"TRICK" YOUR WAY INTO GETTING BOOK REVIEWS

HOW SELF-PUBBERS CAN "TRICK" THEIR WAY INTO GETTING BOOK REVIEWS

This fantastic article was originally a blog post by best-selling romance author Stacy-Deanne.  Intead of letting it die a slow death in a forum somewhere, I thought I would put it here to live on for everyone to see! Reprinted with permission. 

I'm not self-published but I was very active in seeking reviews for my books. By doing that, I came across a few sites that do SP books as well as traditional. The best bet for SP authors is that they should contact individual reviewers and NOT waste time with folks they know don't review SP books.

A lot of reviewers on Book Blogs will give SP authors a chance. Some reviewers will not agree to review your book unless your SP book has had professional editing or if you contacted them beforehand. I wouldn't send books without speaking to the reviewer first though. Some folks do.

The main thing I see about SP authors is that instead of promoting their books as SP books, they should try promoting the genre. Sometimes you've got to trick people. You might laugh, but it works. I've known several SP authors who "tricked" a reviewer. Okay-- reviewers don't get mad at me, I'm not encouraging this, just sharing.

Some SP authors ended up getting blasted by the reviewer but some had their books professionally edited and had taken the process seriously and the reviewer was surprisingly pleased.

When you are SP, you gotta think out of the box. Stop promoting your books as "self-published" -- promote by its genre and that will open more doors. Sometimes SP authors shoot themselves in the foot for nothing. Heck if I was self-published and a reviewer of my choice didn't specify if they reviewed SP books or not, you think I'd ask? No, I'd send them my book. If they discovered it was self-published fine, but I wouldn't lend the information. If it ain't broke, don't fix it!

If the reviewer doesn't say offhand... then send in your book if it fits what they read. If they come back and ask if it's Self Published, and they say they don't accept them, well respect it... and move on.

You'd be surprised how many reviewers don't post specific guidelines. Take advantage!

Don't forget Dear Author. They are a huge review site and I believe they take SP books.There are some popular places that are being a little more open. But I know Dear Author must because I read their reviews and some of those books look self-published. I also know they review e-books too.

But people should be aware that Dear Author is a very honest site. If they don't like a book, they will tell you in a heartbeat. I love that site.

But it's hard for all authors in terms of promotion-- but SP authors are gonna have to start being more creative to get more results. There are ways because obviously some SP authors are getting book reviews.

JUST NEVER PAY FOR A REVIEW!