YA Fiction Books, Readers, Writers, and Reviewers discussion

For all the authors in this group I've got a burning question.
How do you promote your books and get reviews?
I have tried many things, most with giving away digital review copies, yet I should have much more reviews and ratings that I actually have. I get that people may not have liked the book, and decided just not to rate it, that's life. But for all the reviews and ratings I have on Goodreads that does not carry over to amazon or another place my books are sold.
Does anyone else notice this trend? Or is this because of amazon's verified purchase thing, and removing ratings and reviews they believe were fake? I remember the uproar from that a while ago.
My whole point of this post is that I am about to start launching my promo plans for the 4 th and final book in my Legendary Saga series A KING WILL RISE and I am trying to find ways to get more exposure and pre release reviews and ratings.
With RELICS OF CAMELOT I did a review series with YA bound book tours, and though I had many read my book for review, very few actually posted their reviews--great reviews too--anywhere but on their blog and maybe goodreads.
Does anyone have any thoughts or ideas? Tell us what worked for you or what hasn't worked for you!I'm sure all of us authors here, and budding authors would love to learn some new ideas!
~LH

Reviews are like gold dust.

I find giveaways do not churn up many reviews. Free promotions are the same. Everyone wants a freebie, but people tend to forget the reviews- grrr.

I spent a week researching book reviewers, book bloggers, and booktubers, stalked their websites for their review policies and email addresses, and set to work emailing them review requests. I was surprised by the positive response. This drummed up more reviews on blogs, goodreads, and some on Amazon.

I also have a list of people of have been ARC readers for my books. Before I release, I always email them to offer them a chance to read an ARC. All my ARC reviewers are bloggers or Goodreads regulars. This drums up reviews before the release and is great publicity.

I am also an ARC reviewer, so I offer to return the favour etc. So, in my opinion, networking is best for reviews. :)

Book promotion has become far more difficult than in past decades as traditional routes (book reviews, etc.) are becoming a thing of the past, along with all the newspapers that used to run them. Just read a piece in the Society of Children’s Book Writers and Illustrators of which I'm a member that warned: "Be Real: A Social Media Strategy That Works
By Martha Brockenbrough, Author

"People are always on the lookout for the silver bullet of social media: that one foolproof thing that effectively promotes a book. There isn't one, and the fact is, you're far more likely to shoot yourself on the foot than strike it lucky. Unfortunately, 2015 has been the year of the gaffe, the pile-on, the career-toasting debate..."

In my book: "Self-Promotion for Authors" I wrote: "How many book sales does it take to have what the industry considers a successful book? In a bylined story on July 17, 2006, Chris Anderson, editor-in-chief of Wired wrote in Publishers’ Weekly: “Here's the reality of the book industry: in 2004, 950,000 titles out of the 1.2 million tracked by Nielsen Bookscan sold fewer than 99 copies.
“Another 200,000 sold fewer than 1,000 copies. Only 25,000 sold more than 5,000 copies. The average book in America sells about 500 copies. Those blockbusters are an anomaly: only 10 books sold more than a million copies last year, and fewer than 500 sold more than 100,000,” he said.
If you achieve the level Anderson cites as “average” then you’ll sell 500 books. To do so, you’ll have to personally contact 5,000 to 10,000 people, one-on-one, to make those 500 sales. That’s 14 to 28 prospects per day, each and every day, for an entire year. No days off, no vacations, just sell, sell, sell.
Is 500 books really your sales goal? Assuming a cover price of $10 and assuming your contract calls for a 15-percent commission, you’ll only make $750. For a year’s selling work, not counting the writing and rewriting time."

The industry has gone through dramatic changes in the last decade - changes that make financial success almost impossible except for those authors who are either stunningly successful or already have established relationships with MAJOR publishing houses. Today, that also incudes Amazon and Jeff Bezos who led the chaos that has become the book industry today.

I've spent half a century as a professional, salaried writer and journalist, yet I have no hope of ever breaking into the closed industry that comprises the major publishing houses. Simply put, I don't write for the money, but because I MUST write to live. Either I am a writer or I am nothing. In today's marketplace, I believe that is the only path to personal reward. Seek any other and you likely will face a life of frustration and disappointment.

If you write because you absolutely MUST, then welcome to my world and the best of luck.

Self-Promotion for Authors

Here's a Goodreads Group where you can put your book on the schedule for review. They're scheduling into Nov now, but they've got a great program with a comparatively high review-completion rate: https://www.goodreads.com/group/show/...

As far as review tour companies, like Bewitching, Goddess Fish, and YA Book Bound, I've tried ten different ones and have found YA Book Bound to have the best completion rate for the cost.

Booktubers-- Though Goodreads recommends not reaching out to them with review requests through Goodreads, I've found great success with humble, friendly, personal notes via Goodreads to new booktubers (just search the GR groups for booktubers or YouTube book reviewers).

As for reaching the readers who enjoyed your book but didn't post a review, I found a small giveaway in your FB fan group works wonders to remind folks to post their review. The key is to open the giveaway to everyone and simply ask folks to comment with whether they've had a chance to read your book and whether they've left a review for you. Include no-pressure language like, "No worries if you haven't! Lord knows my TBR list is super long. Also, reviews don't have to be Shakespeare. One sentence will do! If you have read the book and are inclined to help me out with a short review, I sure would appreciate it <3" Then list the links to your review places so it's easy for your readers to go there (goodreads, amazon, b&N, iTunes, etc).

By reminding folks with a friendly giveaway, I garnered 15 new reviews on Goodreads as well as one on B&N and maybe one or two on Amazon.

