Today we have the honor of hosting
a special excerpt from Carolyn Howard-Johnson's new book. Getting great book
reviews is something we all want to know how to do, right? Well, Carolyn is
here to tell us why it's our job to get them.
Take it away, Carolyn!
**Excerpted from Carolyn’s new How To Get Great Book Reviews Frugally and Ethically: The ins and outs of using free reviews to build and sustain a
writing career
You need this article! Here’s why:
In spite of a contract or even an advance your publisher
may not be a true publisher. True publishing includes the marketing
of a book, Think big names like HarperCollins, Knopf, and Writers’ Digest, the
publisher of Nina Amir’s new Creative Visualization. They assign a
marketing budget to your book and an actual marketing department complete with
actual human-type marketers who are trained in the specialized field of not
just marketing, but marketing books. Except for those who write only
for pleasure, there is no reason to publish a book that doesn’t get read.
The sad part is: Even those big publishers need the
authors’ help. There is no free lunch when it comes to the marketing of a
book—including the getting of reviews.
Some publishers—even traditional publishers—may not respect
tradition, be uncooperative or goof. One of my writing critique partners
was published with a fine press. When she learned they had not sent advance
review copies of her literary novel to the most prestigious review journals
before their strict sixteen-week deadline, she was naturally upset. They
explained it was a snafu that could not be fixed. That was no comfort at all.
It did help her to know that because thousands of galleys sent to the
important review publications lie fallow in slush piles, the chances of having
a book reviewed by a major journal—even one published traditionally let alone
getting a glowing review—is remote. Because she had me to nag her, she moved on
to alternative marketing and review-getting strategies found in Chapter Six of
this book. Using those methods, she was still able to schedule several major
bookstore appearances that tend to favor established names and rely on
big-journal reviews in their decision-making process. Nevertheless, it’s not
the kind of loss any author wants to face.
These days most small publishers have no marketing
department—or marketing plan. In fact, many admit that when it comes to
marketing, you are on your own. No offense, publishers. I know many of you do a
terrific job considering the profit margin in publishing these days. Let’s face
it, you can use help, and you don’t need to deal with disappointed (irate?)
authors. And, authors! We are ultimately responsible for our own careers.
Sometimes when we wait to take responsibility, it is too late in the publishing
game.
Some publishers charge the author an additional or separate
fee for marketing. Many who offer marketing packages do not offer a
review-getting package. If they do, the review their authors get is a paid-for
review, which is definitely not the route you want to go. More on that
later in this chapter.
Many publishers do not even have lists of people to contact
who might help your marketing with endorsements or reviews. Further, many big
publishers are relying on bloggers for their review process more and more as
print journals and newspaper book sections shrink or disappear and as they
begin to understand that grassroots publicity—reviews or otherwise—can produce
a very green crop. And bloggers? Well, that’s a resource pool you can easily
plumb yourself.
My first publisher supplied review copies only upon written
request from individual reviewers. They did not honor requests generated by
their authors’ initiatives. This meant that I could not count on them to supply
books to reviewers I had successfully queried for a review. Unless the reviewer
accepted e-copies (and many reviewers don’t!), I had to order copiesdirectly
from the publisher and then reship them to my reviewers. This method is slow,
cumbersome, unnecessarily expensive, unprofessional, and discourages authors
from trying to get reviews on their own.
Publishers should offer review copies to a list
of reviewers—even unestablished grassroots bloggers—who have been responsive to
their authors in the past. And they certainly should not charge an author for
review copies. Publishers have a profit margin and publicity obtained by their
authors (including reviews) affects their bottom line, too. They should send
their author a thank you (or a red rose!) along with encouragement to keep up
the good work
Publishers should also market their books. That means that
even if they are too small or underfunded to have a marketing department, they
should have a list of reviewers to query for reviews, a list of influential
people to provide blurbs for your cover, access to book cover designers (not
just great graphic designers) who know what sells books, and a whole lot more.
Ask potential publishers about their marketing process before you sign,
but—even if you feel assured after having that conversation—it’s best to assume
you may be on your own.
And here’s more: Big publishers are relying on bloggers for
their review process as print journals and newspaper book sections shrink or
disappear and as they begin to understand that grassroots publicity—reviews or
otherwise—can produce a very green crop. Bloggers, you say? Well, that’s a
resource pool you can easily plumb yourself
So, the marketing part of your book that includes finding
the right reviewers to read and comment on your book will—in most cases—be up
to you and well within your skill set after reading this book. And
even when you have the luxury of a marketing department behind you, those
authors who know how to get reviews on their own can keep a book alive for an
infinite amount of time after their publishers relegate their books to a
backlist or their contract expires.
Note: If it is too late to apply this information to the process you use in choosing a publisher, tactfully take hold and guide the publisher you have through the review process. There are lots of ways to do that in this book. I love Nike’s advice to “Just do it!” only I add “yourself” to the motto. Many publishers are in your employ. You may be paying them for services. At the very least, when your book sells, it makes money for the publisher. You don’t have to ask for permission (though it never hurts to listen to their reasoning before you make a decision).
Carolyn Howard-Johnson brings her experience as a
publicist, journalist, marketer, and retailer to the advice she gives in her
HowToDoItFrugally series of books for writers and the many classes she taught
for nearly a decade as instructor for UCLA Extension’s world-renown Writers’
Program. The books in her HowToDoItFrugally Series of books for writers have
won multiple awards. That series includes both the first and second editions ofThe Frugal Book Promoter and The Frugal Editor won
awards from USA Book News, Readers’ Views Literary Award, the marketing award
from Next Generation Indie Books and others including the coveted Irwin award.
Her next book in the HowToDoItFrugally series for writers will be How To Get Great Book
Reviews Frugally and Ethically.
Multi award-winning novelist, poet, and author of the HowToDoItFrugally Series of books for writers.
Web site: http://HowToDoItFrugally.com
Twitter: @FrugalBookPromo
Amazon Profile:http://bit.ly/CarolynsAmznProfile
Thank you
for sharing your insight on book reviews and how to get them, Carolyn!
Please leave Carolyn a comment. :)
