By BookBaby author Scott McCormick

This is the fourth entry in a 10-part series in which I detail the entire experience of self publishing my book. The goal is to offer tips and strategies so you can learn from my successes and mistakes. This week: Amazon optimization.

After taking about two weeks to incorporate the edits I received from my BookBaby editor, I was ready to take the plunge and move forward with the rest of my order. I called my Publishing Specialist, Patrick, and we had a very helpful conversation in which he explained everything I needed to do to upload my manuscript and enter all the design and distribution information. I will detail all of that in the next post, because before I moved forward with all of that, I contacted Smith Publicity for my third and final consultation.

According to Patrick and my Smith contact, Emma Boyer, most people who order the Amazon optimization consultation with Smith do so after their book is already published — probably because they are unsatisfied with their sales or their search engine ranking. There is nothing wrong with that, and if you are already published and want to boost your Amazon sales, it’s not a bad thing to do. (Like BookBaby’s other marketing consultation services, which I detailed in my second post, the Amazon optimization consult costs $399 for a one-hour phone call.)

However, a better time to have this conversation is before you upload your manuscript to BookBaby. Not only is it better to do it right the first time, so you’re firing on all cylinders right out of the gate, but it will save you the hassle of trying to fix it later on. Although Amazon is designed for authors to be able to change almost every part of their listing, if you are publishing through BookBaby, you have to ask BookBaby to make these changes for you. (My book isn’t published yet, so I can’t speak to how much of a pain this is or how long it takes. BookBaby is certainly happy to do this for you, and according to Emma, her clients who have used BookBaby have had no complaints, but I thought I would mention it.)

OK, so let’s get down to the details.

My entire phone call with Emma centered around the seemingly unexciting subject that is metadata. Metadata literally means “data about data,” but in terms of publishing, it is essentially all the information that will help readers find your book.

Obviously, Amazon is hugely important to authors. BookBaby makes your books available in many different bookstores, but Amazon is the 800-pound gorilla in the distribution room. This means you need to focus your attention on optimizing your metadata to get the best search results for Amazon’s search engine algorithm, and their rules are ever-changing and they often don’t make sense.

Keywords

When you’re listing your book with Amazon, either through BookBaby or directly with Amazon, you will be asked to enter up to seven keywords. This may be the most important thing you have control over in terms of improving your search results. (A “keyword,” by the way, isn’t just one word, it is typically a two- to four-word phrase.)

According to Emma, Amazon doesn’t treat books any different than any other product. The same way you create a listing for your book is the same way someone creates a listing for selling dog treats. Knowing this, it’s good to step back and think of your book as a product, and the best way to do that is to think as an Amazon consumer would.

Go to Amazon and shop for something other than a book. As you type words in the search bar, Amazon will give you a bunch of suggestions based on popular searches by its customers, so you can see what keywords people are using to find that item. If I am looking for a pond filter, I type in the word “pond,” and these terms will pop up: “pond pump,” “pond filter,” “Ponds cold cream,” etc. Add the word “filter” and you’ll see more targeted suggestions, “pond filter media,” “pond filter for koi ponds,” etc. If you were selling pond filters, you would want to make a note of these suggestions to use them for your Amazon keywords. The same is true for your book.

I have written a humorous young adult fantasy novel. If a customer were searching for a book like mine, what would he/she type in? Well, if I type “humorous young adult,” the first thing that pops up is “young adult humorous fiction.” “Funny fantasy books” is another. My book, The Dragon Squisher, features dragons (believe it or not). If I type in “dragon,” I get a bunch of “dragon ball z” suggestions. If I add “fantasy” I get “dragon fantasy books.” That seems like a good keyword.

But there are other ways customers look for books. For example, Emma mentioned that if she were trying to buy a book for her niece, she might type in “book for five-year-old about kindness.” With that, a bunch of great-looking titles show up that seem to perfectly meet that criteria. So, rather than just focusing on the big picture, try to think about what themes may make your book different from other books of your genre and include keywords that might help readers searching for a book like yours. Maybe your book is a mystery but it also deals with LGBT issues, or perhaps you have a romance novel that also deals with addiction, or historical fiction that deals with coming-of-age issues, etc.

Lastly, think about books that are similar to yours. Try various searches and if those books are showing up, use those keywords for your book.

Book description

If you have ever struggled with a query letter, you will have a sense of how hard it is to write a good book description. Not only are you trying to craft an utterly compelling sales pitch for your book, you are also writing text that will be used for the Amazon search engine.

The best thing to do is to look at descriptions for titles similar to yours. Keep in mind that only the first 60-70 words are going to fall above the fold, or above the “Read more” link. This is the most important part of your description because people don’t usually click on that “Read more” link. So these 60-70 words need to be the right 60-70 words to sell your book.

Here’s a good description I found for Ghost Story by Jim Butcher:

Chicago wizard Harry Dresden gets a taste of the dead life in this novel in the #1 New York Times bestselling series.

In his life, Harry’s been shot, stabbed, sliced, beaten, burned, crushed, and tortured. And after someone puts a bullet through his chest and leaves him to die in the waters of Lake Michigan, things really start going downhill.

Trapped between life and death, he learns that his friends are in serious trouble. Only by finding his …

Fans of the Dresden Files series are going to buy this book anyway, but if you just happened upon this description while browsing, it would be hard to argue that those 61 words aren’t compelling.

Formatting tip: Most authors bold the first sentence of their description. Also, Emma told me to mention my book’s title in my description (to improve search results) and to make sure it appears in italics. (Amazon’s algorithm doesn’t know it’s a title unless it’s in italics.) BookBaby’s system doesn’t currently allow you to format your text in this manner, though Patrick assured me that once my listing is up, BookBaby can format that text for me.

Learn from my mistakes

When entering your book description on BookBaby’s website, you have the chance to write a short version (up to 2,000 characters) and a long one (up to 4,000). Amazon will include your longer description, and this is a good place to include your keywords. Experts recommend you include two or three keywords for every 100 words in your description. Honestly, I was so exhausted by writing and rewriting my description I didn’t have it in me to write a 4,000-character one.