For your new release, maybe put together a Google form for folks to fill out to request a review copy. In the form intro, maybe offer a $5 or $10 gift card giveaway for a random reviewer who signs up, and maybe another $5 gift card incentive for reviewers who post their review (on their blog, or Goodreads, or amazon or B&N if they're able) within 30 days of receiving the ARC. You can post a link to the sign-up form on Twitter and FB/Goodreads groups. It's still a gamble, as you don't know how many folks who sign up will actually post their review, but at least you'll have their email addy's and you can send a friendly reminder after a few weeks to find out if they've had a chance to read and if they think they'll be entering the incentive giveaway for posting by *insert date here*

Facebook release parties are hit and miss. The key is to get takeover authors whose fans may love your book. It's a huge time investment, BUT, if you collect your guests into a fan group on FB, it's totally worth the headache.

If you need any help with any of this or have any questions, let me know!

Newsletters: I like Ripley's Book List. It's inexpensive, geared toward YA, and they have a fairly good following. I believe it's $5 to get on their newsletter. Night Owl Reviews USED to be a good value, but I really don't think you get your money's worth with a contest/newsletter through them. For one, THEY set up the rafflecopter, which you have to fund and promote, but they promote themselves on the rafflecopter more than they promote your book.

I hope this helps!!

C.M. wrote: "Here's a Goodreads Group where you can put your book on the schedule for review. They're scheduling into Nov now, but they've got a great program with a comparatively high review-completion rate: h..."

Hi CM,

These are great suggestions (as are the others on this thread)! My book releases in January, so I'm starting to think about this more seriously.

I do have one question for the group. I've heard terrible things about "pay for reviews" in terms of prizes, etc. for those who finish their reviews. (Amazon TOS are apparently really harsh with regard to this) I've been scared to even consider it, but I can see how it could be a great incentive...especially if it's a random thing. Is there a way around it? Has anyone else run into this? I've heard even paid blog tours might come under Amazon scrutiny because it might be considered "pay for reviews."

Any thoughts?

Hi Shaila!

Obviously, I don't know everything, but I have learned some things this past year and I'm happy to share.

Amazon has a bot that uses an algorithm to determine whether reviews "may" have violated their policy. Not all reviews that violate will be removed, many that do violate will be removed and some that don't violate will also be removed. Amazon doesn't reveal their bot's logic, and they won't replace reviews they've removed erroneously.

The best way to stay out of Amazon's cross-hairs is to follow their review guidelines as best you can. They're here: https://www.amazon.com/gp/help/custom...

Nobody with an address the same as the one you have saved in your Amazon profile may leave a review for your book. Tell your friends/family not to mention that they're your friend or family in their Amazon review.

Also, Amazon is the parent company of Goodreads. Do not link your Amazon account to any of your social media to eliminate any bot review removal associated with any of that.

Blog tours are kosher, as you're paying the tour organizer to set up the tour, not to generate reviews. Some bloggers will sign up to review, and they'll be able to post their review on Amazon and some won't. Bloggers who make money off people who click the link to your book in their email newsletter are ineligible to leave a review for your book. That's really irked a lot of bloggers who now can't post reviews on Amazon AND use their Amazon click incentive in their newsletter. That's the "pay for review" thing you've probably heard about.

Amazon mandates (actually, its the FCC mandates) that reviewers disclose whether they received a free copy of the book for the review, however, this may be considered "payment" in a future change of Amazon review rules. (just something to be aware of). Some bloggers have flat-out told me they've eliminated that language from their Amazon reviews to avoid future problems. I'm not sure that's smart, considering it's an FCC rule--not just Amazon, but there you have it.

At some point after your book releases, the Amazon bot will go through your reviews and you will no doubt see a few removed or as many as half removed. Don't panic. You'll get more reviews from readers.

Giveaways: never offer an entry into a giveaway in exchange for a review on Amazon. For B&N or Goodreads, though, it's fine. Goodreads lets customers review without many rules.

This is what one of my review reminder giveaways looks like in a Facebook private group. It's a great reminder to folks who haven't read the book yet, and it's also a great reminder to folks who have read it but forgot to leave a short review. It's low pressure too, so folks don't feel bad for telling you whether they got a chance to read your book yet or not:

Happy Thursday!

I've got a t-shirt and a mystery Eerie / Alaska swag pack for you guys! And I'll draw a winner tonight <3

To enter:
- Comment here with whether you've had a chance to read Eerie and whether you've left a review on Amazon or Goodreads or B&N.

No worries if you haven't! Lord knows my tbr list is LONGGGG....

If you have read the book and you liked it, I hope you'll consider leaving a short review on one of these sites (It doesn't have to be Shakespeare. It can be one sentence long :-) And it doesn't have to be 5 stars--just honest <3 )

THANK YOU!! (And then I put links to the book on Goodreads, amazon and B&N.)

When you link to your Amazon book, always sterilize the link of any tracking. Make it look like this so that Amazon can't tell it's a link you copied and pasted while you were browsing: https://www.amazon.com/dp/B0176M19RM/


I hope some of this helps! If you need any help or have any questions, let me know!

Thank you!! This has a lot of useful info! <3

Good summary of reviews, CM. And I like your low pressure message, too.

Based on past comments I've seen on various Goodreads groups I suspect many people are simply trying to get freebies to read. While the Internet is an invaluable research resource, it also has down sides. Today everyone wants things for nothing and that includes books on the Internet.

The Internet has turned the book world upside down. Today, everyone thinks he or she can write a book and/or be a book critic. Are such reviews really worth anything? Having spent years as a highly successful professional book publicist, I think not.

The other adverse impact of the Internet is on newspapers. Some have folded and many others have drastically cut marginally profitable features such as book review columns.

From my perspective, I think authors must target niche markets for their books. The range can be from local weekly newspapers to specialty publications that are read by your perceived customers.