How do I get reviews for my book?
Reviews are earned by putting the book in the right hands early and asking plainly. Advance copies to genuine readers of your genre, a short honest ask at the end of the book, and a newsletter you actually write will out-produce every paid scheme — and paid reviews violate storefront terms outright.
Work it out yourself, free
The Herald's Calendar →Free: plan the advance-copy window, the ask, and the follow-up on one page.
The order that works
Build an advance reader team before launch, drawn from your newsletter and your genre's communities. Give them the book weeks early with a firm, kind deadline.
Ask once, at the end of the book, in one sentence. Then ask again in the newsletter a month later. Do not chase individuals.
Where audio and film change the odds
Reviewers and bloggers are drowning in e-book review copies and receive comparatively few audio and film editions. A listening copy is a genuinely rarer offer and gets opened more often.
A film book also gives a reviewer something to embed, which is the difference between a mention and a post.
What never to do
Do not buy reviews, swap reviews with other authors on the same storefront, or ask family. Storefronts detect it and strip the listing's credibility with it.
Asked and answered
- How many reviews do I need?
- Enough that a stranger feels safe — the first twenty matter far more than the next two hundred.
- Can I offer a free audiobook for a review?
- You may offer a review copy freely; you may never make the review a condition of it.
Also asked
Every answer in the hall
- How much does it cost to make an audiobook?
- What is a film book?
- How long is an audiobook by word count?
- Book trailers: how do you make one, what does it cost, and how is it different from a film book?
- How many voices does an audiobook need?
- How do you turn a book into a video?
- Can I narrate my own audiobook?
- How long does it take to make an audiobook?
- How do you make an audiobook?
- Should I use ACX or a professional audiobook producer?
- How much does a film book cost?
- How do I get my audiobook on Audible and Spotify?
- What does audiobook production for indie authors involve?
- How much does an audiobook narrator cost?
- How do I record an audiobook?
- How do I publish an audiobook?
- What do book marketing services actually do?
- How do I self-publish a book?
- How many words are in a novel?
- How do I copyright a book?
- What is BookTok?
- How much do authors make per book?
- How long does it take to write a book?
- How do I find the best narrator for my audiobook?
- What should be on my book launch checklist?
- How do I write a book blurb?
Strength and Solidarity LLC — 27 answers kept in this hall