My advice: take your time and do it right. If you think you’re going to be able to crank out a great book description in an hour, think again. Plan for a couple of days. Write it. Rewrite it. Give it to someone else to read. Rewrite it again. Run it through Grammarly to make sure there are no errors. Then enter it on Amazon or BookBaby.

Categories

This is how books are “shelved” on Amazon. You get three categories on Amazon. Give yourself as niche a category as you can so you can get a better ranking. My book is never going to be in the Top 100 in Children’s Books or Fantasy Books, so I need to get into a smaller category where I’m much more likely to get it in the Top 100, which makes Amazon push it more, which snowballs, etc.

Here’s a good example: William Henry Harrison by Gail Collins. Now, Collins’ subject matter is a US President, but Harrison is not exactly Lincoln or Washington, so just listing it under the U.S. President category is unlikely to get results. But she uses her categories wisely. Her book is listed thusly:

• U.S. State & Local History (rank #1512)
• U.S. Presidents (rank #374)
• War of 1812 History (rank #18)

It’s that last category that led me to discover her book.

Her above-the-fold description, by the way, is pretty compelling:

The president who served the shortest term―just a single month―but whose victorious election campaign rewrote the rules for candidates seeking America’s highest office

William Henry Harrison died just thirty-one days after taking the oath of office in 1841. Today he is a curiosity in American history, but as Gail Collins shows in this entertaining and revelatory biography, he…

Note: If you want your book to be categorized as a children’s, teen, or young adult book, you will be asked to provide an age-range. For example, for teen and YA, the minimum recommended age as is 13-17 years old. Amazon will double check this as they are particular about children’s books.

Once your page is up… Double check it to make sure everything is the way it should be. Mistakes happen and you want to catch them ASAP.

Add links around the web!

While Amazon often changes its algorithm and it can be hard to know exactly what it uses for its searches, according to Emma, if people reach your page from links outside of Amazon, it boosts your book’s relevance. So when your page is live, post links to your Amazon book listing everywhere you can — from Twitter, Facebook, your website, author bios on guest blog posts — and encourage people to click on them.

Book reviews

Customer reviews are the number one thing Amazon shoppers look at, so whatever you can do to make sure you have good reviews the better. That means asking your friends and family to review your book as soon as it’s published. Verified reviews — meaning those by customers who purchased the book through Amazon — count more than unverified reviews. Be sure to tell people who are reviewing your book NOT to include a phrase like “in exchange for” (as in, “I am reviewing this book in exchange for a free copy provided to me by the author”). Amazon will consider that review invalid.

If you get blurbs or professional reviews, there is an editorial review section on Amazon, which is in your control. If you get a review or a blurb, be sure to reach out to BookBaby and ask them to put it in this section.

Like my other consultations with Smith, this phone call offered a ton of value. If you can only choose one of the three Smith consultations (Book Marketing Planner, Social Media, and Amazon Optimization), I would choose the Book Marketing Planner, which is going to offer you the biggest and most personalized bang for your buck. But there is no denying that having an expert help you drive sales on Amazon is invaluable. (Of course, my book’s not up yet, so we’ll see how good the results are. I’ll update this page when I have some data.)

Read the rest of the series:

My Self-Publishing Experience. Part 1: Placing An Order
Book Marketing and Social Media Promotion: My Self-Publishing Experience, Part 2
Book Editing: Part 3 Of My Self-Publishing Experience
Metadata Optimization For Your Book: My Self-Publishing Experience, Part 5
How To Get Cover Design And Formatting That Fits Your Story: My Self-Publishing Experience Part 6

Stay tuned for more adventures in self publishing. Still to come: design, printing, print on demand, and more. Comment below if you have any questions about any part of the publishing process, or if you feel like I left something out. And keep an eye out for my humorous YA fantasy novel, The Dragon Squisher, coming this Fall.

(Follow me on Instagram at authorscottmccormick!)

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Want reviews? Assemble a book review team.

This BookBaby blog article Amazon Optimization: My Self-publishing Experience, Part 4 appeared first on and was stolen from BookBaby Blog .

By BookBaby author Scott McCormick

Dan Poblocki published his first horror book for school-age readers, The Stone Child, just over 10 years ago. He took time out of his writing schedule to talk about his creative process, social media, and his favorite horror films.

If anyone can lay claim to being the current master of horror for Middle Grade literature, it’s Dan Poblocki. Dan is the author of the Shadow House series, as well as such modern classics as The Nightmarys, The Ghost of Graylock, The Haunting of Gabriel Ashe, The Book of Bad Things, The Stone Child, and others. I knew from following Dan on social media that he would have a lot to offer our fellow writers, and we touched on everything from defeating writer’s block to writer’s groups and more. Even if you don’t write horror, I’m sure you’ll find much of what Dan has to say inspiring.

I’m fascinated by the creative process and am always interested in how other authors approach new projects. When starting a new novel, do you tend to start with a concept, a character, or something else?
Usually the concept comes first. Once I have an idea what the story can be, I start thinking about characters that can serve the themes of the story and how their personalities could create the most conflict. This conflict then drives the narrative. Of course, the setting is also pretty important, so that ends up somewhere in those initial brainstorms too.

Are you a pantser, a plotter, or somewhere in-between?
I started out as a pantser and fought vehemently against working from detailed outlines. But after creating several long series, like Shadow House, I realized that outlines are actually my friends. Now, I use them all the time. I like to think of outlines as living documents, so if I feel like the story is pulling me away from what I’d originally planned, I’ll allow myself to follow those new paths.

Do you ever suffer from writer’s block? If so, are there things you do to break out of it?
All the time. And yes, I’ve found a few tricks that have helped get me through. Whenever the block is really bad, I give myself a writing goal of one paragraph per day. This brings me to the computer, where I might not otherwise have chosen to go. Often, I’ll write much more than that one paragraph. Even if I do end up with only one paragraph, I congratulate myself on accomplishing my goal. It’s important to be kind to yourself. Your writing brain will thank you for it.

