Book reviews sell books, but the number of stars isn’t nearly as important as you might think. Why? Because most books on Amazon display the same 4.5-star graphic. It might actually have 4.3 stars or 4.6 stars, but the image is the same.
So what do readers look at after the star graphic? They look at the number of ratings. That’s what actually sells books. A book with 3,000 reviews feels more trustworthy than a book with 30, even if it’s in a genre you love or written by an author you’ve read before.
The more reviews a book has, the better it will sell and the more reviews it will get. To spoof a famous principle from the Bible, “To him who has reviews, more will be given. But to him who has not, even the reviews he thinks he has are only from his mom.”
So how do you get reviews, and more importantly, how do you get the kind of reviews that lead to more sales?
I asked Joe Walters, the founder of the Independent Book Review and author of The Truth About Book Reviews: An Insider’s Guide to Getting and Using Reviews to Grow Your Readership (affiliate link).
What are the different kinds of book reviews?
Thomas: Reviews is a really broad term. What are the different kinds of reviews?
Joe: This is crucial from the very beginning. I classify them into three types. I’ve heard other people talk about four, but I narrow it to three.
Editorial Reviews
The first type is blurbs or editorial reviews. These are testimonials for your book, like when celebrities endorse a business. A well-known author or review platform says your book is awesome. Those are blurbs or editorial reviews.
Thomas: Interestingly, readers think these are reviews of the book, but really they’re reviews of the author. You don’t get them by sending your book to a famous person and hoping for the best. You usually need to already know the famous person before they’ll commit to reading your book.
Joe: Right. There are many connections involved in getting high-profile blurbs. You don’t have to be the biggest author to get good blurbs, but you probably won’t land the biggest ones if you’re low-profile. And that’s okay. You can still benefit from blurbs in other ways.
Thomas: Another perk of editorial reviews is that they’re used to train AI. Models analyze reviews from newspapers, review platforms, and even famous book bloggers. Those reviews carry more weight than a random Goodreads user or Amazon reviewer. Editorial reviews really matter.
Joe: Amazon’s AI Rufus reads them too. If you upload your editorial reviews to your Amazon Author Central account, you’re helping Amazon’s AI figure out how to position and recommend your book. Right now, above the customer reviews, there’s often a summary of how people are responding to the book. AI really does read these.
Trade Reviews
Media or trade reviews are tied to publicity. I’d count social media reviews here, too. Depending on the influencer, they can be powerful if they increase your readership. Trade reviews are from book-only platforms, while media reviews might come from places like People magazine.
Customer Reviews
The last, and potentially most important type, is customer reviews. These are on Amazon, Barnes & Noble, Kobo, Goodreads, and elsewhere. They’re what almost every reader checks before buying. They add to your star rating and give social proof. The number of reviews matters even more than what the reviewer is saying, though nice comments help too.
Thomas: Blurbs and trade reviews don’t contribute to the total number of reviews on Amazon, but they can still help sell books. That review count, though, is critical for credibility, especially after the “New Release” tag disappears. Readers give you some grace when your book is brand new, but after that, the number of reviews really matters.
How do you get endorsements?
Thomas: You can get editorial reviews before you finish your book, but how do you get them?
Joe: The first step is knowing your niche. You need to read in your niche and recognize who readers pay attention to. That’s how you know who to contact.
If you’re working on an urban fantasy novel and plan to publish in a year, start reading urban fantasy now. Research who is succeeding and who you’d want endorsing your book. You want your book to align with theirs before you ever reach out.
Why do endorsements from key figures matter?
Thomas: You need to know who the kingmakers are. Sometimes there’s a single person in a genre whose endorsement means everything.
For example, in the business and marketing book space, there was a time when a Seth Godin blurb was the key to success. I went through a five- or six-year stretch where I read every Seth Godin book and every book that had a Seth Godin blurb on the cover. The authors knew how important that endorsement was. If they could get it, their book would rocket to the top of people’s reading lists.
