Carolyn Answers Your Letters on her Sharing with Writers Blog

On Authors Hiring Help to Get Reviews 

Carolyn's How To Get Great Book Reviews Frugally and Ethically

From an Author's Email to Me with Her Permission                                                        with names omitted to protect some mentioned entities: 

 Hiya, Carolyn:

What's your take on [this service that helps authors like me] get reviews?  I've been getting emails from [a prominent and trusted writer and author's advocate] who seems to [have a good reputation within the publishing industry]. I also see various publishing packages and promotion stuff for Amazon reviewers/raising listing numbers across the web. They claim to have a number of Amazon reviewers they send an author's manuscript to for a fee and claim this service raises books to top places in the Amazon ranking.

They don't mention if the manuscript has to be current/new book on the site. (I'm thinking of using one of those service one of my clients whose book was published July 2022. This client and I have been platform building, but it's a weird world with his inability to travel or speak even locally interrupted by health issues.

Thanks much for any insights you can offer us on these possibilities!

Cheers and love all I see from and about you, always!

And yes, will be sending you stuff on LinkedIn as you have so often kindly suggested. It's just been odd and very packed schedule lately, in part because we're working on Book two of three in my memoir series.

Cheers and here's to a good weekend!

Best,

Anonymous

Answer from Me with My Correspondents Permission                                                        with names omitted to protect some mentioned entities: 

MY DISCLAIMER HERE: I am no expert on the service you mention but you alluded to some information based on your own research.

#1: Are we sure your trusted resource isn't being paid to endorse it?  It is common within the industry. I won't do it for services, but I also know she is a trusted personality and getting paid doesn't necessarily mean that her endorsement is fake in any way.

#2: You mentioned Amazon's reviews. Their logarithms are extremely good at picking up on any review that is suspect in any way and it seems that many are suspect because the reviewer is in the same industry or known by the publisher or author. (I know because reviews for books like my  "The Frugal Editor" get rejected for that very reason (unless they know the ropes and give it four stars rather than five or use a disclaimer!). My argument with that is, who would read a book like mine unless they are part of the publishing industry? And that objection could be true of most any genre and/or published by by the author or a respected publisher.  Along that line, if you are pursuing reviews based on getting Amazon reviews, I agree with the concept of doing what is possible to keep them professional but in some instances Amazon's logarithms just aren't that smart. You and your client will benefit from the section in my "How to Get Great Book Reviews Frugally and Ethically"  that is rather like a case study on Amazon's reviews (along with about everything else you need to know if you are working on getting reviews for a book--no matter when it was released. My book is still in its first edition--self-published. It is FAT! But the Index can help you find exactly what you are working on in the moment. 

#3. Any  service you use is immediately suspect on the grounds that you can probably do it yourself.  Like find reviewers.  One way is to simply search Amazon to find reviewers in the same genre as the book you're marketing in the moment. I found a great one I keep in contact with for her reviews and her newsletter. Her name is Jacquelyn Lynn. Look for the links that Amazon often gives on for their reviewers including their Vine reviewers. Click and read the profile that Amazon may have available for them on Amazon itself and elsewhere.  I guarantee that what you find will be more targeted for possibilities than what others do for you.  You know your book better better than anyone else and will be better able to judge suitability from the possible reviewer's own website or using Amazon's profile for authors and other Amazon contributors.  So....do you really want to spend your book marketing budget on getting help with this when the process for doing it yourself is reasonably simple? 

#4. Keep in mind that these writers aids that work from lists (like Amazon, Amazon-owned Goodreads and other review journals) are notorious for getting possible reviewers that request books but never review them. That amounts to even more wasted money.  My book will discuss more on why this happens. Sometimes (rarely) it's because they honestly believe that they can't give the book a fair review, but they generally don't have enough professionalism to let the author know that's their reason--tactfully or otherwise! Professionals, of course, know that authors and publishers actually learn a lot from critical comments in their reviews--or in a rejection/refusal to post the review!

By the way, have you seen several of my #FrugalBookPromoTips (my registered hashtag) about Amazon's new pages available for books in a series if the books are sold as e-books on Amazon? I notice your work-in-progress is a series of XXXX.  Here's the URL for my #HowtoDoItFrugally Series of books for writers, but I also just finished working with Amazon on the poetry series I coauthored with Aussie Magdalena Ball: https://tiny.url/FrugalSeries 

Many hugs.  

PS: I'm always looking for reviews. Amazon's logarithms gets a nudge when your book has a ton of them.  I get different stories from different sources but apparently somewhere above fifty. Seventy-five is also frequently mentioned. So, if you're paying for a service and don't manage to hit those magical numbers, you will have wasted not only what you paid for the service, but also what the review copies cost to print and ship. They also only work well if the author uses the link to Amazon's buy page for their book in their marketing. "Books available everywhere" kind of notification just doesn't cut it.

More hugs,

PPS: You did get the message that I am not disqualifying [this service].  Just be sure you want to spend your money on this aspect of your marketing and that your budget will accommodate it.  I think really good contests are a better way to set your books apart from the pack, but only if you market your win everywhere!   

 

Very best, 

CAROLYN HOWARD-JOHNSON

The HowToDoItFrugally Series of Books for Writers

Including Great Little Last-Minute Editing Tips for Writers, 2nd Edition
E-book, paper, or hard cover available on Amazon at tinyurl.com/FrugalSeries
Published by Modern History Press 

My Website  

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E-mail: hojonews@aol.com

PS: Learn more about my fiction and poetry.

MORE ABOUT THE BLOGGER

 Carolyn Howard-Johnson is the multi award-winning author of fiction, creative nonfiction, and poetry. She is also a marketing consultant, editor, and author of the multi award-winning #HowToDoItFrugally Series (https://www.amazon.com/dp/B0BTXQL27T/ ) of books for writers including "The Frugal Book Promoter" (https://bit.ly/FrugalBookPromoIII), and "The Frugal Editor" both offered in their third editions by Modern History Press. Others in that series are "How to Get Great Book Reviews Frugally and Ethically," and two booklets, both in their second editions also from Modern History Press. The booklets, "Great Little Last Minute Editing Tips for Writers" (https://bit.ly/LastMinuteEditsII) and "Great First Impression Book Proposals" (https://bit.ly/BookProposalsII) are career boosters in mini doses and both make ideal thank you gifts for authors. The one on writing book proposals is also available as an Audio Book. "The Frugal Editor "(https://tinyurl.com/TheFrugalEditor), was recently released in its third edition. It is the winningest book in this series for writers. 

 Carolyn also has three frugal books for retailers including one she encourages authors to read because it helps them understand what is needed to convince retailers to host their workshops, presentations, and signings. It is "A Retailer’s Guide to Frugal In-Store Promotions: How To Increase Profits and Spit in the Eyes of Economic Downturns with Thrifty Events and Sales Techniques" (https://bit.ly/RetailersGuide). In addition to this blog, Carolyn helps writers extend the exposure of their favorite reviews at https://TheNewBookReview.blogspot.com. She also blogs all things editing--grammar, formatting and more--at "The Frugal, Smart, and Tuned-In Editor" (https://TheFrugalEditor.blogspot.com). Learn more and follow it to get news on her new releases directly from Amazon at https://bit.ly/CarolynsAmznProfile.