Another technique I’ve used is to open my notebook and just write the words “you can do this” over and over, until I fill a page or two. This triggers something in my mind that allows me to take off running, literarily speaking. It’s like a warm-up before exercising. A more recent method I’ve discovered is using time-management apps on my phone to keep me focused. My favorite is called Bear Focus Timer, which allows me to do writing sprints, 20 minutes or so, with five-minute breaks in between each sprint. I set the number of sprints to three or four before I need a longer break. The fun thing about the app is that the timer only runs if your phone is face-down, so you can’t check it. And if you DO check it, this cute image of a bear pops up and scowls at you! If I need to do lots of writing really quickly, this method is the most effective.

After you’ve written a first draft, how long before you dive in to do a rewrite? Do you ever feel like you need to take some time away to get some perspective?
Depending on how quickly I need to turn in that draft, I will usually try and stay away from it for about five to seven days before hopping back in. Sometimes longer if the book isn’t due to anyone.

Do you have a favorite scene in one of your books? If so, which one and why?
I guess I’ve always really loved the scene in The Nightmarys where Timothy is attacked in his home by a giant painting of a fire-breathing dragon. (Spoiler-alert: He defeats it with an old tin of turpentine he finds in his garage.)

Are there books or ideas you’ve had sitting around for a while that you’re unsure how to write?
Absolutely. Self-doubt is a real jerk. But the thing about novels is that each one you write is a lesson. Each experience I’ve had has helped me grow as a writer. So maybe, one day, I’ll feel confident enough to tackle those weirder ideas.

In an interview with Awake at Midnight, you mention you’ve never really had to pull back in terms of making a story too scary (with the one exception being excessive graphic violence.) Do you still feel that way? Have you ever written or thought of something you thought might be too dark or disturbing for kids?
I’ve actually been thinking lately of writing even darker and more disturbing stories. Every reader has a threshold, and if something is too scary, kids know how to put a book down or to not even approach it in the first place. When I was young, I wanted capital-S Scary Stories. I’m happy that I was able to find them, read them, and then cower beneath my covers. For some reason, I loved that feeling. But I understand not everyone else does.

The thing about horror is you never know what’s going to freak someone out. Have you ever gotten any feedback from readers that something was too frightening or disturbing for their kids?
I haven’t gotten that feedback from anyone who’s actually read my books. I’ve heard plenty from people who haven’t read my books, but I tend to ignore those people.

Do you read reviews, both from professionals and from readers? Have you ever come across feedback that has positively affected your writing? Any negative feedback that’s gotten under your skin?
I think reading reviews is a bad idea, especially for me. Once the book is out in the world, I can’t do anything to change it, so it doesn’t help to know what Goodreads members are saying about it. As for the professional reviews, each book is not for every person, so I try to not let the occasional negative one creep under my skin. It’s taken me a long time to learn this!

Do you still participate in writing groups? Who do you turn to for feedback?
When I moved out of Brooklyn a few years ago, I felt like I’d left my beloved writing community behind. Only recently have I started connecting with some writers in the Hudson Valley. There are a ton up here! But for professional feedback, I still reach out to some trusted writer friends in NYC.

Your Twitter feed is one of my favorites. You always have fun and interesting things to say and I really enjoyed your recent 31 horror films in 31 days series. Do you spend a lot of time coming up with content for social media? Was there a conscience decision about who your social media personality would be? Are there things you definitely do not want to post about, like politics?
Well thanks! I have mixed thoughts about social media and Twitter, in particular. It’s fun to participate in events like sharing all the horror films I watch every October. Commiserating with other writers keeps me from feeling isolated. I don’t spend much time planning what I post. I feel like my feed is a mix of my own book news and promotional stuff as it happens, as well as really dumb thoughts that come through my mind in the middle of the night. My personality online is pretty earnest and silly, just like in real life. The trolling culture of these sites is awful, and I’ve seen the devastating effects it can have on friends’ psyches. It almost makes me want to delete my accounts. I also understand that it’s important as an author to try and participate. Because of the trolling, I do try to stay away from politics — from the national stage to opinions about Star Wars — but sometimes I can’t help myself.

Are there horror tropes you adore? Are there horror tropes that annoy you or turn you off?
I’m game for all the horror tropes. Witches are a recent favorite. The only thing I really hate is gratuitous violence that doesn’t serve the story, doesn’t reframe or reinforce the audience’s expectations, or doesn’t inform the audience about character.

If you could choose a film director to adapt one of your books, who would be your first choice?
I’d love to see what Karyn Kusama would do with a creepy kids book adaptation. She directed the under-appreciated Jennifer’s Body and another recent favorite called The Invitation.

What’s the scariest horror film you’ve ever seen?
It’s so subjective, of course, but one movie that left me trembling was Jacob’s Ladder. The scene where Jacob is strapped to the gurney and brought through those twisting hallways into the surgery room caused me many a nightmare. Another is It Follows. I suppose you could sum this one up by saying it’s a story about teens in the suburbs dealing with a sexually-transmitted demon? The world in which it exists is so close to our own and yet, different. Almost imperceptibly. It’s such an intense and effective film, with only a few jump scares but plenty of creeping dread. Some of the images are so disturbing, I doubt they’ll ever leave my mind.

What’s your favorite, recent horror novel?
A Head Full of Ghosts by Paul Tremblay. It’s about a family, one of whose daughters is troubled, and may or may not be possessed. I don’t want to say too much more, except that it has one of the most twisted, chilling endings I’ve ever read.

Learn more about Dan at www.danpoblocki.com and follow him on Twitter @DanPoblocki.

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This BookBaby blog article Meet Middle Grade Horror Master, Dan Poblocki appeared first on and was stolen from BookBaby Blog .

By BookBaby author Steven Spatz

Negative reviews are part of life, and brushing off criticism is something all creators must know how to do — because most negative reviews don’t matter.

Reviews are important to authors — and everyone else outside of the publishing industry. Not long ago, the Pew Research Center found that two-thirds of regular review readers believe reviews are “generally accurate” and a full 82 percent of American adults said they “sometimes or always” read online reviews before making new purchases. And it’s worth noting that negative reviews, in particular, appear to dramatically influence buying behaviors.

