Review or not to review…that is the question.
As many of you know–with consummate thanks to those of you who helped make it happen–we had a highly acclaimed and successful launch of The Amendment Killer last year. The story received more than 130 reviews on Amazon alone! Reviews on Goodreads, BookBub, and Barnes & Noble, were not far behind. I am so grateful to those of you who were kind enough to post one of those reviews.
Reviews today are extremely important to all authors, but especially to me, an author trying to break into the big leagues.
If you’ve ever clicked upon a pair of light-up socks on Amazon, only thereafter to receive one or more Amazon emails in your inbox promoting the inherent good and benefit to society of light-up socks, then you know how valuable all reviews are, particularly those posted on Amazon. Amazon has more visitors to its website than any other website on the internet!
The more of you who post reviews about a book on Amazon (and on Goodreads, which is now owned by Amazon), the more Amazon and Goodreads send out emails promoting that book. Goodreads may not have as many website visitors as Amazon, but all 20 million Goodreads members spend time on Goodreads for one reason only–their love of books, and their quest for books worth reading.
Nor should BookBub or Barnes and Noble be considered small potatoes in the world of literary influence. When BookBub sent out an email promoting The Amendment Killer on Tuesday, April 24, The Amendment Killer sold over 6,500 copies during the remainder of that one week alone! As a result, The Amendment Killer was in the top five highest selling books on Amazon that week. That’s in New York Times bestselling territory.
So, when you post a review on one of these websites, it’s like telling (millions of) your friends and families, “I have a book you just have to read!”
From time to time, many of you have asked about the specifics of actually writing and posting a review. What to write can be as simple as “Great book!” or it can be two or three paragraphs explaining how you feel. (It can also be “A real stinker!” I can take it. At least it shows you are invested.)
How and where to post your review can be a little more daunting, but it’s actually pretty easy as well once you get the hang of it. My dear friend Eileen created a short video tutorial about posting reviews. With The Puppet Master releasing on Tuesday, December 11, I thought this would be the perfect time to share Eileen’s video again. You can see her award winning review at your convenience right here. Well, if they gave awards for such videos, she would have won one!
I am humbled and honored when you take the few minutes required to write and post a review of one of my Brooks/Lotello thriller novels, and to demonstrate the loyalty that shows. It makes me feel that I have the greatest job on earth! True story. 🙂
EDITOR’S NOTE: Eileen’s video does not address how to post a review on BookBub. it’s the easiest of them all. Go to www. bookbub.com and create an account. It’s free. Enter the title of the book in the search field and hit enter. Then click on Review and follow the bouncing ball to enter your review. Depending on your device, Review will either be in the upper right of the screen for the book or just under the description of the book.
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