How to Get Book Reviews

Online – And Some of the

Best Book Review Sites

By Edita Kaye

Thanks to sites like Yelp and Angie’s List, it’s

easier than ever to see what other people think

of products, services, and places of business.

We hardly ever make a purchase or try a new

restaurant without first checking the reviews.

This review-driven market has spread to the world of

publishing, too.

With so many opportunities for people to self-publish

their work, it’s hard to tell the difference between high-

quality writing and something that’s just not worth

your time or money.

That’s why, as a writer trying to sell your books, it’s

so important to get online reviews of your books.

When potential readers see that others have read and

enjoyed your book, they’re much more likely to make

a purchase.

So how do you get reviews?

Here are a few tips.

Ask Your Readers

At the very end of

your book, ask your

readers to leave a

review.

Ask Your Readers

Write a very brief paragraph saying something like,

“I hope you’ve enjoyed reading my book. Book

reviews are an incredibly important part of the peer

review process. They not only help sell more

books, but they help authors grow and develop

their writing styles. Please take a moment and write

a review of this book.”

Ask Bloggers

Pinpoint a few book

bloggers who write

about the genre or style

of book you’ve written.

Ask Bloggers

Most of them will have guidelines on their blogs

telling you how to send them your work for review.

Read their policies and follow their instructions, and

you’ll be more likely to get a review on their site.

Book Review Sites

There are also entire websites

devoted to reviewing books.

Some of the best include:

BookReview.com

The Barnes and Noble Review

Goodreads

BookDaily.com

Book Review Sites

If you sell your books through Amazon, you can

also offer them for free for a limited time and

encourage your readers to leave you reviews after

they download them.

Amazon actually does you a favor here, as they will

email their users after a purchase to ask them to

leave a review.