How to Get Book Reviews & Endorsements
Linda Stirling
The Publishing Circle
One of the most important and challenging parts of book marketing is getting book reviews and endorsements.
It’s so important and so challenging that Linda Stirling wrote an entire book about it. How to Get Book Reviews & Endorsements is a valuable tool you'll want in your book promotion kit.
Stirling begins with a clear and concise explanation of the difference between reviews (longer essays published in other places that describe a book and offer the reviewer’s opinion) and endorsements (the short blurbs you see on book covers, the inside first page, and sometimes as part of catalog descriptions).
Why are book reviews and endorsements important? Just a few of the reasons Stirling gives include:
- They boost sales.
- They help you improve your craft (after you get over being hurt by the criticism).
- They help you understand what your audience wants.
- They increase your credibility.
- They are essential book cover design elements.
- They help libraries and bookstores decide whether to stock your book.
- They can be used in your marketing messages.
- They raise your book’s ranking in Amazon’s algorithm, which will boost sales (see the first bullet point).
How do you get them?
In a conversational, easy-to-understand style, Stirling walks you through the process, step-by-step, and provides sample scripts you can use when you make your request. She also tells you what not to do.
How to Get Book Reviews & Endorsements includes lists of resources that will seem overwhelming at first glance. You’ll probably think, “I can’t possibly contact all of these people and use all of these tools,” and you’ll be right. Don’t even try. Read through the entire book and then go back and develop a plan that will work for you. Start with two or three strategies, then add more as you’re able.
Regardless of where you are in your author journey—in the prepublication stage or looking to revive a book that’s been out for years or somewhere in between—you’ll find How to Get Book Reviews & Endorsements useful. If you want more people to find and buy your book, Sterling’s advice will definitely help.
Images created with MockupShots, which is also a valuable book marketing tool.
Jacquelyn's latest book is Christian Business Almanac: The Ultimate Daily Guide for Kingdom-Driven Entrepreneurs and Leaders.
She is the author of the nonfiction books Simple Facts About Self-Publishing (Second Edition), Words to Work By: 31 devotions for the workplace based on the Book of Proverbs and Finding Joy in the Morning: You can make it through the night as well as the novel Choices (A Joyful Cup Story). With her husband, she is the co-creator of several coloring books for adults and the novelty My Book About series.
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