That tactic doesn’t work anymore. Seth Godin doesn’t have the same influence he once did, but his name still helps in the business book world. It wouldn’t help in litRPG or romance, though. Many fiction readers don’t even know who Seth Godin is. In those cases, there’s someone else in that micro-genre whose endorsement matters more.
It’s also helpful if the endorser has a title that conveys credibility, like “#1 New York Times bestselling author” or “Senator of such-and-such state.” Even if I haven’t heard of author Joe Smith, I have heard of the senator who endorsed his book, and the title carries weight. That credibility matters for some genres, like political thrillers, but not as much for others, like romance.
Joe: If your book isn’t quite done yet, the person endorsing it really makes a big difference. Your platform matters too, but so does the pitch itself. If you’ve been reading their books or listening to their podcast, reference specific details in your pitch that prove you’ve engaged with their work.
Each blurb request should be personal. The goal is to show that you’re credible, that your book is good, and that you’re bringing something new. The right blurbs can also help with libraries and bookstores, especially if you’re pursuing traditional distribution.
Blurbs don’t have to come only from authors. You can get them from review outlets like Kirkus or Independent Book Review. Using those blurbs before publication can work to your benefit.
How do you build relationships that lead to endorsements and blurbs?
Thomas: You want to start building relationships now. Conferences, like the Novel Marketing Conference, are great places to connect with other authors. Relationships take time. They involve an exchange of favors.
Too many authors wait until right before their book releases to start networking. At that point, it’s too late. It’s like being thirsty and trying to dig a well at the same time. You have to dig your well before you’re thirsty.
Relationships lead to other relationships. The person you meet at a conference may not be the right fit to endorse your book, but they might know the number-one person in your genre and may be able to introduce you. But they have to like you first, and that takes time.
Is there a shortcut to networking with other authors?
There is one shortcut: start a podcast. I know a listener who started the only podcast in her sub-genre. She interviewed all the top authors one by one. Now, as she prepares to release her debut novel, many of them want to blurb her book. She had already promoted their work, featured them in giveaways, and given them exposure.
Dedicating a podcast to your genre, especially a sub-genre without an existing one, is a great way to bless others before asking them to bless you. Asking for a blurb from a stranger is a big request. It’s like asking someone you’ve never met to spend four hours cleaning your garage. Top authors get inundated with blurb requests, and they ignore most of them.
Joe: Exactly. There’s groundwork to be done. With customer reviews, you can’t do a back-and-forth exchange. But with blurbs, you can. You can promote other authors through podcasts, social media, and by mentioning their books.
Be a real person. Comment on other people’s successes so that when your success comes, they’ll be genuinely happy for you.
Should you connect online or in person?
Thomas: Social media can eat up a lot of time, so use it strategically. Whenever possible, connect with people in real life. Social media friends aren’t real friends; you can’t sleep on their couch.
But if you’ve met people in real life, they can become true friends. I was recently interviewed by someone in the author world I’ve known for years. We’ve met many times in person. At the end of the interview, she said, “If you and your family are ever in town, you can stay with us.” That kind of relationship usually comes from real-life interactions.
It can happen online, too, but if you can, move the relationship to at least a Zoom call. Just liking each other’s posts doesn’t build a real connection.
Think of it like driving. When another car wants to merge into your lane, you see it as just a car. But if you make eye contact with the driver, you see a person. Suddenly, you’re much more likely to let them in, and they’re more likely to let you in. It’s the same with networking. Once you see each other as people, the relationship becomes real.
Joe: I think we should all take that podcast idea and run with it. It makes a big difference. I’m not someone who goes out often, except maybe to an author reading.
Author readings bring me personal joy, and they’re also a chance to connect with other readers and writers in person. Even one in-person connection can matter. If you’re a homebody, you need an excuse to meet people face to face.
You can also make friends online if that feels more comfortable. If you don’t want to start a podcast, blurbs are still possible.
You don’t have to get the top person to blurb your book. Of course, everyone wants the top on, and other reviewers and buyers love seeing it, but if you don’t get it, you’ll still be okay. You can fill that gap with other endorsements.
