Checklist for Successful Book Sales Campaigns

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No matter if you are organizing a book launch for your latest work (or your first book), planning your Goodreads Giveaway or if you prepare to have your book on sale, or for free for a couple of days:  these campaigns need to be well organized and promoted – and all that well in advance.

I have seen it too many times, that authors decide on Monday morning to have a book sale from Tuesday on and expect it to be a successful one. Or they hurry editing, formatting and slap a cover image together, in order to get the book on Amazon’s sales pages before Christmas.

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Start EARLY !!!
You have about three months to promote a new print book (paper back or hardcover) before the bookstores clear their shelves for the next bestseller. But if you can rack up enough pre-orders BEFORE the pub date, then you can kickstart your book launch. Once it hits the New York Times or other lists, then a couple of weeks on those lists become a self-fulfilling prophecy. Again: the more time you give your book to be listed on Amazon and other online retailers BEFORE your publication date, the better.
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The Minimum You Can Do To Make it a Success:

1. Write Several Blogs About Your Campaign Including Images
Tell potential readers the benefits, e.g.:

• Low price or even free
• Send as inexpensive gifts
• Give them a great incentive for a review
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2. Write a FREE short e-Book About Your Book : )
Include all the sales links and an author biography, and if you will participate in Amazon’s “Matchbox”, bundles of print and e-book, explain your potential readers their benefit of ordering a “bundle“.
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3. Campaign Announcement
Cross promote your campaign: Always post and promote your event on your own website, blog and through email as well, so that non-Facebook/Twitter/Google+ users can learn about it and share your book sales campaign event without having to use these social media sites. What’s more: Use Twitter to generate buzz and use LinkedIn to leverage business communities and post the event to LinkedIn.

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4. Google+ Posts
Add your blogs about your book launch or your book sales campaign – not only on your own Google+ timeline and your author / book page, but also at the dozens of Google+ reader communities where you are (hopefully) a member.

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5. Tweets
At least one tweet per hour, each one in a variety of text and accompanied by a cover image photo of your book or photographs from book scenes or areas where it takes place. Sign up to several Twitter accounts. You can have up to five accounts. But don’t post the same tweets everywhere! And schedule well in advance, using Hootsuite or any other free scheduling service to find the best times to post on Twitter.

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6. Create a Re-tweet Button in a Free eBook
Give away the first chapter of your book as an immediately accessible PDF on your web page or on Amazon. Include a re-tweet button in several strategic locations in the chapter. This allows people who love what they read, to easily share with friends on Twitter.  When someone clicks on this re-tweet button, it shows a pre-crafted tweet that says: “I’m reading @……. new book: … Get the first chapter free here too: http://………” You get the idea?
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7. Announce the Campaign in Your Newsletter
It’s one of the reasons you ask your blog readers or website visitors to sign up for your newsletter: to inform them about specials and sales campaigns or book launches – beside giving them regularely useful and entertaining content.
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8. Most Important is to Have Your Event/Campaign on Google+
Google+ offers a great tool to invite people to your upcoming event. Are you still thinking about joining? Or are you one of the more than 300 Million users of Google+ yet?
Announce the event or book sales campaign on Google+ and also on Goodreads at least three weeks before the date. They both offer a free event function. A site that is very easy and fast to set up. Promote this event (can be real life or virtual) heavily on FB, Twitter, Pinterest, Google, your blog and to your email list. And if your local newspaper, neighborhood paper etc. has an event page, or if they have an online version, get your event in! Search the internet for events/websites in your area and announce it there too.
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9. Create a photo contest
It can be a fun and friendly competition to get people excited about your book. And there’s no better platform than Social Media sites to do just that. You can call it the “Know my Book?” photo contest. All participants need to do, is to take a creative photo with the words “Know my Book?” or “Help Me Launch.” The three best images might receive the book or you can offer an additional first prize for a Kindle or a digital camera.

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Create Your Campaign Well in Advance
Give your event promotion enough time to spare, this also gives you time to notify / invite the people who you know are most likely to attend. With so many book sales to choose from, the key is to know your potential customers. Create your invitations, posts and tweets so as to reach as many individuals as possible with your marketing message.
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A Lot of Work You Say?
Yes, sure, if you see it as WORK. But if you like to write about your book, tell people about it, help your readers to find inexpensive copies of your book and to sell more books and get more reviews.  No one said that having a business involves only laughing all the way to the bank.