So that means authors should pay close attention to reviews and use them as metrics for the quality of our art. Right?

No, not exactly.

Consider the online reviews available for the Great Wall of China, perhaps the most recognizable symbol of China’s vast and storied history. Construction of the Great Wall began in 7th Century B.C. as a military defensive line to defend against invasions from northern nomadic nations and took 2,500 years to complete. It is ancient and was effective. The online reviews would likely reflect that, right?

Not exactly.

Consider this one-star review: “The wall is broken in lots of places, and it costed me all of my money to get there and i did not know what the natives were speaking.”

Or this: “I don’t see the hype in this place it’s really run down and old… why wouldn’t you update something like this? No usb plug ins or outlets anywhere.”

Negative reviews are a part of life and, now that everyone can share online, they are often grounded in dubious logic and should not be taken too seriously.

But, even before the Internet, reviews and opinions were pervasive — and not always reliable. Long ago, I was a sportswriter for a small-town daily newspaper in Roseburg, Oregon. When I’d report — accurately, mind you — that little Jimmy fumbled twice in the big game, I’d get angry letters criticizing me. This was decades before email. These readers wrote in glaring red ink on paper and mailed these reviews in. Since the letters mentioned me, I had the duty of typing each complaint into the newspaper myself.

This was my first job out of college and it was my first experience with this kind of critique. It was devastating, at first. How could so many people seem to not like my work — or me for reporting the facts?

It didn’t take long for me to develop a thicker skin, mainly because I had to. There wasn’t a mechanism to respond to critics back in the day. I had no choice but to brush them off, put on a smile, and keep reporting the facts.

Brushing off criticism is something all creators must know how to do — because most negative reviews don’t matter.

Some, however, matter a lot. In these cases, you won’t be able to just shrug off a negative review. Sometimes, especially if the review pertains to your company or a process you’re otherwise in charge of, it’s crucial that you respond and take the review seriously. In these scenarios, a response is sometimes necessary.

When responding to a negative review:

1. Do not let your emotions do the talking. It’s hard not to take negative reviews personally. But responding to a negative review — via email, your website, on social media — with an angry or defensive outburst is guaranteed to make things worse. Others will see your angry response and interpret it as proof that the negative review was, in fact, warranted.

Instead, take a deep breath (and maybe a few hours or a day) and respond when you are calm and removed from the intensity of the moment. If you’re unable to reach a tranquil perspective, consider passing off the task of responding to someone on your staff (or in your circle) who is perhaps less connected to the issue in question.

2. Learn what you can from the review and use it to make things better. In business, this is particularly important if the review in question focuses on things like:

• The experience of a reader/customer trying to navigate an overly complex (or insufficient) website.
• The treatment of a customer by your staff.
• Claims of unprofessionalism.

In fact, if you identify evidence of wrongdoing on your part or by people you’re responsible for, it behooves you to get to the bottom of it. It’s a matter of being responsible and proactive.

Often, whatever your line of business, negative reviews can teach you a lot about your product or service or can shed light on areas where you can improve. Smart executives use such reviews as an opportunity to make their business better.
 

 
3. If you’ve done something wrong, respond quickly, and seek to make things right. At BookBaby, when we receive a negative review or message that we think necessitates a response, here’s what we do:

1. We respond quickly — within 24 hours, and ideally less. By responding quickly, you show that you’re in tune with customer feedback and that you’re an active participant.
2. Try and fix the problem. I’ve found that much of the time, customer issues can be resolved by simply listening and communicating.
3. Strive to be authentic. Customers want to know it’s an actual human being responding to them — not a bot. Keep your conversation genuine and also polite — it’s important to take the high road.

At the end of the day, negative reviews are a part of life and, often, they’re not worth listening to. Sometimes, they are. And when they are, it’s critical you handle it with professionalism and grace.

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This BookBaby blog article Negative Reviews Are Part Of Life appeared first on and was stolen from BookBaby Blog .

By BookBaby author Steven Spatz

A powerful element of your book marketing plan should be getting book reviews. It’s not always easy to do, but here are some ideas for how to go about getting them.

Book reviews have been around forever. A 9th Century work of Constantinople Photius is composed of 279 reviews of books he read, which makes it the first set of book reviews on record.

While authors have what we might call a love/hate relationship with reviews and reviewers, book reviews are incredibly important to your book marketing plan, which should also include:

• distribution
• metadata optimization
• an author platform
• author website
• Twitter and other social media profiles
• your own blog
• a promotional budget

Book reviews offer social proof

Success begets success, and that’s basically what reviews do, they give you initial success, like priming a pump, but I like a much more recent term to describe what reviews provide: social proof.

So, yes, this is pretty basic stuff — you get a lot of reviews, you appear to be popular, it’s human nature that other people will be curious: “Oh, this book has a lot of reviews, I’ve got to check it out.”

This can lead to a snowball effect, even if they aren’t all five-star reviews.

Amazon’s algorithms

Amazon recognizes how important reviews are and they have brand-new, sophisticated algorithms that look for the number of reviews a book has and what the ratings are, and a large number of good reviews is going to bring you up in the rankings. So it’s not just about these reviews appearing on your book’s page, Amazon will help by putting your book in front of readers as you get more positive reviews.

And it’s not just individual readers. Book clubs, bookstores, blogging communities, even filmmakers looking to option books might take notice. So reviews can drive awareness, and it’s more than just making sure you have some nice things posted about your book.

Though, don’t forget, word of mouth is the greatest form of marketing.

Reviewers are influencers

85 percent of the books sold these days are selling through Amazon and other online portals, so getting validated by influencers/reviewers becomes increasingly important. So I advise that you spend some time and effort — and maybe even some money — to get reviews to start the ball rolling.

I encourage you to start by making a “review ask list” and spend 30-60 minutes a day trying to solicit reviewers. So, who’s on the list?