Without blurbs or editorial reviews, AI has nothing to analyze, and your book page looks empty. Experts’ voices matter. Even a short line from another author validates your credibility. The author doesn’t need to be a bestseller; being a published writer is validation enough. It doesn’t have to come from People magazine. What matters is that the blurb feels authentic, specific, and genuine.
Why do reviews and blurbs even matter?
Thomas: Some people ask, “Can’t I just write a good book? Why do I have to deal with all of this?” Here’s why. Your Amazon page, your cover, the editorial reviews, the customer reviews, the book description—all of it is like peacock feathers.
Peacocks have bright, ostentatious plumage to signal health and strength. My parents live on a ranch with coyotes and peacocks. Despite the coyotes, the peacocks thrive and show off their feathers. Those feathers signal, “I’m strong and healthy.”
It’s the same with your book. The markers of quality, like your cover, blurbs, and reviews, signal to readers that your book is worth their time.
How do you get more reader reviews?
Thomas: The most important signal of all is the actual reader reviews. You’re on Amazon, your book has five reviews, and you’re asking, “Help! How do I get more?”
Joe: How much time do you have? There are many tactics, but let’s start with the basics.
If you only have five reviews three months after launch, first step back and look at your presentation. Are your peacock feathers bright? Does your book page look attractive?
If you have only five organic reviews, meaning you didn’t ask anyone, you need to start asking. Especially as a new author, you can’t depend entirely on readers to do it on their own.
Backmatter
The easiest way is to include a page at the back of your book with a clickable link that takes readers directly to the review page. That’s still organic. You’re not contacting individuals, but you are asking. Readers who finish your book are prime candidates, because finishing a book usually means they liked it.
Presentation
Selling more books also brings reviews, but that’s not enough. You need to improve your presentation. If your description is weak, fix it. If you have no editorial reviews, get some. If your cover is bad, honestly evaluate it. Covers don’t just convert buyers; they convert reviewers, too.
Find Reviewers
Joe: Once your presentation is strong, start finding reviewers. I like social media sleuthing for Amazon and Goodreads reviewers. Search by keywords and categories to see who’s already talking about books in your genre.
Don’t assume your book is so unique that no one else is writing in your space. There are always comparable books. Find the reviewers of those books, follow them, and study what they like. Take your time. Don’t be inauthentic. Don’t just like a page and immediately send a direct message asking them to read your book.
Instead, engage with their content and show that you understand what they value. Then, when the time is right, pitch them specifically by saying, “I saw you reviewed [Book Title]. My favorite part was [specific detail]. I think you’d enjoy my book as well. Can I send you a copy?” One genuine connection can make a big difference.
Beyond social media, look at small blogs. They’re some of my favorite sources for reviews because they don’t get flooded with pitches. If a new blogger reviewed a book in your genre last month, send them your book. Smaller reviewers are often more receptive.
Services
Joe: There are also services that can help. Never pay directly for Amazon reviews; doing so risks your account and theirs. But there are workarounds.
For example, Pubby.co allows you to pay to join, read other indie authors’ books, and in return, your book gets exposure to other authors who may review it. It’s not a review swap, which Amazon forbids. It’s a structured system that stays within Amazon’s rules.
BookFunnel is another option. You can offer your book for free through a BookFunnel link on your website. The process is automated, and in some cases, readers get reminders to leave a review 30 days after download.
There are many methods. The key is balancing your time and finding the ones that work best for you.
Craft
Thomas: If none of your tactics are working, it could be a sign of something deeper.
If a peacock’s feathers are unhealthy or falling out, the bird might be old, malnourished, or injured. Similarly, if you’re not getting reviews, it may be because people aren’t finishing your book.
This often happens with authors who don’t read bestsellers in their genre. They’re unfamiliar with reader expectations, and their book misses the mark. It’s not bad enough to anger readers and earn one-star reviews, but it’s also not compelling enough to keep them reading.
Your friends may start your book, give up after a few chapters, and then dodge your requests for reviews because they don’t want to admit they didn’t finish it.
Craft matters. You can’t make up for weak writing with review tactics.
