The ultimate guide to help new self-published Australian authors get more book reviews!
Self-publishing a book can be daunting, and one aspect new Australian authors struggle with is securing more book reviews. This can be extremely difficult for first-time authors who haven’t built up an audience of loyal readers, arc readers, and fans.
Getting more book reviews for your book is an essential part of the marketing process. Ask most self-published authors what they think is the hardest part of the self-publishing process, and time and time again, they’ll answer marketing and promotion, and book reviews are an essential part of that post-publishing process.
Book reviews are the foundation of building trust with your readers. They instantly let new readers gauge your work, and often, good reviews convince anyone considering a purchase to hit the buy it now button.
If you’re currently considering self-publishing, and you’re not sure which is the best self-publishing platform for you, Amazon Kindle Direct Publishing (KDP), IngramSpark Publishing, or others, check out The Best Self-Publishing Platforms to Publish Your Book! We cover the pros and cons of Australia’s most popular self-publishing platforms.
Why More Book Reviews Matter for Self-Published Books
Love them or hate them, book reviews are the social proof that your book is good. Well-written positive reviews will establish that someone not only purchased and read your book but also enjoyed it —why they enjoyed it —and why someone else may enjoy reading it. Book reviews establish credibility and help to influence purchasing choices.
Once you hit publish and start promoting your book, the next logical step is to seek out readers who are willing to read and review it. I have to mention at this point that if you find someone willing to read and review, treasure them, and thank them. They’re like diamonds.
Positive reviews help to increase visibility for your book, which can potentially help it rise in the ranks, which has a flow-on effect with more sales.
If you’re considering self-publishing on Amazon Kindle Direct Publishing (KDP), check out the Complete Guide to Amazon Kindle Direct Publishing (KDP), where we cover everything you need to know about self-publishing on the world’s biggest book marketplace.
Creating A Strong Foundation
Before you start approaching potential book reviewers, asking for book reviews, or looking for more book reviews, you must ensure that your book is 100% polished. Order a physical proof copy, sit down in a quiet place, and read it cover to cover. Reading aloud is a great way to spot those last few errors or typos that may have slipped through the editing and proofreading stages.
If you’re struggling with print or ebook formatting, cover design, or looking for a professional editor to do a final polish of your manuscript before publishing, don’t hesitate to contact us at Author Services Australia.
When your book is polished and looks professional, it will attract more reviewers and get more favourable reviews.
Choosing the Right Book Reviewers
This is an essential part of getting more book reviews. Not everyone will be interested in your book, so finding the right reviewers is key. If someone is hesitant about your genre, then thank them for considering your book and move on.
Researching Potential Book Reviewers
Online forums, databases, Goodreads, Amazon, and other platforms are great resources for finding book reviewers. When you identify any potential book reviewers, read their rules or instructions carefully. Are they accepting manuscripts from self-published authors? Print books or ebooks? Fiction or non-fiction?
Read their guidelines carefully, as not doing so could cost you a potential reviewer from the start. Remember, there are a lot of self-published authors out there trying to do exactly what you’re doing: get more book reviews.
Approach Book Reviewers Professionally
When you contact a reviewer for the first time, try to personalize the message while remaining polite and professional. Establish who you are, your experience, the title of your book, and a brief synopsis. If they don’t respond, don’t send them an email an hour later asking why.
A book reviewer template is excellent, but be sure to personalize it each time. Note that you read their guidelines and then address them in the email with the information they need.
Social Media Outreach
It’s easy to get overwhelmed on social media, and also to overwhelm potential readers and reviewers with a lot of posts about your books. Rather than repeatedly posting and looking for reviewers, concentrate on building a community around your books. Once you have a dedicated community, it’s a lot easier to ask them to review your book and any subsequent books you release.
Creating An Author Website and Newsletter
An author website can be a significant investment for a new author, but it establishes a central point of contact for you and your reader community. Not only is it a professional step forward, but it also allows you to create content specifically for your audience and build up a mailing list, which brings us to our next point. Email marketing.
The advent of AI has definitely not helped anyone who relies on email marketing. We used to get a lot of spam emails before, but now it’s 10 times worse. If you are planning on building an email list, then put in the hours. Give people something worth subscribing to, and it can still be very rewarding, and also a great way to capture more book reviewers.
Review Ethics
Paying for positive reviews is generally frowned upon within the author community and can taint any of the other reviews you do obtain. Some reviewers charge a fee to review your book but don’t guarantee positive reviews, which is kind of a fine line. There are also sites that charge a fee for book reviews, including a famous one such as Kirkus Book Reviews.
When you pay for positive book reviews, it can be a short-term gain, but ultimately damages your reputation as an author in the long term.
Keep Records for Future Books
Start a spreadsheet of everyone you contacted for reviews, if they replied, positive response or negative, if they ultimately ended up leaving a review, and also their contact details. If you start to identify a pattern, it will allow you to refine your process and approve it.
Book Review FAQs
How can self-published Australian authors get more book reviews?
Self-published authors in Australia can build deeper relationships with their readers to generate more book review opportunities.
Can you pay for book reviews?
While you can pay for book reviews, it’s largely considered to be unethical to pay for positive reviews, and the short-term gain can often be negated by long-term damage to your reputation as an author.
What’s the easiest way to get book reviews?
There’s no easy pathway to guaranteed book reviews. However, by building a relationship and keeping book reviews as a goal, you can successfully create a long-term strategy to build your own book review list.
Get More Book Reviews As A Self-Published Author | Conclusion
Getting more book reviews is all about hard work, commitment, delivering the best possible product, and perseverance. There’s no shortcut to success, but if you keep reviews in mind when you’re building your author brand and completing your book marketing, you can have a lot of success as a new author.
If you have any questions about the self-publishing process, please don’t hesitate to contact us.
At Author Services Australia, we support Australian and New Zealand self-published authors and writers with a full range of affordable self-publishing services, including ghostwriting, copyediting, developmental editing, proofreading, ebook and paperback formatting, book cover design, children’s book illustrations, graphic design services, Amazon KDP Keyword and Category Research, animated book cover reveal videos, beta reading, and social media and marketing.
