Releasing your book into the world is a huge step and one that deserves to be celebrated! And as almost all in the book world seem to know, word-of-mouth (and so by extension, reviews) is still one of the strongest forms of marketing there is.
At the time of writing, I’ve been working in the book industry for six years both as a book reviewer and as a professional editor. During that time, I’ve had the pleasure of reviewing countless books, as well as working with many authors. So I know that as well as the excitement that comes from launching your book, you’re facing a lot of unknowns.
You probably already realise the importance of reviews (especially given you’re reading this blog!) but navigating the etiquette of how to get reviews for your book can feel like a murky no-man’s land.
I’ll be sharing my experience from a reviewer and editor’s perspective. While following the tips in this article isn’t guaranteed to secure you a review, it should help you navigate some of the etiquette and avoid common pitfalls I’ve noticed over the years that can lead to declining a book review request.
To be clear, in this post I’m discussing unsolicited reviews. That is, where you would like to approach someone to ask them to review your book. They haven’t approached you or your publisher to request a review copy.
How do I get my book reviewed?
In an ideal world, once your book is out there people will begin chatting about it naturally and start recommending it to others. But this can take time, and momentum can be difficult to sustain. This is why many authors and publishers choose to try and get additional reviews for their books. This is usually done by approaching individual reviewers with some sort of platform (website or social media), or an organisation that employs reviewers (magazines, newspapers, websites).
If you are an indie author (or even if you’re traditionally published, but planning to do some extra marketing efforts), you might be wondering where to find reviewers. Here are some ideas to get you started:
- Social media (booktok is especially popular, but don’t forget about reviewers who are active on Youtube and Instagram)
- Literary websites that host reviews (Lit Hub, Books + Publishing, or The Independent Book Review are examples of such websites).
- Other media outlets: newspapers, magazines, websites, podcasts. For these types of outlets, they don’t have to specifically be only discussing books, but it’s best if they do regularly review books, as this means that their audience expects this type of content from them.
In terms of etiquette once you’ve found a reviewer…
Do
- Learn what type of books they read. So you’ve found a reviewer or influencer who you’d like to get a review from. The first step is to research the types of books they read. It is not enough that they read books in general, but taking the time to understand their preferred genres (as well as the genres/subject matter they DON’T read) will improve your chances of that reviewer wanting to read your book. Look at the other reviews they’ve posted and note any common genre themes, or see if they have a statement on their website or Instagram about what they’re not a good fit for. This is my most common reason for declining reviews—I don’t feel I can give a useful review for a book if I don’t enjoy that genre.
- Show that you’re aware of the work they do. While it’s not strictly necessary, when it comes to making the review request, it’s nice to reference a recent post or other review that made you think that they’d also enjoy your work. This shows the reviewer that you appreciate their work and that you’ve taken the time to do the research we’ve already spoken about. It also avoids any surprises in the way the reviewer works (eg. Is it important to you that they post on a particular platform? Check they have that platform and are active on it. Is it important to you that they give the book a star rating? Check this is a feature of other reviews they’ve posted)
- Be polite and professional. It should go without saying (but I’ve received enough requests to know it’s worth mentioning), but in your communications with the reviewer, be sure to use a polite, friendly and professional tone. Whether or not the reviewer agrees to read your book, your interaction with them will help them form an opinion of your brand as an author. Part of professionalism is communicating in the reviewers preferred form. Most reviewers will give instructions for how review requests are to be made (over email, or via a form). It’s usually considered unprofessional to approach reviewers in another form. Take the time to find out how the reviewer works before sliding into their DMs (direct messages may be the preferred form for some reviewers, but it isn’t for me).
- Accept that the reviewer may decline, and they do not owe you an explanation for doing so. While it’s always nice to know why a reviewer has declined the opportunity to read your book, there can be a wide range of reasons why they might not accept a review. Many of these reasons have nothing to do with whether or not the book sounds interesting. Reviewers are people too, and you never know what’s going on behind the scenes for people that means their capacity might be limited. Pressuring or demanding a reviewer to explain their decision is unhelpful and can create a negative impression of your author brand.