Sometimes authors say, “But all my reviews are five stars.” Often, that just means their friends didn’t finish the book but left glowing reviews anyway. To get reviews from actual readers, your book needs to deliver what your genre’s audience wants. They should finish the book satisfied, thinking, “This was exactly the story I wanted.”
Craft and editing matter for marketing. Go back and listen to my episode on when to ignore your editor. It focuses on craft with marketing in mind and will help you thrive in reviews.
Launch Teams
Thomas: Another effective way to get reviews early is with a launch team. But I see authors make two big mistakes:
Mistake #1
They give their launch team free books.
Mistake #2
They fill their launch team with fellow authors.
For your launch team, you want current readers and customers of your genre, and you want them to buy your book. That way, you’re training Amazon’s algorithm with the right audience.
You also want them to buy the book, ideally on Kindle, so that Amazon can track that they finished it. Completion is a hidden vote of confidence for your book.
Amazon doesn’t just look at reviews and sales. It also looks at completions. If your launch team reads the book organically, pays for it, and leaves reviews, that’s powerful. If someone won’t join your launch team because they don’t want to spend $5.00 on your ebook, they won’t leave you a review anyway.
The goal is to attract passionate supporters who are excited about you, your book, and your work. Done well, launch teams can be so valuable that people will pay to join. For one of my books, people paid $100 to be on the launch team. It was competitive to join, and those members were highly motivated to help make the launch a success.
Should launch team reviews be verified purchases?
Joe: Getting people to pay $100 to join your launch team sounds excellent. That’s not something I covered in my book, but I agree that verified purchases are the most important thing. I even have a chapter about it in my book, The Truth About Book Reviews (affiliate link).
It takes time to curate a good launch team, and not every author has a big following, but your book in KDP Select can help. If you put your ebook in KDP Select, you can make it free for one day. Don’t advertise it widely; just tell your launch team. They can download it right before leaving a review, and it will count as a verified purchase.
You won’t get completions tracked from those downloads, and you’ll miss out on that sale, but the verified purchase tag is valuable. Verified reviews are more likely to stick, while unverified reviews are at risk of being removed. Amazon can decide a review looks suspicious, especially if the reviewer is a Facebook friend, and delete it.
For that reason, I prefer verified purchases, even if it means giving away some books for free. The time readers spend reviewing your book can be worth more than the couple of dollars you would have earned from the sale.
I don’t recommend giving away free books through a big promotion to your entire mailing list, because that can hurt sales momentum. But for launch teams, free downloads through KDP Select or similar methods can help secure verified reviews that last.
How can Kindle Unlimited help with ratings and reviews?
Thomas: Some reviews are better than no reviews. I want to zoom in on KDP Select because, beyond countdown deals and price fiddling, one of its best features for ratings and reviews is Kindle Unlimited.
You don’t have to commit to being exclusive to Amazon forever, but I think any book benefits from a three-month visit in the Kindle Unlimited lending library. You’ll get a lot of ratings. You may not get many full reviews, but you’ll get ratings because when people finish a book, they’re prompted to give stars. It’s quick and easy to tap a star rating, and those numbers add up.
Kindle Unlimited also gives you access to readers who won’t buy your book otherwise. There’s a whole community that spends their $10 a month on Kindle Unlimited and nothing else. You get access to those readers if your book is in the program. Some authors stay in Kindle Unlimited because they make as much from page reads as from sales, but at the very least, I think a three-month visit is a no-brainer early in your career. It’s a good way to build review numbers.
Joe: Ratings might be even more important than reviews. I wrote a book about book reviews, and I’ll still say ratings matter more because the numbers at the top of your page are so visible.
Kindle prompts readers with a pop-up at the end of a book. Leaving a written review on a Kindle device can be clunky, but tapping a star rating is simple. Readers will do it. Negative reviews still happen, but often people will just skip leaving a review if they don’t like a book. That means if you aren’t getting ratings, you aren’t getting noticed.
I didn’t talk much about Kindle Unlimited in my book, but it makes a big difference. It works especially well in certain genres like romance, mystery, and thriller. It doesn’t always work for every genre, but it’s worth testing.
