Book Reviews – Aiming for the Pot of Gold
As authors, what do we want most from the publication of our books, public recognition, skyrocketing sales, or just spreading our message?
We may want all three and receiving a review may be reaching for that pot of gold. A review in a prestigious print magazine can really make an author’s name and multiply sales. Even a review in an online magazine can be archived and available on the Internet for years. But how to achieve this goal in a competitive market is complicated.
The quid-pro-quo is that publishers send reviewers a free copy of a book as part of their marketing plan, hoping that it will be reviewed and gain favorable attention from the reviewer’s audience/readers. All books submitted to a reviewer for review, requested or not, become the property of the reviewer to be disposed of as they see fit.
Before you start submitting books to every magazine possible, do your research. Despite Oprah’s popularity, O magazine isn’t right for every author. Perhaps her book is a better fit for Prevention or Popular Mechanics magazine? Or maybe it’s your best bet. Read which books are reviewed in the magazines of your choice. Then find out who is the best person to contact. Is it the feature publisher or is there a book review publisher? Keep in mind that you are competing with thousands of other authors for the dwindling number of book review publications.
But first create 3 lists of possible review sites, magazines and newspapers. This list is meant to provide a sampling of book review options, there are many other magazines and newspapers not listed here.
1. The “pot o gold” list – We characterize these magazines as gold because any review or mention of your book in their print publications will result in more sales, more recognition, and your message received by a large number of people. All magazines and newspapers in this category require advanced reader copies to be submitted at least 4 months prior to book release. Prepublication magazines include Publishers Weekly, Booklist Reader, and Library Journal. Post-publishing magazines in this category include People, New Yorker, Reader’s Digest, or Slate. To claim some of the gold by submitting your books to Publishers Weekly PW select. For the small fee of $149, you have a better chance of hitting that gold.
2. The “Silver Liner” List – We characterize these magazines or newspapers as silver because they have a large circulation and perhaps a little less prestige. From the Los Angeles Times to the Boston Globe to the Cleveland Plain Dealer to the Christian Science Monitor, all have great power to launch a book. Most magazines and newspapers in this category have both a print edition and an online edition, and accept books that have already been released. Getting a review in The Atlantic would be a boon to any author. Bloomsbury Magazine has eclectic tastes, has been around for decades, and often publishes authors who reside in the West. Regional magazines in your area like the Virginia Quarterly Review tend to favor local authors. Online magazines in this category due to their large circulation are Shelf Awareness and Huffington Post. Depending on the genre of your book, other magazines that review books include Crosscurrents Magazine, Tricycle, Insight Retailers Magazine, Psychology Today, and Utne Reader.
3. Evergreen List – I refer to these online magazines and review sites as evergreen because they archive their reviews. Anyone can find the review months later and also having your review online will help build your overall SEO ranking. Being reviewed on Amazon or Barnes and Noble.com generates recognition and sales. Many of our authors have become Amazon.com best sellers. Goodreads is a social media network for authors to build a fan base. My favorite online review magazine is, of course, the San Francisco Book Review. Other favorites include the Midwest Book Review, Bellaonline, or Women’s Review of Books. For a small fee of $59, you can get a quick read of Readers Favorite Reviews – https://readersfavorite.com/book-reviews.htm
Of course, a review does not guarantee that you will get a good review. Even a review that begins with “This is an amazing book” and ends by criticizing the author’s purple prose can be helpful.
You can search for reviews yourself, or you can hire a publicist to make this task easier. A publisher has the contacts and skills to pitch your book to interested publishers. There’s a lot of work involved in finding reviews, from research to inquiry to follow-up. But any review can be used to promote your book and improve your sales, which is well worth it. And there’s always the chance that you might be lucky enough to find your own pot of gold!
© January 2017