How do you get book reviews?

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Permalink Reply by Paul Ramsay on August 24, 2011 at 7:57am

I write a hypnosis blog, Ricky, and am always looking for new stuff to review.  I get a thousand unique visitors each month and it just keeps growing.  If you're interested just drop me a line and we can chat.

 

-Paul

 

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Permalink Reply by Kathleen Hanover on August 24, 2011 at 6:07pm

Hi Ricky,

 

This seems rather obvious, so perhaps I'm missing a nuance, but if your book is hypnosis-related, you might ask people in a thread on HypnoThoughts.  :) 

 

Before releasing a review copy to someone, you may want to see examples of previous book reviews the person has written, or at the very least, check out their writing samples on HypnoThoughts.

 

If appropriate, you might also want to solicit reviews from a few specialists in the field who have good name recognition. If they're here on HypnoThoughts, that will be easy.  ;)  If not, most high-profile people have representation through a manager, speakers' bureau, or talent agency. Check the person's website to find out. Getting a famous review can really boost sales. But the more famous the reviewer, the longer it may take to reach them, and the longer it may take to get the review back.

 

You may also want to have the reviewer sign a non-disclosure/no-duplication agreement to make sure no one shares their review copies before the book is published. If you send hard copies (recommended), have a "DO NOT DUPLICATE" banner watermarked across each page.

 

And finally, you may want to have reviewers sign a release form stating that you can edit their comments for length, spelling, grammar, etc., as long as you don't change the meaning; and you'd probably want the reviewer to grant you a license to reproduce their comments for any purpose you desire without compensation, worldwide, in perpetuity. But I'm not a lawyer and this is not legal advice. ;)

 

Congratulations on finishing your book.

 

Kathleen Hanover

Marketing and PR Opinionist

 

 

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Permalink Reply by Graham Old on August 25, 2011 at 1:29am

Gratis copies seems to be the approach for hard copies.

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Permalink Reply by Kathleen Hanover on August 25, 2011 at 2:20am

Hi Ricky--just wanted to clarify that I assumed you were asking about jacket blurbs (the reviews that are printed on the book itself). Is that what you meant?

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Permalink Reply by Ricky Strode on August 25, 2011 at 4:16am

Yes, thanks a bunch Kathleen. This is the first one to to actually be published. I have written very lengthy articles for places, like JAMA, but this is something that I just knew nothing about and I want to do the whole self-publishing bit, just so I know how to do it. 

I appreciate everyone's response,

Thanks,

Ricky

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