KDP Select also gives you countdown deals and free promotion days. It seems like Amazon gives extra visibility to books that are actively trying to sell on their platform. They send promotional emails to Kindle Unlimited users about books in the program.
I’m still experimenting with my own book in the authorship and book marketing space. I don’t know if my target readers are in Kindle Unlimited, but I know some are. The genres that thrive in KU are very active, and if you write in one of them, it’s an especially strong option. Remember, you can always use the free download day strategically, telling only your reviewers so they can get the book and leave verified reviews.
How are Goodreads reviews different from Amazon reviews?
Thomas: Speaking of less positive reviews, those tend to be on Goodreads rather than on Amazon. Many authors misunderstand how Goodreads star ratings differ from Amazon’s. In the early days, each star rating on Goodreads had a name. One star meant “I hated it.” Two stars meant “I didn’t like it.” Three stars was “It was okay” or “I liked it.” Four stars was “I really liked it.” Five stars was “I loved it.”
So a three-star rating on Goodreads meant the reader liked the book or thought it was okay. It wasn’t negative. On Amazon, though, a three-star rating often signals a bad book because Amazon reviewers usually only give four or five stars unless they truly disliked it.
Because of this, many authors see Goodreads as a haven for trolls. In reality, Goodreads is a place for avid readers to interact with friends, both real-life and online. Reviews are primarily for their friends, not for the world at large or for the author. When you look at a Goodreads page, the reviews from your friends appear first, not the most helpful reviews overall.
Goodreads reviews also appear on Amazon pages, and AI uses Goodreads reviews when recommending books—sometimes as much or more than Amazon reviews. So while Amazon reviews are the most important, Goodreads reviews also matter. One way to get them is through a Goodreads giveaway. Always give away ebooks, not paperbacks, and give away as many as possible. These giveaways can generate verified reviews inside Goodreads.
To learn more about Goodreads, listen to our episode on How to Use Goodreads to Promote Your Book.
Joe: Even though there is now a cost for Goodreads giveaways, I still like them. They can be very effective. If you have 35 Goodreads reviews and 20 Amazon reviews, it shows potential customers that people are reading your book in different places.
Goodreads doesn’t have the same vetting system as Amazon does, so you can get your Facebook friends to leave reviews there.
Another advantage is that you can set up your Goodreads page before your Amazon page goes live. As long as you have an ISBN, and nowadays an author website too, you can create a Goodreads page during pre-publication. That means your launch team can start leaving reviews before the Amazon link is available.
How can Goodreads help with pre-publication reviews?
Joe: Goodreads also provides the ASIN for your ebook before publication. With Amazon, you have to wait until your book is live, but Goodreads gives you that number in advance. That lets you prepare your Amazon review link early.
When you include a link at the end of your book to ask for reviews, I recommend using a redirect link from your author website, like joewalters.com/review, instead of a long Amazon URL. Before launch, that redirect can point to Goodreads. After launch, you simply change the redirect to point to Amazon. That way, you don’t have to edit your ebook once it’s live.
Thomas: Let me pause and explain how to do this in WordPress. If you use WordPress, there’s a free plugin called Redirection. It’s one of the oldest and most popular plugins. I use it extensively. For example, each podcast episode gets a URL based on the episode number. For example, the redirect for this episode is https://www.authormedia.com/475. That redirect link takes you to the correct page for this episode.
With the Redirection plugin, you can set up simple redirect links and use them on business cards, QR codes, or in your email newsletter. Before launch, send readers to Goodreads to leave reviews. After launch, switch the redirect to Amazon.
Joe: Exactly. The Amazon review link won’t work until the book is fully live, not for pre-order, but for actual publication. Until then, Goodreads is the best option.
How can Kickstarter support Goodreads reviews?
Thomas: Another thing I like about Goodreads is that it’s very Kickstarter-friendly. I know authors who created a Goodreads profile based on a successful Kickstarter campaign, even as debut novelists. When Goodreads was checking to verify them, they sent their Kickstarter campaign as proof, and that was enough.