• Mom
• Dad
• Aunt Carla
• Your buddy Mike
• An army of cheap fake reviewers
• Legit paid reviewers
• Other Amazon reviewers
• Complete strangers who I persuade to review the book

Amazon’s review rules

Looks good, except that Amazon has new and constantly changing rules in place, including this really important bit straight from Amazon’s community rules:

We don’t allow individuals who share a household with the author or close friends to write Customer Reviews for that author’s book.

This means Amazon is going to take a hard look at all of your reviews. I believe they know who you’re sending gifts to at Christmas — they look at your address list — so if you sent your buddy Mike a Christmas gift last year, even if he lives on the other side of the country, and you ask Mike for a review, it’s probably not going to be accepted by Amazon because his name and contact information are in your address book.

And this might hang up your other reviews, as you’ll draw more scrutiny. Even reviews that are legit will be looked at sideways.

So pay attention and review Amazon’s community guidelines before you do any serious work looking for reviews.

Cheap fake reviews: a cautionary tale

If you’re thinking you can get a bunch of cheap reviews and flood your Amazon page with them, let me tell you a story about an indie author named John Locke. About 10 years ago, he launched a self-publishing career. He had a very slow start, he self-published a few books, then all of a sudden his sales went crazy. He had four titles in the Top 10 Best-Sellers, he sold over a million eBook copies of his nine Donovan Creed novels, and he was celebrated by the publishing industry as the first self-published author to really achieve a high level of success.

He even had the gall to write a book, How I Sold 1 Million eBooks in 5 Months!, and it listed all his hard work and pricing strategies and … it just wasn’t true.

The New York Times published an article in 2012, “The Best Book Reviews Money Can Buy,” and cited John Locke as example. Turns out, he used a website called “Getting Book Reviews,” and for something like $5 each, he bought 300 book reviews that were just completely fake and loaded them onto his Amazon page.

That got the got the algorithm thinking, “Looks like he’s popular,” which caused it to serve his book to more people, which prompted folks to buy his books — and it was all a facade. Then he was vilified by the publishing community, which is when Amazon really went to work to determine which book reviews were legitimate and which weren’t.

Paid and unpaid reviews

Amazon does accept unpaid and paid reviews.

Customer Reviews are written by a reader — someone who ideally bought the book and who assigns a number of stars (1–5). Most authors are referring to Customer Reviews when they reference “Amazon reviews.”

An Editorial Review is a formal evaluation of a book, usually written by a professional reviewer or expert within a genre. These are also called blurbs, endorsements, and testimonials.

Who can review your book?

Here are four paid services that Amazon recognizes as legitimate:

• Kirkus
• Blue Ink
• Reader’s Favorite
• IndieReader

You’re probably going to get a favorable review from all of these sources, but it’s not guaranteed. I know people who’ve gotten bad reviews — these sources really do read the books, and their reviews will end up on the editorial section.

How long do reviews take?

You can expect to wait four to six weeks, though you might be able to expedite them, and the prices range from anywhere from $100–$600.

You can apply for a Publishers Weekly review for free, though there’s fierce competition and no guarantee you’re going to be chosen — though they do hundreds of self-published books every year.

There’s also Book Life, PW’s side publication, and you can buy a book review from them. It’s completed in about six weeks, it’s about 300 words, written by a qualified reader. That’s all they do, all day long, is read books and write reviews.

How to find great reviewers

Do an internet search for “book reviewer,” or go to Amazon itself and it lists its Top Customer Reviewers. Filter them out for book reviewers, then click on the links to see what they’ve reviewed.

Avid readers actually follow their favorite reviewers. If a reviewer has reviewed five books a reader loves, they’ll start following where the reviewer goes and look to the reviewer to help them discover new books.

Look at the reviewer’s website and read the submission guidelines. All reviewers are different, some want a chapter, a sentence, a few sentences… give them what they want how they want it.

Query package

Compose what I call a query package, which includes a pitch message for the reviewers. Tailor it to make it as personalized as possible.

A sample letter might read:

Hi [Reviewer’s Name]

My name is Steven Spatz, my latest sports thriller, Duck Turns Into A Falcon, was released May 1st through BookBaby. I have attached the cover image.

Here’s a brief synopsis:

[Synopsis of this amazing football redemption story]

I’m currently looking for reviewers and wondered if you’d be interested in receiving an advanced reading copy (ARC) of the book for review. All eBook formats are available.

One nice thing is you can send eBooks out before the actual print books are dropping in your in your pre-sale period.

Other considerations

Know your genre. Don’t waste your time on any reviewer who isn’t experienced in your genre. The more you can narrow down in the niche, the better off you’re going to be.

Get professional editing. I shouldn’t even have to mention this, but if you’ve got an unedited book full of typos, you shouldn’t be talking to reviewers in the first place.

Don’t expect reviewers to pay for their review copy. They’ll give you free publicity, the least you can do is pay for review copies.

This is totally legit for Amazon. Amazon accepts and knows that these reviewers are not buying their books. And remember, these folks are very busy, they get dozens of requests a week, so give them a few weeks before nudging them gently with a reminder.

Send a thank you note. If you get a review, a thank you note is always a good idea.

I would recommend targeting 20 reviewers at a time, wait a week, and then go back in find another 20. If you get two or three of these people interested from each batch of 20, you’d be doing well.

There’s more! Watch the full BookBaby Live presentation.

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This BookBaby blog article How To Get Book Reviews appeared first on and was stolen from BookBaby Blog .

By BookBaby author Scott McCormick

Estimated reading time: 8 minutes

Advance reader copies (ARCs) are copies of books sent out to book reviewers, book bloggers, publicists, and others in advance of publication. ARCs are used to ensure authors have as many reviews as possible by the time a book is officially published. They are also used to send to other authors to get endorsements that can be printed on the published version of the book.

Advance Reader Copies are also known by a few other names, including advance review copies, advanced reader copies, reader’s editions, and galleys.

Why produce advance reader copies?

An author’s goal is to get as many reviews of their book as they can, as quickly as possible. This accomplishes two things. First, the more reviews a book gets, the higher it will appear in Amazon’s search engine rankings, leading to more people finding and buying the book.

