Promo is tough.
You don't want to sound like a big dork...
"BUY MY BOOK! IT'S FANTABULOUS!"
But you do want folks to hear positive news about your book. Try this instead....
"Penelope gave Soaring Hearts a 5-star review! She said 'It rocked my world...A+!'"
It is ALWAYS more effective to have someone else recommend your book other than yourself. (Or your mother). Authors need reviews. They are a great promotional tool--we can use snippets for our websites, and tweet/facebook glowing quotes. Readers see good reviews and head to purchase links.
Some of us have big pubs with marketing departments, and they send out ARCs to review sites and we get lots of exposure. And some of us who are pubbed with small presses, or those of us who are self-pubbed, need to find our own reviewers.
This brings me to the review request email. If you are searching for blogger/reviewers to check out your story, you need to make sure you are writing a professional review query. Here are some hot tips from Penelope on......
How To Write A Review Request!
2. PERSONALIZE the letter. There is nothing more off-putting than seeing this heading...
DEAR BOOK BLOGGER.....blah blah blah.
Find out the blogger's name and interests.....
Dear Penelope,
I was perusing your blog and I found out you love wacky books. Well, I just wrote a wacky book and I was wondering if you might be interested in reviewing it....etc.
This is much better. It is personally addressed to me, and it shows that the author did some research before contacting me.
3. What info should you include? Book title, publisher, genre, length, available formats. Some folks like ebooks, so if your book is only available in print, it might be a problem.
4. Make sure to include some info about yourself. Don't forget to include a SIG LINE with your publications/dates, URL for website and blog. Some authors also include a Twitter address, which I like because it's a quick, easy way to get in touch with someone. Don't make me Google you to find out your information. Include it in the email. (Also, your sig line should not be 492 lines long. We don't need to know every book you've ever published since you were 14 years old).
5. Book blurbs should not be longer than 150 words. When I see blurbs at Goodreads or in review requests that are 400 words or longer, I skip them. Those are reading like a synopsis, not a blurb. Blurbs should be quick and capture someone's attention. You do not need to give away the entire plot. They also need to be well-written and free of grammatical errors and typos. If your book blurb looks bad, there is little-to-no-chance that I will read your book. MAKE SURE THE BLURB IS PERFECT!
Here's my book blurb for SWEET MAGIK...
Oskar Klaus' job is killing him. Not even his favorite hobbies
(extreme snowboarding and browsing old bookstores) are enough to snap him out
of his funk. It's not easy living in the shadow of four successful older
brothers and a father named Santa. Little does he know that a kiss on New
Year's Eve is about to turn his life upside-down.
Kiana Grant's Manhattan life is a world away from her childhood in
Oahu. She traded sunsets and surfing for a respectable career in library
science, but Oskar Klaus is a temptation that's hard to resist. Before she
knows it, she's in the midst of an outrageous adventure in the North Pole,
dealing with mischievous elves, wicked demons, and a devastating attraction to
Santa's youngest son.
There's just one problem...a bitter elf hell-bent on revenge
threatens the future of everyone in the North Pole, even Santa himself...
*1st paragraph is about the hero
*2nd paragraph is about the heroine
*3rd paragraph is a quick description of the conflict, with a hook!
7. Are you offering a free copy? Be specific about what you are offering the reviewer, and what you expect in return. I also like to see purchase links, because I buy the books if I'm interested.
8. The requests that capture my attention are the ones that are personalized and professional. Instead of a DEAR BLOGGER letter, someone who starts out with....Dear Penelope, I have a dachshund, too! I have been reading and enjoying your blog.....etc. After that, it's the folks who have a professional note, with an intriguing blurb and well-written excerpt who will grab my interest.
9. Immediate Turn-Offs.....Folks who have not done their research. I even have clear headings about stuff I love to read, and stuff I don't read. If a YA writer sends me a request, she/he has clearly not looked very closely at my website.
10. Make sure you look at the blogger's website to see if she has any specific requirements for requests. Many bloggers have a link that gives you all of that information, such as how many months in advance you need to submit, if they post bad reviews, etc. DO YOUR RESEARCH!
So, that's my Hot Tip #297. Hot Tip #296 is Sequins Never Go Out Of Style, and Hot Tip #298 is Eat Walnuts Every Day -- They're Good For Your Heart.
:^)
Book bloggers/reviewers, any other hot tips for review requests? Let me know!
Penelope
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