It’s easier with your second book since you’re already a verified Goodreads author, but Kickstarter is a great tool for indie authors. You make more money selling directly to readers, and Kickstarter is cheaper and more effective than paying for Shopify, where most authors lose money after the launch month. With Kickstarter, you get the sales upfront, and you can still be exclusive to Amazon later.
The fans who backed your Kickstarter can’t leave verified reviews unless they buy the book again, but they can leave Goodreads reviews. Directing super fans to Goodreads helps you start with strong reviews, which offset the generally lower star averages on that platform. It’s a win-win.
Joe: Kickstarter is really valuable. At Sunbury Press, the traditional publisher I worked with, some authors used Kickstarter to attract attention from the publisher itself. Being able to say, “150 people already bought this book,” made the pitch much stronger. Kickstarter builds your fan base, reader by reader, and those fans often become your super fans.
Another advantage of Goodreads giveaways is that every time someone enters, the book is automatically added to their “Want to Read” list. I heard on Penny Berry’s podcast that if you mark a book “Want to Read” on Goodreads, Amazon will start showing you that book on its product pages since Amazon owns Goodreads. The integration is finally happening.
Thomas: It took Goodreads a long time to catch up, and it still looks like a time portal to 2012. They’ve made minor updates like refreshing the logo, but that’s about it. Still, there are signs they’re putting more money into it. By 2026, I expect Goodreads to look better, integrate more deeply with Amazon, and possibly even charge AI companies to train on its data.
How can onboarding emails generate reviews?
Thomas: Another way to get reviews is through your onboarding sequence. That’s the series of emails sent to new subscribers when they join your newsletter email list. In the early emails, you introduce yourself and your book and share purchase links. Later, around week five, you ask directly for a review.
That email can include links for both Amazon and Goodreads reviews. You’d be surprised how effective this is, and once set up, it’s automatic. Setting it up may be tricky depending on your email platform. With MailerLite, it’s complicated. With MailChimp, it’s nearly impossible, but with Kit (Affiliate Link), it’s very easy. Learn How to Pick the Right Email Marketing Service for You.
In fact, I have an onboarding sequence tool in the Patron Toolbox that drafts five emails for you, and one of them is a “Please leave me a review” email. Too many authors skip this step because “onboarding sequence” sounds intimidating, or they’re using free or limited email services. But if you use a good tool like Kit, there’s no reason not to set one up.
Joe: Exactly. Book marketing involves too many tasks, so automating something as important as review requests makes a big difference. When I worked with publishers, I always recommended that authors start newsletters. Most only sent one-off campaigns, which isn’t enough.
You still need those campaigns, but your first five automated emails are where you make your money. That’s when subscribers are most interested in you. Give them value, build trust, and then ask for the review.
You can even set up a separate signup form specifically for readers of your book. Then you don’t have to sell to them again; you’re just asking for reviews. Automated sequences let you nurture relationships and get results without constant effort.
Why is an onboarding sequence so important?
Thomas: I have a course called the Author Email Academy, where I teach everything from starting your list to growing it. It’s a four-week course that walks you step by step to your first 10,000 subscribers. An entire week of the course is dedicated to the onboarding sequence. That’s how important it is.
The course also includes two weeks focused on list growth. One week is on reader magnets, and the other is on general strategies for growing your list. But week three is all about the onboarding sequence, and for some authors, that’s the most important week.
If you haven’t started building your email list, I have a free course called the Send Your First Email Challenge. Perhaps you have had 1,500 or 2,000 people on your list for years, but you’re not doing much with it. Writing another monthly email feels like a burden. For you, automations can be a game-changer.
Check out that course or figure it out yourself. Kit is not that complicated to use. Having an onboarding sequence that walks people through the process helps you get more reviews, more sales, and fosters a stronger connection with your readers. It’s wins all the way down.
How can press kits and pitches help with reviews?
Joe: I like press kits a lot. They help with your presentation. You can put your best material in one document. Include your strongest excerpt, your best blurbs, your description, and any publicity highlights, like a podcast appearance on Novel Marketing. That shows you’re already working with experts and makes your book more appealing.