Second, these early reviews will help potential buyers overcome their initial objection of wondering whether your book is any good. If they go to your Amazon page and see 15 positive reviews, they are much more likely to buy your book than if there aren’t any, or only a couple.

In other words:

• ARCs get you early reviews
• Early reviews get you credibility
• Credibility gets you sales

How do ARCs differ from finished books?

A traditional ARC is a paperback edition that has not had a final proofread or finished cover art. Printed ARCs typically have the words, “Advance Reader Copy: Not intended for resale” on the cover. Major publishers still produce these kinds of printed ARCs and send them out to all the big reviewers like Kirkus, Publisher’s Weekly, etc.

Some indie authors like to print traditional ARCs before they print the final version of their book as a way of adding legitimacy to their marketing campaigns. BookBaby can help you produce your own ARC with our print on demand and single book printing services.

Having said that, you do not have to produce a classic paperback advance reader copy to get early reviews of your books. If you want to mail out physical copies of your book, you can simply use copies of your finished book.

In fact, you do not have to print copies of your book at all. ARCs can be eBooks or even PDFs. We don’t recommend using PDFs because they are too easily distributed by your reviewers to third parties, which may cost you sales, but reviewers will often accept PDFs.

What are the best practices for creating an ARC?

Publishers send out ARCs before a book has had its final proofread, and reviewers understand that they are receiving a book that may contain spelling mistakes. This is standard practice in the industry and does not affect book reviews.

So, if you are still in the final proofing stage and your deadline is approaching and you’re worried you won’t have time to get a final product out to your reviewers, don’t sweat it. You can send the pre-proofread version to reviewers and it will not negatively impact your review. But be sure to include the words “Advance Reader Copy: Not intended for resale” on your printed book or eBook cover.

But a key point to remember: even though you can send out an ARC that has not been proofread, that does not mean you can send out an ARC that has not been edited. Proofreading is the very last step of the editing process. By the time a manuscript is being proofread, it has also gone through one, if not multiple rounds of book editing.

Warning!

To reiterate: Do not send out a book that has not been edited! A few spelling mistakes in your ARC are OK; a bunch of spelling and grammatical errors will make you look amateurish and will almost certainly guarantee you a bad review. Working with a professional editor for your book before printing and distributing is vital to your book’s success.

By the way, if you are choosing to send a paperback ARC, be sure to send it priority shipping to make sure it arrives on time! You are working with a predetermined timeframe, so you can’t leave anything to chance.

Who do you send advance review copies to?

Besides reviewers, you can send ARCs to anyone who you want to endorse your book as well as anyone who can help you with promotion. Send an ARC to bookstores to create opportunities to schedule book signing or book reading events. (Printed ARCs definitely work best for this.)

You should send your ARCs to two categories of reviewers: professional reviewers and reviewers you have recruited on your own.

Professional book reviewers

As an independent author, it’s unlikely you will be able to get a review by The New York Times or Publisher’s Weekly the way a major publishing house can. But you can still get your book into the hands of popular book bloggers and social media influencers (e.g., Bookstagramers and BookTokers). Do some research to find the best bloggers and social media influencers for your genre.

You can also hire professional book review services. Amazon recognizes these four companies, whose reviews you can post to the Editorial Reviews section of your book’s sales page (these companies do not require physical copies of your ARC):

• Kirkus. Cost: $450
• Blue Ink. Cost: $395
• IndieReader. Cost: $275
• Readers’ Favorite. Cost: Free or $59 for a two-week express review

Recruiting your own book reviewers

If you have any kind of online presence, recruiting your own reviewers is going to be the best (and cheapest) way to get a healthy number of early reviews on Amazon and Goodreads. This will not only get you a bunch of reviews, but it will also create goodwill between you and your fans (“Get a free copy of my next book!”) and make those fans feel invested in your book’s success.

Post on your website and social media outlets asking people to sign up to receive a free copy of your newest book in exchange for an honest review. Make this a limited-time offer.

Send readers to a Google Form to sign up. On this form you’ll want to explain:

• Readers are signing up to receive a free copy of your book in exchange for an honest review. (That last part is important.)
• Review copies are limited and they may not be chosen to receive one.
• When they will be notified if they’ve been selected.
• Review copies are for their eyes only and the content is not to be shared publicly in any way.
• There is no financial compensation for reviews.
• They will receive the book via Kindle. To receive an eBook this way, they will need a valid Kindle email address.

YA Fantasy author Bethany Atazadeh offers a great video on how to send ARCs via Kindle, including how to find your Kindle email address. Again, sending an ARC as a Kindle file (.mobi) is preferable to sending out PDF because your reviewers cannot share the Kindle files with others.

Once you get a list of people requesting ARCs, you will want to be a little choosy in deciding who should get one, so on your Google form, Atazadeh recommends adding a few questions to help you decide.

• Ask which of your books they’ve read. This is especially important if you are releasing a sequel. (You will want reviewers to have read the previous books.)
• Ask where they like to review books (Amazon, Goodreads, Instagram, etc.).
• Any other pertinent questions that may help you rule out some reviewers.

How many ARCs will you send out?

Your end goal is to get about 25 reviews on Amazon on opening day. But the unfortunate fact is, not everyone who gets an ARC will review it. Even people who have raised their hand and signed up to get a copy still may not review your book. Sometimes people have good intentions but life gets in the way. So if you want 25 reviews, send out 100 advanced review copies just to be on the safe side.

If 100 books sounds like a lot — like you may be losing 100 sales — don’t sweat it. Remember, these people are seeking to actively support your career. They may not be buying this book, but they will probably buy your next one. After all, they’ll feel invested in your career.

When do you send out advanced review copies?

Publishers send ARCs anywhere from three to six months before publication. This gives them time to fix any last-minute errors and/or to include endorsements on the cover.

The professional review companies we cited above require seven to nine weeks to turn around their review, so we recommend sending ARCs three months before your release date. (If you’re in a pinch, Readers’ Favorite does offer an expedited, two-week service for $59.)