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If you would like to get more support in all things publishing, have your book intensively promoted and learn how to navigate social media sites – or to learn how you can make yourself a name as an author through content writing: We offer all this and more for only $179 for three months – or less than $2 per day! Learn more about this individual book marketing help: http://www.111Publishing.com/Seminars
Or visit http://www.e-book-pr.com/book-promo/
to advertise your new book, specials, your KDP Select Free Days or the new Kindle Countdown Deals.

Please check out all previous posts of this blog (there are more than 1,100 of them : ) if you haven’t already. Why not sign up to receive them regularly by email? Just click on “Follow” in the upper line on each page – and then on “LIKE” next to it. There is also the “SHARE” button underneath each article where you can submit the article to Pinterest, Google+, Twitter, Facebook, Tumblr and StumpleUpon.
Thanks a lot for following:

@111publishing
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Goodreads Giveaway: Thriller by Peter Standish Evans

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OMINOUS: BORDERS: COFFEE:   
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Set in PARIS, this thriller surges ominously through the psyche of modern Europe. …transport yourself to the mean streets… set in the vibrant suburbs of PARIS, this thriller surges ominously through the psyche of modern Europe… conflict is rife; danger is everywhere. Be warned, watch your back …

Tension ramps as borders, emotional, sexual & psychotic are stormed, and these threats weave danger for the fanatic lovers of coffee and the creative arts.

An obsessive and beautiful classical violinist is pitted against a malevolent killer; it’s summer in modern Europe & the cafés and bistros hum with robust and colorful activity. Inspector Vasseur sits at his favorite table on a battered sidewalk. Alone he drinks on hot summer nights, his instincts grappling with the mysterious case of innocent deaths along the River Seine.
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OMINOUS: BORDERS: COFFEE:   (The Paris Thriller) will be a dog-eared and red wine stained addition to your book collection.

Paperback, 280 pages, $8.99
e-book $4.99
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About the Author:
Peter Standish Evans lives with a deep love of both creative writing and vibrant reading. He spends significant time exploring the works of new writers, buying first editions where able.

Writing his novel ‘Ominous: Borders: Coffee’ (The Paris Thriller) was an exploration into the borders of ‘characterisation’, and an occasion to fuse ominous fiction with a touch of dangerous poetry, so lending depth to a troubled character. In this novel, the author explores the emotional, sexual and psychotic traits of those pitted for and against evil.

He is currently writing the second novel in the series, with the working title ‘the circle of dark squares’… once again featuring the Parisian Inspector, Jean-Luc Vasseur.

He has a published poetry collection ‘Red Winds Howl’, which has been described as “a blend of 303 bullets and tequila”. A second poetry compilation is being readied for release, featuring his poems from the 21st century. This collection titled ‘Deep Red Lands’ will be published in 2014.
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ENTER to WIN the GOODREADS GIVEAWAY:
Peter Standish Evans’ Thriller “Ominous: Borders: Coffee”
Giveaway dates: December 20 – January 05, 2014
https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/18158959-ominous?ac=1

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Please check out all previous posts of this blog (there are more than 970 of them : ) if you haven’t already. Why not sign up to receive them regularly by email? Just click on “Follow” in the upper line on each page – and then on “LIKE” next to it. There is also the “SHARE” button underneath each article where you can submit the article to Pinterest, Google+, Twitter, Facebook, Tumblr and StumpleUpon.
Thanks a lot for following:

@111publishing
http://www.111Publishing.com/Seminars
http://www.e-Book-PR.com/
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Enter to Win a Goodreads Giveaway: TILT

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A practical parenting guide brims with real life suggestions, tips, and advice for career mothers. It encourages them, as they help their children reach for their goals and dreams, to continue to reach for their own. It is filled with over 70 quotes from the author’s children, over 100 practical guilt-free tips and the wisdom of over 80 other amazing mothers.
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ENTER TO WIN! Goodreads Book Giveaway “TILT-7 Solutions To Be A Guilt-free
Working Mom” by Marci Fair, who is a very successful business women.  http://bit.ly/1cHsMtW

