Independent Reviews

There are two ways I have found people to review my book; search for them on the internet (which is riddled with sites) and keep an eye out for book reviews of other people’s work. When I find a potential reviewer, I look up their submission requirements to make sure they accept my genre (many are genre specific).

I don’t send hard copies of my book to reviewers so I only approach people who review ebookversions. This is a purely financial decision on my part. I have to buy my books (at a slightly discounted rate) and I’d have to pay for postage to get my book to a reviewer. For this to make financial sense, I’d need a very large number of people to read a review and then go buy my book. Let’s just say I’m sceptical at this point.

Of course if I could figure out how to get reviewed by one of the biggies like the New York Times, I’d gladly buy my own book and pay the price of postage to deliver it to the reviewer, but until one of you writes me and tells me you can get me in the paper, I’ll stick to people who review ebooks.

Many sites that do reviews as well as author networking sites also offer author interviews. I think these are another good way to let readers know about you. But an interview on its own seems rather pointless so I’d focus on sites that have something about your book, preferably a glowing review.

Local newspapers are both a good source of reviews and interviews. They often are looking for a local angle to promote a story or are willing to highlight someone in their community doing something noteworthy.

Don’t limit yourself, send offers of interviews and reviews to everyone who publishes or produces anything that might mention books in your area. You never know, you might get lucky.

Return to Reluctant Marketer