For your recruited reviewers, send the ARCs out one month ahead of time. (You don’t want to give them too long or it will be too easy for your book to fall through the cracks.) Be sure to follow up with a reminder email two weeks later, and then a final reminder on publication day, letting them know that today is the day they can post their reviews on Amazon. Follow that up with one last email a few days after publication, thanking everyone for participating and explaining why this is so important for your sales. That may help you get a few more reviews from reviewers who didn’t finish the book in time.

What are the pros and cons of an advanced reader copy?

To sum up the pros of sending out ARCs:

• Get early reviews for your book
• Gather readers’ responses
• Build goodwill with your readers
• Book promotional opportunities
• Strengthen publishing relationships

To sum up the cons of creating ARCs:

• Printed ARCs cost money to print and ship
• The ARC process adds another layer of complexity to the publishing process

If you’re ready to self-publish your book, be sure to call BookBaby at 1-877-961-6878.

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This BookBaby blog article What is an Advance Reader Copy? appeared first on and was stolen from BookBaby Blog .

By BookBaby author Scott McCormick

Estimated reading time: 5 minutes

You’ve written your book, had a celebratory cup of coffee, rewritten your book, sent out the manuscript to your beta readers, rewritten it once again, sent it to your editor, fixed all your grammatical and spelling errors, and now, finally, you’re ready to publish, right? Not so fast. Before you publish your book, you’re going to want to produce a book proof and do a final check.

What is a book proof?

A book proof, also known as a proof copy, is a pre-publication version of your book. A book proof is produced after galleys or ARCs, but before final publication. Book proofs are used for — you guessed it — proofing your book. (This is where the term proofreading comes from.) You use a proof copy to make sure that every single element of your book is perfect before giving your printer the approval to publish your title.

Proof copy vs galley copy vs ARC

Book proofs differ from galleys and Advance Reader Copies (ARCs) in how they are used.

Galleys

Traditionally, galleys were coil-bound versions of your book that only contained the body of your text (in order words, no cover, front matter, back matter, or formatting). A galley proof is purely for editing, and in traditional publishing, only your editor would get one.

ARCs

An ARC is a nearly complete version of your book. It includes your cover, front and back matter, photos, etc., and for the most part, formatting has been completed. (But not always. In the ARCs for my Mr. Pants books, the typeface for the dialog balloons hadn’t been selected yet.)

ARCs are generally sent out to reviewers or to other authors for endorsements. One key difference between an ARC and a proof copy is that ARCs don’t necessarily need to be printed. These days, most reviewers are happy to receive a digital proof of your ARC in PDFs or ePub format.

Proof copies

Book proofs are mostly used for the final editing process to ensure that everything is perfect. Some distributors may want a book proof before they will agree to sell your book.

Understanding the importance of book proofs

As you will see, book proofs are not just used for proofreading your copy. They are also used for checking all your graphic elements and more.

If you are self-publishing your book with BookBaby, you will receive a digital proof to get your final approval before going to print. However, you really should order at least one press proof so you can make sure the final physical copy is exactly how you want it to be. This is important because this is your only chance to catch printing mistakes.

Key elements to inspect in a book proof

Once you order a printed proof copy, here are the key elements to inspect to make sure everything is up to snuff.

Text

I get it. You have edited and re-edited your book a million times already. By this point you can’t even see straight. But a proof copy is your last chance to catch typos and grammatical mistakes, and this is where using a printed copy really comes in handy. There’s something about viewing your book in a physical format that will cause you to see things you have previously glossed over.

But because you have edited this book so often, once you are done proofreading your book, you should give it to one other person so they can check it with fresh eyes.

Print quality and color accuracy

Until this moment, you’ve only seen digital versions of your book, so here’s your one and only chance to view your physical proof to check the print quality and color accuracy. Do the colors of your book look like your digital proofs? There will be a slight variation, due to the differences between screen colors and print colors, but you shouldn’t be shocked when you see your book in print.

Check out the photos and graphics to make sure there are no issues, like moiré patterns.

Book cover considerations

Of course, every aspect of your book needs to be perfect, but this is doubly true of your book cover. After all, it’s what is going to draw in your potential readers, and if you book looks less than professional, you’re going to blow sales opportunities.

Although I’m sure you or your designer spent hours making sure your front and back cover design were perfect onscreen, this is your opportunity to see it in physical form. The proof is where you’ll be able to double check that the image is centered and level, that your spine isn’t bleeding over onto the back cover, etc.

Correct titles, headers, etc.

Up to this point, you probably haven’t spent any time proofreading your front or back matter. Now is the time to make sure everything is error-free. Check your title page, your copyright page, the dedication, the “About the Author” section, and everything else. Make sure your ISBN is correct as well as your social media links and website URL.

Double-check the table of contents to make sure all the page numbers refer to the correct chapters. Check your page numbers throughout the book. Check the headers that run across the top of the page. Make sure your name and title are printed correctly, and that neither of them appears on pages where a new chapter is beginning.

Make sure you are happy with your fonts. Make sure all your paragraph breaks are consistent. Make sure your illustrations, maps, photos, etc. are all in the right place and the right size.

Leveraging BookBaby’s single book printing services

Any reputable publishing partner should provide you with a chance to order a proof copy of your book. If not, you need to find another partner or book printer.

With many publishing partners, you can’t always be sure that your proof will match the final copies. At BookBaby, we use the very same presses to print proof copies as we do the books that reach the marketplace. So you know your single press proof will be exactly the same print quality as the books your customers buy.

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This BookBaby blog article What is a Book Proof and What Should You Look For? appeared first on and was stolen from BookBaby Blog .

By BookBaby author Scott McCormick

Estimated reading time: 7 minutes

It’s probably not a surprise to you that Amazon is the world’s biggest bookstore, but do you know just how big it is? According to available data, Amazon distributes between 50 percent of printed books and 75 percent of eBooks in the US. So, to say that Amazon sales are vital to authors is an understatement.

How do you stand out in such a crowded marketplace? Reviews. Book reviews not only boost your search engine ranking, but they also raise customer confidence in your books. So, how do you go about getting them? Let’s spell out what you should do — as well as what you shouldn’t do — to get book reviews on Amazon.