Make the press kit downloadable on your website and part of your pitch.
When it comes to pitching, I spend a lot of time in my book talking about pitch letters. Every publisher and reviewer has different opinions on how to pitch, but the universal consensus is that you shouldn’t send the exact same email to 35 different people. Personalize the first paragraph enough to show the recipient you know who they are. That personalization goes a long way.
Don’t overdo it, though. You still need time to find more people to pitch.
Thomas: And you’re talking about pitching journalists and outlets here, right? Editorial reviews from editorial boards and that sort of thing?
Joe: Yes, editorial reviews for blurbs as well as media and trade reviews. Trade reviewers don’t care much about your pitch. They want the book itself, the description, the cover, and then they’ll decide if it fits their audience. But media reviewers need to feel like your pitch is purposeful.
The same goes for social media influencers or podcasters. A personal pitch that shows you know them can make a big difference, especially early on.
Check out the following episodes to learn more:
- How to Create an Online Author Press Kit
- How to Create an Author Press Kit with Susan Neal
- How to Pitch Your Novel
- How to Win Friends and Pitch Your Book
How do you create a good media hook?
Thomas: Having a good media hook really helps. I built a Patron Toolbox tool for optimizing your pitch. You upload your book, and it generates a list of hooks based on your content and ways to make it interesting to a journalist. It also suggests news events you can use for newsjacking.
When you pay attention to the news, you’ll notice it’s mostly the same 50 stories on repeat: fires, floods, famines, elections, wars. Once you understand the patterns, you can connect your book’s hooks to the current narrative. Your success rate on pitches goes way up when you do this because journalists start with a narrative and then look for people who can fit into it, either as a supporting or counter voice.
Being able to dance with the media is key if you want them to feature you.
Joe: You can do this right in the subject line. I pay a lot of attention to subject lines and I receive hundreds of submissions every week. Subject lines still grab me. I save time by scanning for the books I want to cover, and the subject line is the first thing I see.
If you give me a good tagline, a hook, or a strong angle, I’m already interested. Then I look at your cover. If both the subject line and cover work, I move quickly to the next step.
Figure out your angles for each platform and make sure you organize yourself. You need a spreadsheet. I offer a free one if you sign up for my Write Indie Newsletter. Keep track of when you pitched, who you pitched, their submission guidelines, and when to follow up. Don’t just pitch one outlet at a time. Research broadly, log everything, and then send out your pitches in batches.
What is Independent Book Review?
Thomas: For all these tactics to work, you still need to write the kind of book worth a five-star review. The quality of your book really matters. I know that’s something you focus on at Independent Book Review. Tell us about what you do there.
Joe: Independent Book Review is my favorite job ever. I started it in 2018. At the time, I was working as a small press marketer in Oregon. When I had to leave that job, I wanted to stay in publishing, so I started a book review platform. I knew indie presses and indie authors needed more reviews and that both free and paid reviews had value.
With paid reviews, authors can guarantee coverage and get blurbs on a timeline. I thought I could build something helpful, so I began building a reviewer list. Today, I have about 35 reviewers reading for me. Authors can send books for free or pay for a guaranteed review in two or five weeks.
I designed the platform to be reader-focused. When you share one of our reviews, it doesn’t look like a site where people buy reviews. It looks like readers are talking about the book, which is what matters most. Our reviews run about 400 words. They’re honest and in-depth but never mean. We won’t say a bad book is great, but we also won’t tell an author to quit writing. Our reviewers know how to walk that line.
Authors can send books to us for free. We still go through our submissions inbox to find books we think can sell. We sell through Bookshop and Amazon, and our goal is to connect good books with readers.
Connect With Joe Walters and Independent Book Review
- Website: IndependentBookReview.com
- Book: The Truth About Book Reviews: An Insider’s Guide to Getting and Using Reviews to Grow Your Readership (affiliate link)
- Newsletter: WriteIndie
- How to get book reviews from: IndependentBookReview.com/WritersOnly
- Book Marketing Tips and Author Success Podcast about Goodreads integration
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