Writing Reviews—building name recognition before you publish

Reviewing a book is easy, and a really good way to make friends, ensure peer reviews of your book, and get your name out there in a positive manner even before you are published. Every time you review a book you add your name and credentials at the end i.e. “reviewed by Wendy Writer author of…”

To review a book you: read it, write a brief synopsis that hooks the reader but doesn’t give away the ending, and finish up with a paragraph about what you honestly liked about the book. Aim for quotable comments. This helps both the author and you. The author attributes quotes from the review back to you. Reviewing is also great practice on writing book blurbs—a very useful skill. Next, send a copy of the review to the author as a courtesy and post the review on-line. If it’s a book from the publishing house you are with, post it on the publisher’s website where appropriate, it’s smart to post it on the author loop as well. Post it on amazon, Barnes and Noble, and wherever else you know the book is available.

Sing about it on the loops—“I read this great book.” I particularly like crowing about books I’ve enjoyed on loops. I get so tired of marketing my books, but I never tire talking about other people’s books. It makes me feel good and helps fellow authors. What’s not to like about that?

I also post reviews I’ve written on my website blog under the heading Laurel Reads. I never know what to blog about, but I’m usually reading something. Another good place to mention books you’ve reviewed is on Friday’s edition of Barbara Vey’s Publisher’s Weekly blog http://www.publishersweekly.com/blog/880000288.html. That’s a great place to get your name out there even before you get published.

A couple things to note. If you find you don’t like a book, don’t review it. As an author (heck, as a person) it is important to be positive. It’s also important to be honest. Don’t say you liked something when you don’t, simply don’t put the time and effort into reviewing a book you don’t like. Bad reviews hurt the author AND the reviewer, especially if the reviewer is an author.