Do Amazon book reviews matter?

Getting an Amazon review isn’t just crucial to the success of your book, you need to land as many reviews as you can as soon as your book launches. Why? Three reasons: Amazon’s algorithm, book discoverability, and credibility.

Amazon’s algorithm

Amazon has the world’s third largest search engine, behind Google and YouTube, and how you and your books are ranked in search results is largely dependent on reviews. When a book receives positive reviews, it signals to Amazon that it is well-received by readers. This can lead to improved search rankings, making it easier for potential readers to discover your book, which will lead to more sales, which in turn will lead to more reviews, and around and around it goes.

Book discoverability

Reviews also play a vital role in the “customers who bought this also bought” and “recommended for you” sections of Amazon’s website. When book sales and reviews increase, it can lead to increased visibility among readers who have purchased books similar to yours. This is essentially free advertising to a highly targeted audience. What more could you ask for?

Credibility

A verified review acts as social proof, assuring potential readers that your book is worth their time and money. Think about your own book-buying experiences. Even if you are buying a book by an author you already enjoy, you still probably check the reviews to make sure this new book is up to snuff.

Considering these factors, it’s evident that Amazon book reviews are crucial for independent authors. OK, so how do you go about obtaining them?

Optimize your book’s Amazon page

Before you start seeking reviews, it’s essential to optimize your book’s Amazon page to maximize its visibility. Here are some tips to help you achieve this:

• Keyword research. Research relevant keywords and phrases related to your book’s genre and/or content. Incorporate these keywords into your book’s title, subtitle, and description to improve search visibility. Here are some great keyword do’s and don’ts.
• Attention-grabbing cover. Be sure to invest in a professional and visually appealing book cover design. A captivating cover can entice potential readers to click on your book and learn more.
• Compelling description. Write a compelling book description that not only summarizes your book but also entices readers to want more. Use vivid language, incorporate your keywords, and be sure to highlight the unique aspects of your story. Most importantly: Edit your description! This is the last place you want a typo showing up. BookBaby offers an Amazon optimization service to help you maximize your keywords and description.
• Author bio. Craft an engaging author bio. Don’t be afraid to expound a little here. Add interesting details and personalize it so readers feel like they know something about you.
• Choose the right categories. Select the most relevant and specific categories for your book. This will help your book appear in niche-specific searches and increases its discoverability and increase your chances of being an Amazon best-seller.
• Book preview. Be sure to enable the “Look Inside” feature to allow readers to preview a portion of your book. A well-chosen preview can encourage readers to make a purchase, whereas books that don’t use this feature are likely to be passed over.

The importance of authentic reviews

It’s vital to emphasize the importance of authenticity when it comes to book reviews on Amazon. Amazon has strict guidelines regarding reviews, and any attempt to manipulate or purchase reviews can result in severe consequences, including the removal of reviews or even the suspension of your account. Authenticity is key, so focus on obtaining genuine reviews from real readers who have engaged with your work.

Here are things you cannot do to get Amazon reviews:

• You cannot pay for reviews. No cash. No prizes. You can give out free advance review copies of your book, though you cannot require a reader to review your book. You also cannot tell anyone what to say in their reviews. (This is why it’s vital to write a great book!)
• You cannot exchange reviews. Don’t go posting on social media anything like, “Hey, I’ll give you five stars if you do the same for me.”
• You can’t review your own book or have your family review it. Amazon is savvy when it comes to tracking your close personal relationships.

Tips for getting book reviews on Amazon

Here are seven practical strategies for getting book reviews on Amazon.

1. Ask for reviews (in your book)

Add a sentence or two at the end of your book asking readers to leave an honest review on Amazon. Rather than tell them that it will help you sell more copies, appeal to their sense of helping their fellow readers find books that will appeal to them.

2. Promote on social media and newsletters

Here’s where all your hard work marketing on social media will pay off. Tell your followers that your new book is coming out and ask them if they would like to be a part of your review team. If you have an email newsletter (and you should) reach out to your mailing list and request reviews.

3. Connect with your author network

Authors are always looking to support their peers, so don’t be afraid to reach out to them to ask for reviews. To build your author network, attend writing conferences and join online author forums or groups.

4. Reach out to influential book reviewers

Many book reviewers accept requests from authors for book reviews. Craft a polite and personalized email requesting a review of your book and provide them with a copy in the format they prefer. Be sure to read their submission guidelines and follow them meticulously. Just know that these reviewers are often booked out months in advance, so contact them as soon as you have your advanced reader copy.

5. Monitor negative reviews and feedback

Not all reviews will be glowing, and that’s okay. A bad review can provide valuable insights for improvement. Always approach negative feedback professionally and constructively. Respond to reviews politely and thank readers for their feedback. Demonstrating that you value reader opinions can enhance your credibility and encourage more reviews.

6. Run Amazon book promotions

Consider running Amazon promotions, such as Kindle Countdown Deals or free book promotions. These promotions can boost your book’s visibility and attract a larger audience, which can result in more reviews.

7. Use an automated platform

If you are completely overwhelmed by the thought of trying to round up reviewers and organize the distribution of your ARCs, you can use reviewer websites like BookFunnel, StoryOrigin, or Booksprout. For a small fee, these companies can connect you to their huge list of readers, plus they offer easy ways for eager reviewers to get your book. If someone raises their hand and asks to be a reviewer, you can simply send them to your BookFunnel, StoryOrigin, or Booksprout page, and they can take it from there. Prices range from $5 to $20 per month, depending on the number of services you want.

How many reviews should you get?

A good goal to strive for is 20 reviews in your first two months of publication. Once you achieve 50 reviews, your book will have enough momentum to keep driving book sales, which will drive more reviews, etc.

You can see why getting book reviews on Amazon is so critical for the success of your self-published book. Reviews boost visibility, credibility, and can give you a competitive edge in the crowded marketplace. Follow the strategies outlined in this article and you will increase your chances of securing the reviews you need to boost your sales and get you ready for your next book.

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This BookBaby blog article How to Get Book Reviews on Amazon appeared first on and was stolen from BookBaby Blog .