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Please check out all previous posts of this blog (there are more than 960 of them : ) if you haven’t already. Why not sign up to receive them regularly by email? Just click on “Follow” in the upper line on each page – and then on “LIKE” next to it. There is also the “SHARE” button underneath each article where you can submit the article to Pinterest, Google+, Twitter, Facebook, Tumblr and StumpleUpon.
Thanks a lot for following:

@111publishing
http://www.111publishing.com
http://www.e-Book-PR.com/
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If The Twitter Community Were 100 People …

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According to Twitter statistics: 20 Twitter accounts would be empty, 50 tweeps would be lazy, 5 loud mouths, and only 5 would have more than 100 followers. 55% would be women and 45% men.

Only 8% of all tweets are useful, funny or news-worthy.  Peak days and peak hours are when the most tweets are sent out, yet not the necessarily the times with the most re-tweets.

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Explore more infographics like this one on the web’s largest information design community – Visually.

Credit David McCandless

 

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Here are some tips to multiply your tweets, so that many followers are getting your message within a 24-hour period – or even more, if you have an additional Twitter account …. and without getting your tweets bounced for repetition.
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Don’t understand me wrong:
I am all for having interesting, news-worthy and appealing tweets. However there are times when you want to get your message out to a lot of followers and new readers, such as for your Amazon KDP Select FREE days or when you have a Goodreads Giveaway or an Event on Google+.
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As your followers are not on Twitter 24/7 and they have busy lives, they might not get your message in time, if you sent it out only once or twice a day. Usually tweeps open their Twitter account and read and re-tweet only 20-30 tweets down their time line, before they move on. And when they come back to their account hours later, they do the same. They will also not stay for hours on their account. So they might never find your tweet, in which you announce your free days, or a book launch event, or your Giveaway on Goodreads.
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There are several ways to “multiply” your message:

• You can change (spin) the text in several ways
• You can cut one long message in two short ones
• You can open several Twitter accounts and tweet from each of them
• You can add a variety of recipients in the beginning or end of each tweet

As I wrote before, do this only in very rare cases, for certain events, especially if you have not yet more than 2,000 followers in your timeline. You will want to send out entertaining, thoughtful, funny, tweets or news, that are interesting for your fellow tweeps.

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If you would like to get help in all things publishing, have your book intensively promoted and learn how to navigate social media sites: We offer all this and more for only $ 159 for 3 months. Learn more about this individual book marketing help: http://www.111Publishing.com/ Once you are on this website, click on Seminar to register.

Please feel free to check out all previous posts of this blog (there are 815 of them : ) if you haven’t already. Why not sign up to receive them regularly by email? Just click on “Follow” in the upper line on each page – and then on “LIKE” next to it. There is also the “SHARE” button underneath each article where you can submit the article to Pinterest, Google+, Twitter, Chime.in, Facebook, Tumblr and to StumpleUpon.

Thanks a lot for following:

@111publishing
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http://bit.ly/VmtVAS 111Publishing @ Google+
http://pinterest.com/111publishing/

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From Bars to Books and From Prison to Praise

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An amazing true story, hold your breath… 
With more tricks than Bugs Bunny & more charm than Roger Rabbit; RABBIT IN THE JUNGLE – a brand new book that describes Anthony’s Alegrete’s rise from the streets of Los Angeles, through the penal system, to the halls of Academia. 

Rabbit in the Jungle tells a classically American story of second chances, hard work and hope. Sometimes raw and gritty, the book traces Anthony Alegrete’s youth during the West Coast Hip-Hop culture, his sometimes bad decisions, how he survived prison politics and finally built a reputation for himself at University of Nevada and partnered up with local fitness experts to bring a trendy gym to the downtown area of Vegas.
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Can you imagine to be in prison for some youth sins that haunt you later?
This book shares his story in a way meant to be cautionary and inspiring. Alegrete wants others to know the important role that family, friends and education play in keeping their lives on the right track. The title for the book comes from Anthony’s ability to survive in multiple dangerous environments.  “Along the way he had a lot of fun, a little trouble and learned a few lessons.”

