Carrie Green

Obtaining a book review is actually the easiest part of marketing a book for me as it is exactly the same as when I pitch PR clients to a journalist at WSJ, BusinessWeek, or USA Today.  There are some simple procedures to follow, which I'd like to share as best practices.

DO PREP BEFORE SENDING A REQUEST

Research your target bloggers/book reviewers, first.  Read their past reviews, learn what sort of stories they like or dislike.  A paranormal romance reviewer may only review vampires, not werewolves or ghosts.  Don't waste their time (or yours) by submitting a book that is not to their taste.  I also suggest commenting on their postings and following them on Twitter (and RTing any of their tweets that interest you) and/or Facebook (and liking, commenting or sharing any of their posts).

AND DON'T ASK FOR A REVIEW VIA SOCIAL MEDIA

Unless you've developed a close relationship with a blogger/book reviewer on Twitter (you've followed each other, exchanged Direct Messages and now email each other regularly) NEVER try to land a book review via Twitter.  I recently had a blogger send me a rather nasty tweet as she mistakenly thought that I wanted a review, when I only wanted a retweet. 

Her over-reaction made me think that this is a common problem for bloggers/book reviewers.  I've also noticed that few bloggers/book reviewers follow back on Twitter, which is a shame as they are missing out on developing relationships that could increase their website traffic, but I understand that they are being overwhelmed and it is unfortunate.

Know that sending an email or submitting a request via a 'Contact Us' form is, by far, the preferred method of communication (it's the only way that I, personally, request book reviews), as you can not convey all the important information necessary for a blogger/book reviewer to decide if your book is appropriate for their venue, in a tweet. 

Here's an example of an email that I sent to a Blogger/Book Reviewer to show you what I mean:

OK, let me fully explain all the information that I'm sharing here in this request or 'pitch' as we call it in PR.  The subject line is to the point, I'm requesting a book review.  There is no need to be overly clever.  I use the first name of the book reviewer, if it is publicized, otherwise I'll use a simple "Hello."  I never use a salutation and their last name—that is too formal.  Your email should read as if you're writing to an acquaintance, it should have a casual, yet, friendly tone.

ALLOW A REVIEWER TO SAMPLE BEFORE HAVING TO DOWNLOAD

I like to provide a short sample of my work, so that the blogger/book reviewer can quickly determine if my book is to their taste.  I set up a private page on my website for this purpose, but you could alternatively link to your Amazon sample page.  I assume that most reviewers want to establish the quality of your work before investing too much of their time—that's the purpose of a sample.

PLAN TO USE LINKS RATHER THAN ATTACHMENTS

Next, I provided links to the PRC and PDF formats of my book.  I used a free service at www.YouSendIt.com (now Hightail) which will provide access for downloading these files for up to 7 days.  Providing a Smashwords coupon code will work, as well, just be sure to include the Smashwords product page link where they'd enter the coupon code.  Since at least 50% of these bloggers/book reviewers can only be contacted via a 'Contact Us' form, be aware you'll need a way to send your book files without using attachments.

After the book links, you should provide some background links to your website, social media platforms, and some recent interviews (blog posts will work, too).  Your Amazon product page link should also be included as most bloggers/book reviewers will like to see the number of your current book reviews and ratings (some bloggers will not review books with less than a certain number of reviews and the rating cut-off is usually an average of 4 stars).

PROVIDE INSTRUCTIONS ON HOW TO DOWNLOAD

​At the end of my email there are instructions on how to download a PRC file onto a Kindle from the YouSendIt link.  If I was using Smashwords coupon code, I'd have an overview on how to redeem the coupon.  Make downloading your book as simple and easy for a blogger/book reviewer as possible. 

PROMOTE YOUR REVIEWS!

Lastly, if you land a book review be sure to promote it on all your Social Media networks.  You should tweet about the link with their Twitter address included (so that your peeps will follow them, too).  If there are comments, be sure to respond to them.  I also recommend linking the review on the 'News' page of your website, so that all future visitors will know that you were reviewed by this blogger/book reviewer.  You also should take the best snippets from the review and quote them on your Amazon product page (using Amazon's Author Central).

You only have one chance to make a first impression and your book cover actually has the greatest impact of any of your marketing collateral.  Frankly, a well-designed cover can be the deciding factor on whether your book gains that first click-through from readers on book selling sites.  To look more in-depth at the do's and don'ts of book cover design, I interviewed an expert, George Arnold of WGA Designs.

