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Tag Archives: book reviews
Q&A: Are book reviews by Amazon Top Reviewers more important?
QUESTION: What sort of book reviews are the most influential to Amazon customers? It seems to me that reviews from so-called Amazon Top Reviewers might be taken more seriously. Otherwise I’m not sure the reviews mean very much, when readers and reviewers with no particular qualifications weigh in on your book. ANSWER: How much impact [...]
Reader comments for "Plug Your Book" by Steve Weber
Revisions, updates & reader feedback for Plug Your Book! Online Book Marketing for Authors Contacting Amazon Top Reviewers Recently I’ve received several messages from authors who have tried to recruit Amazon “Friends” to review their book. (The process I outlined in “Plug Your Book” is recounted here.) Apparently, this no longer works because Amazon no [...]
How to buy ineffective advertising for your book
Great post today in Slate on paid book reviews. Seems that Amazon’s BookSurge isn’t content merely to overcharge self-publishing authors for the privilege of printing their books. Now they want to charge hopeful authors a big wad of cash for fake book reviews. // Aspiring authors are being led to believe that a paid review [...]
Should the New York Times review self-published books?
For the most part, New York Times Book Review editor Sam Tanenhaus did a fine job answering reader questions in the recent “Talk to the Newsroom” feature. I was impressed with his response when asked about the mission of the Book Review: [T]o publish lively, informed, provocative criticism on the widest-possible range of books and [...]
Amazon's negative book reviews and how to counter them
Almost as soon as it began selling books, Amazon decided to allow negative reviews on its site, a policy that infuriated publishers. Chief executive Jeff Bezos recalls: “We had publishers writing to us, saying “Why in the world would you allow negative reviews? Maybe you don’t understand your business–you make money when you sell things. [...]
The growing importance of amateur book reviews
Successful books have lots of positive reviews on Amazon, and it’s no coincidence. It’s another point in the positive feedback loop: Good books garner good reviews, which encourages more sales. Good reviews on Amazon are particularly crucial for books by new authors and niche books. Good reviews on Amazon boost your book sales not only [...]
Amazon takes cue from eBay, asks customers directly for book reviews
One of the biggest strengths of Amazon over its biggest e-commerce rivals like, eBay and BN.com, has always been its automated book recommendations, the vast amount of product information it displays, and customer reviews. Realizing this gap, eBay this year has begun paying people to write book reviews on its site. It looks like Amazon [...]
Q&A: How can I get my book reviewed by Publishers Weekly, Library Journal and Kirkus Reviews?
QUESTION: How can an author get a book review in the major trade and library journals? ANSWER: Most newspapers and magazines have reduced space for book reviews in recent years, even as the number of books published has skyrocketed. Many reviews today are syndicated by national writers, leaving little opportunity for new authors to get [...]
Q&A: Am I wasting my time mailing review copies of my self-published novel?
QUESTION: I’m considering mailing review copies of my self-published novel to a mailing list of reviewers. Since this will cost quite a bit of money, I’m concerned whether I’m likely to actually get any reviews, or whether this might backfire. ANSWER: It depends on what kind of reviews you’re trying to get. For self-published books, [...]
Q&A: Do online book reviews really help publicize my book?