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This book is also an eye-opener for young people and a Must-Read for social workers, politicians, parents, educators and bureaucrats.
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“The prison system isn’t working. Theoretically, prisons deter and reform criminals. Given the high number of repeat visitors in the country’s prisons this theory doesn’t hold up very well. The unfortunate truth is that prison often becomes a training ground and network that actually encourages further criminal pursuits. Prisoners become hardened and desensitized by the brutal setting.”

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http://www.amazon.com/dp/B00E368RD4

208 pages, $4.99 available as e-book and very soon in print too.

More about the book and its author:

http://www.rabbitinthejungle.com

http://pinterest.com/pin/365354588490950308/

 http://www.facebook.com/rabbitinthejungle

https://twitter.com/JumpLA

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How to Organize a Book Sweepstake

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European Robin

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To gain a maximum of exposure for your book(s): creating a book sweep-stake is an interesting marketing tool. Thanks to social media, such as Google+, Chime.in, MySpace, Twitter, Facebook, Tumblr etc. where you can announce the sweepstakes, it works like a snow ball system. It may start with only one person (you) who invites friends and acquaintances to the sweep-stake, who in turn invite their friends, who invite their friends…. well, you get the point.
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An invitation for a sweep-stake could be for example:
“You and five friends are invited to experience a marvelous evening of fine dining and wining, a delicious five-course dinner, prepared by a talented chef, perfectly paired with exquisite wines, value $500.”  ”Enter your name and email address”.
Then a window pops up: “Congratulations! Your entry was successfully submitted. Thanks for your entry. Now invite the five friends you would like to share your gourmet dinner & wine with, and log-in with Facebook.”
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It might even go viral…
This way, word is spread already 5 times…. and these 5 friends also want to win and enter the contest, and tell their friends about it, and these friends…  The first prize could also be a ski-outing, a surf-lesson, a nostalgic train trip or a scenic flight, depending on how much you want to spend for this marketing campaign.
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Sweep-stake costs are tax-deduct-able
You certainly can deduct the cost for this campaign from your tax, provided you document it.
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Regulations
Sweep-stakes are regulated in many countries, the USA, Canada and many European states all have laws governing sweep-stakes. In Canada and several European countries the entrants have to solve a math puzzle – which you can use to bring expose the title of your book(s) even more into the spotlight.

You could ask for example: If 15,600 copies of my book “How to make a Million in one year?” has been sold in 2011, and 12,000 books in the first quarter of 2012, how many of this book “How to make a Million in one year?” have been sold in total so far?
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Important:
Don’t forget to link the title of your book to the online retailer (Amazon, Apple, Google, Sony) or even better: your own e-commerce (book sales) website.
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Smaller book sweep-stakes:
If you want to participate (or win yourself) in a book sweep-stake, enter as a writer/publisher or as a participant yourself on sites such as Goodreads.com, BookDivas.com, FreshFiction.com, BookLoons.com, or even on James Patterson’s homepage.
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Everyone dreams about winning large sums of money, but we also like to win smaller prizes too. We like to being called “the winner”. Sweep-stake promotions are a great way to increase your visibility and your book sales. Joel Friedlander wrote in a great article at CreateSpace: “There’s a whole science to running contests that focuses on social media sites. If you have a good-sized following on Facebook or Twitter, a contest can be a great way to engage with your readers, at the same time spread the word about your books, and make a lot of new fans.  You might run an entire contest on Twitter and gain a lot of new Twitter followers at the same time. On Facebook, the most common request is to ask readers to “like” your fan page in order to enter.”

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If you would like to get help in all things publishing, have your book heavily promoted and learn how to navigate social media sites: We offer all this and more for only a “token” of $1 / day for 3 months. Learn more about this individual book marketing help: http://www.111Publishing.com/seminar

Please feel free to check out all previous posts of this blog (there are 780+ of them : ) if you haven’t already. Why not sign up to receive them regularly by email? Just click on “Follow” in the upper line on each page – and then on “LIKE” next to it. There is also the “SHARE” button underneath each article where you can submit the article to Pinterest, Google+, Twitter, Chime.in, Facebook, Tumblr and to StumpleUpon.