George has been employed over nineteen years in graphic design.  His primary focus has been global businesses in the fleet, restaurant, and aviation industries.  He's particularly proud that a division of NASCAR was a showcase client.  He expanded into book covers when his wife decided to self-publish her novels and she needed artwork.

A key challenge that he has faced has been to understand exactly what an author wants.  "Authors," says George, "should first take the time to truly visualize what images or colors best represent the theme and/or feel of their book.  Know that indecision costs time and money."  You should also discuss the genre and include a brief synopsis.  This way, your graphic artist has a concept as to where the story is headed.  "It provides the artist with some creative leeway to intersperse other elements into the design."

It is surprising how little is written about the product description, considering what a vital role it plays in a reader's decision to purchase a book.  I'd rate it as the #2 influencer, placing it underneath only the book cover in terms of overall importance.  After a potential reader has clicked on your book cover, they will then read the product description.

If you're a writer, you're a master of words—here is your first, and perhaps, last chance to ensnare a new reader through the use of your writing skills—don't waste this valuable opportunity.  Think of it as a movie preview/trailer—what can you say here to set expectations about your book in the most enticing manner?  It's literally the back cover of your virtual book, so that you should give careful thought as to the content placed there.

Be aware of how product descriptions are being used by other authors in your genre.  Before you write your own product description, you should go online and read the product descriptions for the Amazon Top 100 Bestsellers within your genre.  Each genre has a different tone and style (you wouldn't write the product description for a paranormal romance in the same way as you would a horror/thriller, for example).  See what is working well (i.e. selling well).

If you uploaded your product description using Kindle Direct Publishing (KDP), you may not be aware of Author Central.  To add formatting to your product description such as italics, bold, numbering and bullet points, you'll need to update your product description through Author Central, not KDP (which does not offer formatting).  It is easy enough to access Author Central—your regular Amazon account name and password usually works as the sign-in (probably since you used it to set up your KDP account).

Once in Author Central, click on the 'Books' tab and select the book title for which you wish to edit the product description.  Next, you'll click on the 'Edit' button next to 'Product Description' which will open a dialogue box that allows you to copy and paste text or to type text in directly.  You'll be able to preview your text before saving your changes, but be sure to double-check your product description page once it is updated and live on Amazon. 

The final results can be a bit funky.  Invariably, I'll see odd spacing and weird line breaks that were not in the preview or saved text, but you simply need to go back into Author Central, edit it again, and the next version is usually fine.  Paragraph breaks can be especially troublesome—try Enter and Shift/Enter, until it works correctly.  Amazon says that it takes 3 to 5 days for updates to appear, but it's usually much faster, a day, at the most, for product description edits, in my experience.

​Now what information should you be including in your product description?  In addition to an overview of my book's content, I like to include highlights of blogger reviews, as well as any outstanding Amazon reader reviews (you don't really expect readers to read all your reviews to find the best one, do you?).  I italicize all my reviews, so that is where the formatting comes into play.

​You might also cite any limited-time deals in pricing, be sure to let readers know of any promo related specials.  If your book has hit the bestseller charts, well, that is worth capitalization and even use of bolding.  The only item that shouldn't be in included in your product description would be an excerpt or teaser.  Amazon's 'Look Inside the Book' service provides a sample of your book, you don't need to waste the space on your product description to provide one. 

Your product description should evolve and improve over time.  When you have more content you may wish to expand using other Author Central tabs such as Reviews, From the Author, From the Inside Flap, From the Back Cover, and About the Author.  Feel free to experiment and track results.  Feel free to be creative and to try different arrangements of your book's details.  Your goal is to find what works best to market your own book.

Too many authors fail to realize the importance of their author photography.  I say this due to the many missing author photographs on Amazon—it should be a given to provide a photograph with the bio information.  I also see terrible branding on how profile photos are used on Twitter and Facebook.  If you are an author, you should have a photograph of yourself--not a movie character, not your pet, not your kids. 

Readers and the media will be making a snap judgment when they glance at your photo.  Is this a professional writer?  They will decide in three seconds.  An author's photo should be a simple close-up.  The author's clothing and the background should be unobtrusive, as the center of attention should be the author's face.  To smile or not smile really depends upon which pose is more flattering. 

