Q&A: When should I send my book to Amazon reviewers?

QUESTION: I'm soliciting Amazon customer reviews for my novel. When offering a review copy, how far in advance should I approach potential reviewers? Is four months before publication too soon? Should I send a finished copy or an advance readers edition?

ANSWER: For Amazon reviewers, wait until just a week or so before your publication date. Most frequent Amazon reviewers read review copies soon after receipt and post reviews immediately. Sending your book close to the publication date is an insurance policy against the reviewer misplacing it, setting it aside for six months, reading it but forgetting to post a review, etc.

On the other hand, some of the Top Reviewers on Amazon are backlogged with huge piles of books, and you'll be placed at the bottom of their stack. I've received reviews more than a year later from some Amazon reviewers. So if an Amazon reviewer mentions that they're really backed up, you might as well send your book immediately and take your place in the pile.

I send ARCs to Amazon reviewers but I don't think it makes much difference.

Of course when it comes to getting traditional reviews at trade journals such as Publishers Weekly, Library Journal, etc., you'll want to send ARCs four months in advance.
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Steve Weber is author of Plug Your Book! Online Book Marketing for Authors