The DO’s and DON’Ts of Submitting to Book Reviewers

• December 12, 2022
• 4 comments

by Susan Violante, Managing Editor, Reader Views

Book reviews are a great tool to encourage people to buy your book. The best way to get reviews is to roll up your sleeves and look for reviewers online that look professional and reliable. But before you send your books in, you must make sure you follow their guidelines. Yes, this means you must visit their website and find out everything you can about them. What genre they prefer, submission guidelines… etc.; and read a few reviews to see if they sound professional.

Following each reviewer’s requirements carefully is crucial to make sure your book is received and acknowledged. Remember, you want to make a review of your book as easy as possible for the reviewer. Reviewers receive hundreds of submissions and don’t have time to call or email you over minor details. By making their job easier, your book will be picked up faster.

Below are some Do’s and Don’ts of Book Review Submission to help you build positive relationships with your reviewers and future readers.

DO’s

1. Visit the reviewer’s website—follow all their instructions.
2. Most of them will require you to fill out a submission form to submit with book. If they don’t, include your email on a cover letter with information about the book and about the author—most book reviews will be sent to you via your email address.
3. Send them a signed copy if sending a printed book.
4. Send the book priority mail if you want to be able to track it.
5. Keep a spreadsheet of the submissions you mailed. This is a good database to have and build on with future books.
6. Once you receive a review, send a thank you email to the reviewer. The reviewer has done you a favor, spending hours of his or her time reading your book. Show that you appreciate it. A thank-you letter also helps to keep the relationship open so you will be remembered and be more likely to have your next book reviewed.

DON’Ts

1. Don’t fail to visit the reviewer’s website and follow all their instructions.
2. Do not request for a reviewer that has specific views and beliefs. Professional reviewers will not produce bias reviews. Furthermore, titles are offered to reviewers that are avid readers of the book’s genre/topic. Reviewers will either accept or decline the suggested book.
3. Don’t complain if you receive a negative review. The reviewer has already spent a lot of time reading your book and writing a professional review, giving his or her honest opinion – which is what you signed up for when submitting your title.
4. Don’t get defensive by the reviewer’s opinions. Even if the review is negative, they should state positives that you can and should quote on your PR campaigns. A thank-you letter will help you build a positive relationship with the reviewer.

Finally, be ready to learn from all reviewers’ opinions. Unfortunately, readers can’t be next to everyone who reads our books explaining what we meant to say. So, reviews are a great way to see what readers are getting from our writing and gives us the opportunity to tweak our writing style for our next book project!