Thanks a lot for following:

@111publishing

http://on.fb.me/TvqDaK
http://bit.ly/VmtVAS 111Publishing @ Google+

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Rabbit in the Jungle: Goodreads Giveaway

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Rabbit in the Jungle

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Goodreads Giveaway –  “Rabbit in the Jungle”

With more tricks than Bugs Bunny and more charm than Roger Rabbit he navigated the street-culture of Los Angeles during the heydays of West Coast hip hop; navigated safely through prison politics; built a reputation for himself at University of Nevada – Las Vegas and partnered up with local fitness experts to bring a trendy gym to the downtown area of Vegas.
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The story of Anthony Alegrete and how he went from bars to books…
“Rabbit in the Jungle“, launching next week, tells a classically American story of second chances, hard work and hope. Sometimes raw and gritty, the book traces Anthony Alegrete’s rise from the streets of Los Angeles, through the penal system, to the halls of academia and the competitive business world of Las Vegas. Along the way he had a lot of fun, a little trouble and learned a few lessons.

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Strong, controversial and eye-opening:
This book shares a true story in a way, meant to be cautionary and inspiring. Anthony Alegrete wants others to know the important role that family, friends and education play in keeping their lives on the right track. The title for the book comes from Anthony’s ability to survive in multiple dangerous environments.

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ENTER TO WIN – your FREE copy of “Rabbit in the Jungle” on Goodreads
http://www.goodreads.com/book/show/17979976-rabbit-in-the-jungle

More about the book and its author:

http://www.rabbitinthejungle.com

http://pinterest.com/pin/365354588490950308/

 http://www.facebook.com/rabbitinthejungle

https://twitter.com/JumpLA

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Pre-orders for RABBIT IN THE JUNGLE – an amazing true story, hold your breath…
http://www.anthonyalegrete.com/rabbitinthejungle/

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How to Create Buzz for Your Upcoming Book on Goodreads

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Goodreads has millions of members, at the moment almost 27 million, who not only read books, they blog about books, write long reviews about books, and discuss in their group forums about books.  These are the people with whom you want to connect, especially to announce your new book and its launch.
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So, how can you create buzz for your upcoming book before it launches?
Give away copies of your print book.
It makes sense to give away books – if your goal is to get reviews. More than 50% of giveaway winners review the books they win, so the more books you offer, the more reviews you are likely to get. Run your giveaway for two weeks to a month. Goodreads says, “Giveaways less than two weeks run the risk of not getting enough entries, while a four-week giveaway will generate more entries.

Goodreads recommends even two giveaways: one about three months before publication to build pre-release buzz and reviews, and a second to increase awareness when your book hits the stores. Both will result in a lot of people adding your book to their to-read shelves – visible for all their friends.”

Goodreads Terms & Conditions for Giveaways in short:

• “You agree to supply the indicated number of books on the date the giveaway ends.
• Goodreads will list (for free) the giveaway book on the giveaways page.
• Goodreads will collect interest in the book, and select winners at our discretion. Our algorithm uses member data to match interested members with each book.
• After the giveaway stop date, click the name of your giveaway (listed under “your giveaways” on the main First Reads page) to see the list of winning addresses. You will also be emailed a list of winners. You are responsible for shipment of the books.

They also have a short video on their website with Giveaway best practices.
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What’s more?
Goodreads encourages you to publicize upcoming events, such as book signings and speaking engagements. This is a feature, similar to the one which is offered on Google+  –  see our blog
https://savvybookwriters.wordpress.com/2012/11/14/announce-your-book-signing-on-google-for-free/. Start about 3 weeks before your book launch with your event announcement. Use Goodreads’ event listing form to start the process. It has an RVSP feature and people can state if they are “coming”.  On Google+ is a possibility to “Hang-out”, similar to a Skype tele-conference, to meet people for your book launch who could be in other parts of the world, such as Australia, Asia or Europe. You can show them your book via the video function of your computer and speak with them.  Almost like a book signing in a store.
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More help for authors on Goodreads.
Goodreads  is a free website for book lovers. As a member you can post your own reviews and catalog what you have read, currently reading, and plan to read in the future. There is more offered on their website: join a discussion group, start a book club, contact an author, and even post your own writing. More tips about the benefits of joining Goodreads and how you can use Goodreads to promote your blog.
Their website seems to be overwhelming at first, but if you take the time to explore each icon there, and also to read the help section, you will find a cornucopia of free means to let people know about your book and to find your target readers. Let’s explore some of the great features on Goodreads:
How can friends recommend your book? Or how can you recommend books from your writer friends?
To send out a book recommendation, go to the book’s page and click on the “recommend it” link at the top right side of the page. A new site appears with three possibilities: “friends” “manual” “facebook“

