Resources and tips for the self-published author.

How to Request Book Reviews for your Self-Published Book

by Miral Sattar •  November 23, 2014  •   Follow miralsattar

Published in Publishing Tips  •  16 comments

We just got back from the fabulous Blurb Book Fest in Brooklyn this past weekend. A question that came up a lot from authors is how to request book reviews for their self-published book.

We’ve put together a little guide below to help you.

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1) Find the initial reviewers
Reach out to colleagues, friends, family, and members who are subscribed to your mailing list (if you have one).

2) Identify bloggers for your reviews.
Kate Tilton has a great list here. Another place for finding book reviewers is on IndieView.com.

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3) Request reviews from Amazon top reviewers.

Getting a review from an Amazon top reviewer is a BIG deal. Don’t make the mistake of asking a book reviewer who doesn’t review your genre to review your book. Also, make sure to make sure the reviewer covers self-published book. Typically, if you reach out to 100 reviewers you will probably get around 10-30 reviews. If you reach out to 300 you might get 30-50 reviews.

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4) Sample email to send to a potential reviewer

Dear Jane Doe:

I got your name from [where you found them] and thoroughly enjoyed your review of [name of book]. I recently wrote a book that appeals to a similar audience, “[Name of my book].” If you think you might be interested in reading it and perhaps reviewing it, I’ll gladly send you complimentary copy.

Looking forward to hearing from you.

Best Regards,
[Author Name]

Remember, reading a book takes time. Expect your book reviewer to take up to 4-8 weeks to read your book.

About Miral Sattar

Lover of books. CEO & founder of Bibliocrunch. Love storytelling in all its forms. Formerly TIME. I'm a new media entrepreneur who has worked in the media industry for 11 years. My mission is simple – to innovate the publishing industry with technology. My company has been featured in BBC World News, Money Magazine, Bloomberg, Consumer Reports, Forbes, WSJ, MediaBistro, PBS, Columbia Journalism Review, The Next Web, Publishers Weekly, and a bunch of other places. Bibliocrunch was also selected as The Next Big Thing in media by the Paley Center. I also used to run a popular South Asian culture blog called Divanee. Before I ran my own company and became a mom, I used to be on the board for several literacy organizations, and wrote a LOT more. Hopefully, when things are calmer I can go back to that! :)
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