I wanted to make a contest in exchange to help gain reviews, however Amazon does not allow it. If I were to get caught they would remove all reviews from my books.
I know you probably get tired of me begging for reviews (trust me, I hate asking) but I wanted to take just a moment to explain why they are so necessary. You enjoy my books so please take a moment to read this. While I appreciate everyone that sends me a message telling me how much they love the book, I need the world to see those messages.
So why should you leave a review?
- I am an Indie author which is another word for self-published. I hire an editor, have a professional cover made for my books and have a team of beta readers who read through my manuscript to help ensure I put out a book which is well written, aesthetically appealing and (hopefully) free from mistakes. I take pride in my work and want to give you the best reading experience possible. Some indie authors are not as diligent and therefore give self-published books a bad rap. By leaving a review you are not only telling me how much you enjoy my work, you are telling potential readers how much you enjoy reading my work. (**I was with a “real” publisher with my first two books, I like the control –over content, covers- and publishing dates- I have with Indie publishing.)
- There are certain magazines and venues I would love to advertise in, however, some of them do not even consider the books (or author) until they’ve reached a certain number of reviews. There are also book fests and signings I would like to take part in that look to reviews before offering an invitation.
- Each morning when I wake I do two things. I check my sales (This usually makes me happy) and then I go to Amazon to look for new reviews. Sometimes I smile (like when I have a new review) and other I do not (when there not any new reviews.) Please won’t you take a moment to make me smile?
What to say? That is the best part, you get to say whatever you want. It’s your review! Write a little or write a lot. Just remember unlike golf, the higher the score (in this case star count) the better.
Where to leave a review? There are four heavy hitters. In a perfect world you would decide what you want to say and copy and paste on each platform.
Amazon: if you did not purchase the book from Amazon you will not be considered a verified purchaser. That’s okay, just include in the review that you bought the book at a signing event and feel free to name the event. *To be eligible to leave a review on Amazon they require you to purchase $50 in products each year.
Barnes & Noble: to my knowledge Barnes and Noble does not have any rules for reviews at this time.
Goodreads: as far as I know if you have an account (they are free) you can leave a review.
Bookbub: (another free account) Bookbub is a great place for authors to advertise, but again they look to see how many reviews the author has before offering them a bookbub deal. **make sure to like and follow me on bookbub to be told of new releases and book deals.
If you have already left a review, thank you. If you want to leave the same review on the other sites, THANK YOU! One more thing, if you take the time to leave a review please double check to make sure it gets posted. Sometimes they don’t ever show up.
#Pleasereview #Bookreview #yourreviewmatters #indieauthor