I’ve discussed reviews as entities
I’ve
discussed the “who” of the reviewer
Today’s
blog compares two reviews of a manuscript that awaits publication. The working
title of the book was The 5th
Page. It is a full-length detective novel with “my private detective,” Phil
Mamba as the primary protagonist. The title most likely to be in place when it
does find the light of day is Betrayal
in Blue. Below is a collage of the current idea iterations of both book
covers.
I’ve
spent over 18 months on this manuscript. During that time, numerous hours and
at least 20 handwritten, single-spaced pages of edits from two people that
edit professionally were incorporated. A page-by-page professional proofread of
next to final edit of the manuscript completed the production process.
I paid
for two pre-publication reviews. My expectations were much more than “at least
one phrase/sentence” I could use in publicity for these reviews.
One
review is from Kirkus Reviews, the superstar reviewing service in publishing.
They now review “indie” work, so I ordered a review.
The
second review is from Apex Reviews. More on this quality company later.
Komments
on Kirkus
I took
advantage of a $50 off the regular price for this review.
The
process was swift, less than eight weeks from submission to release of the
review. This was quicker than the “usual” wait time quoted by the website.
Michael Valinsky, Editorial Assistant, Kirkus
Reviews, contacted me before sending the manuscript to a reviewer to ask if it
was part of a series. It is, but it stands alone, too, so there was no need to
research the previous book. I was impressed by this contact.
If you
didn’t skip ahead, I invite you to read Kirkus’ review now. If you’ve already
read the review, these “comments” continue after the screenshot of the review.
I was
disappointed when I first read it. While I don’t consider it a good review, I
am less disappointed now that time has passed. In some respects, I find it hard
to consider most of the verbiage a review at all; my opinion of that aspect of
the review is disappointing.
There
is enough of the plot described to convince me that the reviewer read the book.
The “gets clogged with extended back
stories,” “some word choices and expressions do not [work],” and “it’s hard to
keep track of all the players without a score card” are fair unfavorable
opinions. Conversely, “the use of italics for characters’ first-person stream
of consciousness in an otherwise third-person story works” is the only example
of a clearly favorable opinion.
The bulk
of the printed “review” is descriptive. While the tone varies throughout, there
is nothing overtly positive in this review. Even the final sentence is an
enigma.
Accolades
for ApexReviews.net
I chose
the “express review” option the offer and submitted the request and payment of
$49.00 on 8/31/16. The review was completed on 9/26/15.
Please find below all the features included in the Express
Review package:
- Review completed within 2 weeks (after the book is
assigned to a reviewer)
- Tear sheet in PDF format (a review you can use in whole
or excerpts, with credit given to the reviewer and Apex Reviews)
- Your review posted on Goodreads, Barnesandnoble.com,
other online retailers featuring your book. Your review can also be posted
to Amazon.com
- Your review announced on our Facebook &
Twitter profiles (15,000+ friends & followers)
- A press release announcing your review distributed to
our highly popular PRLog
Channel, syndicated
to hundreds of media outlets worldwide
Also included in the Express Review package is
a customized Author Feature page, including all of the following:
- Your photo
- Your bio
- Your website link
- Your Facebook link
- Your Twitter link
- Your other social media links (e.g. Instagram, Pinterest,
Google +, etc.)
- Your book's Amazon purchase link
- Your book's cover photo
- Your book trailer
- Your completed review
The 5th Page is not yet in print, so my “Author
Feature page” is not up.
If you didn’t skip ahead, I invite you to read Apex review now. If you’ve already read the review, these accolades continue after the screenshot of the review.
This
review
- gives away nothing of the plot of the book.
- describes the action succinctly with enough detail to encourage a reader to uncover more herself/himself.
- includes references outside the scope of novel that frame the storyline in historical context.
- Most of the unfavorable aspects from Kirkus elicit a completely different reaction in this reviewer.
“Combining
well-developed, unforgettable characters – Mamba chief among them – and a
thoroughly researched, meticulously crafted tale, The 5th Page is both
informative and entertaining, which adds to its page-turning appeal. Downing
proves himself a masterful storyteller as he mixes fact and fiction in seamless
fashion, throwing in just enough action and suspense to keep the reader hooked
until the very end.”
If I end
up self-publishing this book, I will use parts of both reviews in the
marketing.
Foremost
of the quotes from the review will be some portion of the above quote from
Apex, along with the concluding sentence
“A highly recommended read.”
I’m not certain what part of the Kirkus review I will use. Most likely it will include something from the first two or three sentences of the review and the final comment. Kirkus has specific guidelines for using excerpts from their reviews. I’ll have to run my excerpt past them before I use it.
Lessons
Learned about Reviews
·
Reviews are essential in today’s market. Amazon’s
search algorithms are skewed to books with high numbers of reviews. In October
of 2016, Amazon made a sweeping change in their review acceptance policy. It is
now illegal to post a review that was obtained from a reviewer who received a
discounted price on a product in exchange for the review. However, this is the
final line in the
press release from Amazon.
The
above changes will apply to product categories other than books. We will
continue to allow the age-old practice of providing advance review copies of
books.
No mention is made of exchanging
books with another author for reviewing purposes.
·
One reviewer I found required an Amazon gift card
in the amount of the price of the book for her review. I got credit for a sale
and a review, too.
·
Outside of writing your books, obtaining reviews
will most likely be the hardest thing you do as an author.
·
Giving away hundreds of eBooks has netted me a
total of two reviews I can positively trace to that strategy.
·
If your book is a good one, and enough people buy
your book, reviews will come. I cannot predict the rate of reviews per 100
books sold for you. I doubt anyone can.
I wish I
had a more successful strategy to offer for this thorn in the flesh, but I
don’t.
A
definition of INSANITY
Continuing to do
the same thing over and over and expecting different results.
Next
Author’s Blog will start a series on Lessons Learned By And From Young Authors.
Follow me on Twitter: @CRDowningAuthor and Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/CRDowningAuthor
My website is: www.crdowning.com
I'd appreciate your feedback!
Email me at: chuckdowningauthor@gmail.com
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