- Follow them online, and show support for their content. Ideally, before asking for a review. This shows rapport. Yes, it takes time. But genuine connections foster goodwill, especially when asking a reviewer to invest time and energy into engaging with your work.
- Read and reference any review policies that might be listed by the reviewer. Before approaching a reviewer, it’s important to be aware of their policies so that you have a clear idea of how they operate. This can help you determine if you’re a good fit and whether this is someone you’d like to share your work with.
Don’t
- Approach reviewers who don’t read your genre. It’s unlikely they’ll accept, and if they do, they may not enjoy the work, and that could lead to a negative (if any) review. Your time is valuable, so focus on finding reviewers who already enjoy the genre you’re writing.
- Demand or speak in an unprofessional manner. As I’ve mentioned above, impressions matter. Handling yourself professionally means that even if the reviewer was not able to accept a review for you at this point in time, they are aware of you now. They may even want to pick up a book from you in the future – provided it was a positive interaction.
- Copy and paste the same stock-standard review request into every reviewer’s contact form. Yes, it takes time to personalise a request… but at the bare minimum, please use the reviewer’s name. It shows a level of interest and respect for the person you’re asking to spend time on your work. Reviewers are incredibly passionate about what they’re doing, and they generally highly value personalised author interactions where possible.
A note on paid reviews
Paid reviews are a hot topic, and there’s a lot of debate online about whether or not authors should pay reviewers for a review.
My own opinion is somewhere in the middle; there are some contexts where I think it’s appropriate to pay for a review, and some where it’s not.
In the past, I have accepted paid review work. This was when I worked as a content writer, and so the payment I received was from website holders who were hosting reviews. I did not know the authors or have any direct contact with them. There was an emphasis on reviews being honest (there is fair debate around whether a review that has been purchased can ever be unbiased), and authors would still be supplied with critical reviews. Book reviewing is a skill like any other, and I think there is a concern that paid reviews will unfairly inflate the positive aspects of the book. In my opinion, all reviews should be ideally balanced with praise and critique, whether paid or not—that’s part of the skill of reviewing.
If a review is hosted on a business or reviewer’s website, I think it’s up to them if they’d like to monetise their corner of the internet. I see no difference between a book review (provided it’s clearly indicated that the author or publisher provided the book to the reviewer) and a branded clothing deal on Instagram. Disclosure and honesty is key, but I don’t think reviewers should be penalised for monetising their influence.
In the past, I have offered paid review opportunities on this website. This is something I don’t do any longer, in part because of other schedule commitments and my editing work keeping me very busy, but also because I didn’t want to be left with the situation of needing to prioritise reviewing books that I was paid for. I am interested in discussing a wide range of books, whether I’m paid for that or not.
Where I do think there is an issue is in the practice of purchasing reviews that are posted on consumer portals such as Amazon, Booktopia, or other book retailer sites. These sites are not primarily a space for literary critique or dicussion, their primary function is to be a commerical space. But the main issue is that typically, is that reviewers in these arrangements are instructed to not disclose that they have been provided with a review copy. Those sites are for fellow consumers, and if you haven’t spent money buying the book from that site (reviewers get a provided the book for free), it’s an ethical issue to post the review as if you have done so.
In conclusion…
It is a joy to have an author approach me and ask if I would consider their book for a review. I have discovered some wonderful authors this way, who otherwise, I wouldn’t have known about.
Reviewing is also a time-consuming, skillful thing to do and it is important to recogise that and demonstrate respect by considering the etiquette of how to ask for a book review.
By taking the time to consider how you approach and interact with reviewers, you increase your chances of a reviewer viewing your author brand positively — and even to secure a review for your book.
All the best as you market your book! Publishing can be daunting at times, but you’ve got this.
Steph Huddleston 