name. Unfortunately, we have seen this happen too frequently on GR in the past few months.
Finally, as another member frequently said, sales drive reviews, not the other way around. Once some people have read your book and liked it, then they may talk about it to friends and relatives, starting a process of mouth-to-ear publicizing. That process is by far the best and most secure way to grow your readership, that and writing good quality stories which will appeal to readers and writing more than just one book along the years. This process calls for PATIENCE and PERSISTENCE. Those two qualities, along with genuinely enjoying writing books, are the key to an author's eventual success, not soliciting reviews left and right from strangers who may be fraudsters and scammers.