Book reviews are always important when one wants to propel a book out into the world. New authors often overlook this important step by trying to rush publication. It is this need for book reviews that drives early promotion of books. Those of us who know, start sharing our book well before it is available, physically.
Sure, it has become relatively easy to self-publish, but there are some more traditional pearls of wisdom that still bear repeating. Old school publishers know that book reviews take time. Relationships with others in the industry are key to getting books reviewed, because we all receive a lot of book review requests. If you know someone, it can make a difference to getting your book reviewed.
To get book reviews, we give ourselves some lead time prior to publication. This allows for a few different things to happen:
- We (as authors) have time to build or revamp our online presence, our platform. That includes our websites and our social media spaces.
- In that process, we extend our reach, get to meet new people. You never know when one of those new friends might “get it,” and be exactly the reader you want to read your work and possibly write a book review.
- We attend events and we give some books away in exchange for book reviews. (Authors, expect to give away some review copies.)
You all know I’ve been involved in publishing for some years, and I know folks. And as writers, editors, publishers, we help each other out when we can. It’s a tough business. I don’t say this to disparage my work. There is still some peer review going on in this process! If a book is NOT worth reading or reviewing, we simply don’t review it. So, I’m glad my stories were worth the read for these folks. I don’t know the reviewers, but I do know who gave them my book to read. (Thank you, Jianqing Zheng! A sidenote about Zheng is that I have had the distinct pleasure of publishing three of his books now. One while I was at Texas Review Press, and two with Madville.)
So, with some help, my new Mississippi friends are reading my book! I’m really grateful to North of Oxford for this thorough review of my work. Knowing the publishing business as I do, it still blows my mind to know that my own work is out in the world and somebody, anybody has read it! My heart is in these stories.