• Under the icon “friends” your Goodreads friends are listed and you click next to the name to whom you want to send your book recommendation.
• Enter under “manual” single email addresses of readers that are not yet on Goodreads.
• The “facebook” icon lists your FB friends, who are not yet members of Goodreads to recommend the book.

Reviews are essential
Like on Amazon reviews on their site help your book stand out in two ways. The more people review your book, the more visible it will be. Goodreads reviews also appear on sites like Powell’s, Google Books, and the Sony Ebook Store.  From a Goodreads statement: “Books with no written reviews are added, on average, by 7 people, while books with just five written reviews are added by more than 40 people.”

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Let your friends ping to Google+ and FB
On the left lower corner of Goodreads are icons to these two websites to which your friends can send your image, books name and a link for your book – as well as a comment, such as “must read”, “great book” or “you will love it”.
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Add your favorite books
Click on “My Books” in the top navigation menu and add away!  You can add books into read, currently reading, to read categories or edit your bookshelf to add your own categories. Many authors who’s books you recommended will return this favor to you.
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Goodreads will also use the recommendations to help authors and publishers advertise their books to readers who are most likely to be interested in them. Over seventeen thousand authors, including James Patterson and Margaret Atwood, use Goodreads.

Infographic 25 Top Reviewers on Goodreads (no links to them, to find out one has to dig into Goodreads website.
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If you would like to get help in all things publishing, have your book heavily promoted and learn how to navigate social media sites: We offer all this and more for only a “token” of less than $2 / day for 3 months. Learn more about this individual book marketing help: 

http://www.111publishing.com/seminars/

Please feel free to check out all previous posts of this blog (there are 780 of them : ) if you haven’t already. Why not sign up to receive them regularly by email? Just click on “Follow” in the upper line on each page – and then on “LIKE” next to it. There is also the “SHARE” button underneath each article where you can submit the article to Pinterest, Google+, Twitter, Chime.in, Facebook, Tumblr and StumpleUpon.

Thanks a lot for following:

@111publishing

http://on.fb.me/TvqDaK
http://bit.ly/VmtVAS 111Publishing @ Google+

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Million Dollar Question: How to Get Book Reviews?

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Not just a handful, but lots of reviews!

They are crucial, not only for Amazon’s algorithms, but also when selling through other online retailers, such as Kobo, Barnes&Noble or Waterstones.  Polls revealed that 70% of book buyers are paying attention to reviews before they make their purchase. They don’t read the reviews necessarily, but check the numbers of reviews a book has accrued.  Book reviewing, in the past a privilege of literary magazines, became mainstream, encouraged by the likes of Amazon and without any editorial controls. There is an ever-shrinking newspaper space for reviews, while the number of books published is increasing tremendously. However, book bloggers and book lovers all over the world become armchair critics at the click of a mouse.
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So, how can a writer find reviewers?

• paying for reviews, Kirkus Reviews comes to mind, who charges several hundred dollars
• asking followers and friends in their Social Media network
• getting to know book bloggers and hobby reviewers

