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How I Got My First 50 Reviews
My first novel turned 50 last week— 50 reviews, that is.
For some authors, fifty reviews is a breeze, a pit stop on their way to triple digits. Not so, for me. When I consider that this time last year Irradiance existed only as a half-finished first draft and a much-edited outline, I’m pretty freakin’ happy. In calendar time, Irradiance was published in March 2014. Since that time, she’s been joined by two novel siblings, Sight (#2) and Sacrifice (#3).
50 reviews is a milestone worth savoring and I appreciate every single one of them. Here's how I did it:
By The Numbers
You can check out the Amazon rating histogram, but let's just say I’m very happy with it: a goodly number of 4-5 stars, a pair of 3-stars and 1 each of 1 & 2 stars reviews. I’ve never been trolled (that’s not a challenge, by the way); the 1 & 2 star reviews basically said the book was not for them. And that’s OK.
Of the fifty, there were 19 “verified purchase” reviews, indicating the book was bought through Amazon. This split does not surprise me as I gave out a TON of review copies.
I sorted through all the reviews to see where they came from. Here’s the results:
What I Learned From 50 Reviews
- Don’t rely on friends and family – only six of my fifty reviews came from people that I know well. If you want to bag more than a few reviews, you need to reach out to a lot of people.
- Give out LOTS of review copies – I estimate I gave away over a hundred review copies of Irradiance in the last six months and netted 31 “unverified” reviews. (My book is only available for sale on Amazon so anyone who left a “unverified” review got their copy from me.)
- Goodreads Giveaways work – I did a Goodreads Giveaway in June and netted two new readers who have since read and reviewed all my books. Warning: Goodreads only allows paperback giveaways.
How I Fared With Book Bloggers
The process of interacting with book reviews sites was an eye-opener. I determined right out of the gate that I was going to put some real effort into generating reviews from credible book reviewers.
I looked at hundreds of book review sites and queried any that I thought were a match for my sci-fi/fantasy book. Here’s my stats:
I have no idea if this is a good or bad result, but a 25% success rate (57 queries sent vs. 15 actual reviews posted) seems reasonable to me.
What I Learned About Book Review Sites
- Start early – most of the sites have review queues of 4 months or more. I didn’t begin querying until Irradiance was published. Big mistake!
- Be selective – don't just blast out a form letter query to every book blogger with a pulse. Look at their sites to see if they review books similar to yours and follow their query instructions. Don't waste your time (or theirs) with spam review requests.
- Most of them won’t get back to you – out of 57 queries, I got 22 “yes” replies, 6 “no” replies, and 30 “no response.” In other words, more than half of the book review sites never even responded to the query. (To be fair, some of them say if they’re not interested they won’t respond.) My comments are not intended as criticism, these people are reviewing books for free! The takeaway message is make sure you query widely if you want to net a decent number of book blogger reviews.
- Don’t forget YouTube – I had a wonderful video review from Miranda at BooKss101 in Australia. Sadly, it’s not on Amazon, but you can view it here.
And Now a Few of the Wonderful Reviews for Irradiance:
The Most Sensory Review
I felt sort of cold reading this. Yes, it is ‘winter’ where I live right now but not cold like that. Sort of prickly, the way I would feel when I watched the ‘X-Files’. This book has a darkness to it which really appealed to me. It was really exciting and fast-paced as well, it just kept hitting, and then hitting some more. – Sandra Nyamu
The Oddest Review
Sneaky! My brain was focusing on the plot line, getting to grips with a new environment, and a different way of life, that I didn't even notice myself developing an empathy with Maribel, Reese and the children. – MEJB
The Most Humbling Review
The blurb for Irradiance reads like it might be utopian, but I’ve been disappointed so often recently by the blurb being better than the book, or ending up with yet another ‘teenage love-triangle dystopian’ blech. I went in with a deep breath, a bit of hope and simply expecting some science fiction. Right off the bat, I was reminded of Atwood. Then, a chapter later- hints of Huxley. A few chapters later, and there… there was the Orwell. I smiled. I exhaled. I read on in bliss. – Corrinthia
The Youngest Reader Review
As a 12 year old kid who reads at a minimum of 5 books a month, I can easily compare this to other books…Even though the the plot is twisty and turny, David makes a complicated story seem crystal clear…the book engages you and takes you on the roller coaster of life the main characters are feeling. – Christine Hohn
The Most Creative Review
Above all else – remember… The mind is the true voice of a Citizen. Now do your civic duty, Citizen, and read this book. – R. Davidson
Will you be the 51st review?
David Bruns is the creator of the sci-fi series The Dream Guild Chronicles, and one half of the Two Navy Guys and a Novel blog series about co-writing the military thriller, Weapons of Mass Deception. Check out his website for a free sample of his work.