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The worst method is to write an email and send it out to dozens of reviewers, without a salutation and without checking their websites/blogs carefully or reading their submission guidelines. If you would be a reviewer, would you answer a mass mail?
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Always remember that book reviewers don’t do it for a living.
They often have busy lives, full-time jobs, partners, children, ailing parents and other obligations. They barely can keep up with the growing demand for reviews.  Imagine if you would get an email from a total stranger, asking you to do several hours of work for free. Would you be excited?
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Get to know book reviewers and bloggers.
Careers everywhere depend on networking, same with a writing career.  Start making “friends” with reviewers, long before your book is finished: Search on your social media sites for reviewers, reviews, book bloggers, etc. when using the search function on top of Twitter, Goodreads, Facebook and Google+ pages. At Goodreads, reviewers are listed, so you can conveniently choose them as friends and follow them for a while, see which book genres they  prefer,  before you approach them.
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Check out the bestsellers in your genre (in bookstores or online) and find names of reviewers. If these reviewers have a blog (and most do), comment on their articles.  Offer them well-written guest blogs, geared to their topics and readership.
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These are invaluable and important contacts, as those readers do not only review books, but post their reviews on Amazon, Goodreads and the like.  On top of that, they often write a blog post about the books they read, which stays there for years to come. They are actually promoting those book reviews to readers and indirectly even to industry decision makers: librarians, booksellers, agents, publishers – like a publicist does it (for money). If compensated it would mean at least a couple of hundred dollars worth, what they provide you for free!
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Again: It takes often months until getting a review, start early with your search.
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If you write non-fiction, it’s a bit more difficult, as most book reviewers prefer fiction books.  Look for magazines that write about the same or similar topics and find out if they review books. You could also offer an article and in your intro at the end of the article, you could offer readers a copy in exchange for a review of your book. For sample, if you write about aviation safety, you search for aviation magazines, but also for history magazines, travel magazines, even more local publications where a certain incident happened in the past. Or if you write about nutrition, check out all magazines of health food stores, women’s magazines, medical magazines etc. to find out if they write reviews.

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Paid book reviewers
are not hard to find, just type into Google: Book Review Submission Guidelines and you will find lots of them. The most famous:
https://www.kirkusreviews.com/
http://www.bookrooster.com/
https://www.forewordreviews.com/

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Free book reviews
The best source are friends and followers on social media site, starting with Goodreads. Offer a print version of your book as a giveaway (you can do this several times a year). In average, half of the recipients write a book review.
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But again: just don’t email them out of the blue, friend them on social media, read their blogs and get to know them, before you make an approach for a review. If they state in their submission guidelines, they will only read print books, don’t tell them to “just print out my pdf or word file”.  If you have e-books only, get a couple of digital prints (bound) from a copy shop or use one of these espresso book machines, mostly located in big cities, but available online, just add the postage for delivery.

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For US writers: The Midwest Book Review (free!) has contracted with Cengage Learning to provide them with electronic copies of book reviews. Cengage Learning then makes their reviews available to library systems nationwide. Read our former blog post, “How to Find Reviewers for Your Book” where lots of reviewers are listed.
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If you are looking for reviews to use in your books blurb (print or e-book) send out galleys, which can be produced by espresso book machines as well, at least 3 – 4 months before your book’s launch, especially for print books, to be sure to receive it in time.

http://www.rtbookreviews.com/magazine/editorial-submissions (4 months before launch!)
http://bookpage.com/content/submission-guidelines (at least 3 months before launch!)

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Another question is the quality of book reviews, not only on the internet… I think about an extremely unfair review, a good friend of mine has received from a “Librarian” at Goodreads! She wrote about a book that has amassed more than 90 percent 5-star reviews. The “reviewer wrote: “I tried to like the book, really. But I just can’t.” That’s it, this was the whole review! No description what the book is about, no mentioning of the writing style (excellent!), not about the plot, the characters, nothing. And gave it a 1-star. So much for the quality of reviews…  Check out the reviews for world bestsellers and you will find some of them with more than 150 of these 1-star reviews!
And then there are those people who are downloading tons of free books on Amazon – without even checking the content, just because they can get something for free – they are also infamous for writing scalding and unprofessional book reviews. What about the writers’ competition, who could theoretically write an unfair review?  In all these cases, just keep your cool, and work even harder to get more reviews to “bury” those unfair ones.

Take reviews always with a grain of salt. Sure, reviews, and lots of them, are important for writers. But keep in mind, they are always subjective!  And don’t forget to thank a reviewer for their work, no matter if 3 or 3 stars. They will be more inclined to do another review for you when your next book is finished.

Kate McMillian compiled a great number of articles about book reviews, check them out.

BTW: How many books did YOU review recently???

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