You may have your author photograph professionally taken, but make sure that you don't restrict yourself the studio's solid color backdrop.  Usually journalists prefer the more informal action shot that suggests that it was actually taken during an interview—an author posed in a favorite chair, giving a tour of his or her garden, drinking coffee at a restaurant, or walking down a city street.  Again, it should be a close-up of the author's face that dominates, not the background.

There is no reason that you can't take the photographs yourself—digital cameras make it super easy to see your results and tweak how you pose until you are happy.  Big tip, turn your camera sideways, so that your photograph will be portrait-style, rather than horizontal.  This produces the most professional looking photograph, as most amateur photographers take their photos horizontally.

Cropping can also do wonders to transform a so-so photograph into one that looks professionally taken—most software packages included with a camera will provide simple cropping tools or you can invest in some JPG/photo editing software (hit Google for recommendations, it's not necessary to buy the top-of-the-line Adobe products for a basic cropping project).

Keep size and scale in mind.  A photograph at its original size may look great, but when reduced to thumbnail size (as in Twitter profile images) may end up making the subject unidentifiable.  Not every photograph will work for every situation.  Consider also whether the author photo should be in black & white or in color (again, most  software includes color editing). 

Be sure to have your photos in both high resolution (300 dpi and higher) for print use such as magazines and newspapers and low resolution (75 to 150 dpi) for the Web.  Always take your photographs at the highest resolution possible.  You can then reduce the resolution, later, using jpg/photo editing software (be aware that you can not increase a photo's resolution, only reduce it). 

A cell phone pic may also be used, but if you decide to go that direction and take it yourself, please pick up an inexpensive selfie-stick.  This tool avoids the very unattractive extreme close-up.  Unless you have freakishly long arms, you will not be able to hold the cell phone far away enough to produce an attractive image.  Your best option, if using a cell phone and you don't have a selfie-stick, would be to ask someone else to take a photo of you.

Lastly, it's a good idea to have a selection of photos kept on file, so that you have one that you always use (to keep your branding consistent) for books, website, bookseller sites, Twitter, Facebook, etc. and some others (at least three with the author in different outfits/settings) which you'll be able to supply for interviews.  When you are interviewed, it should be standard procedure to send a book cover image and an author photo, afterwards, as your follow-up materials. 

The biography of an author can be a valuable marketing tool on books, bookselling sites, the author's website, Facebook page, and even condensed in a Twitter profile.   
A resume, Curriculum Vitae, or an existing business bio will generally not work for the purposes of an author bio (although any of these can be a starting point), since most people when composing a work history, or a business bio, tend to be overly modest.  Often, they fail to highlight their very best selling points for readers and the media. 

What I suggest, instead, is to start from scratch with a list of questions to obtain the information needed to create a bio crafted specifically for marketing an author and their books.

Suggested Author Bio Questions

1.Tell me about your background.  What are your significant previous employment/entrepreneurial experiences that relate to writing, becoming an author, or the background for one of your major characters? 

2.Provide any degrees, certifications, etc.

3.Do you possess certain skills or attributes that make you a good writer or artistic person? 

4.Who do you see as your typical reader?  Share any parallels between your life and those of a typical reader. 

5.What does a reader expect when they pick up a book with your name on it? 

6.Why do you write, or what exactly attracted you to, this style of literature?  Any authors that inspired you?  Early on?  Currently?
 
7.What has been your biggest writing success story?
 
8.What three pieces of advice would you like to share with people interested in writing?
 
9.How has writing/publishing evolved over the past year/five years/ten years?  What has caused this evolution?
 
10.What are the current trends or the next big thing? 
 
11.Describe your typical day.
 
12.Are you involved with personally and/or your company/family support any nonprofit organizations?  If so, please provide a few details about your involvement.

13.Any cool hobbies/talents/additional careers? 

14.Age?  Know that the media is always interested in authors that are either younger or older than the norm (in business, for example, high achievers under the age of 40 are celebrated in perennial lists published in several national magazines).

15.Married (A romance writer, for example, may decide to share their personal love story)?  Children (please provide their gender, so that readers can relate, if they also have boys or girls, but their ages and names are not needed, as that information should not be shared for privacy and safety reasons)?  Pets?  If so, please share details!
 
16.What are some of your favorites?  Think colors, music, food, dessert, TV, cable, books, movies, sports, etc.  Share anything that you feel passionate about…
 
17.What is your definition of happiness?
 
18.Is there anything that you wish to share that wasn’t covered in this Q&A?
 
You should also possess some inside knowledge to ask questions that are not presented here.  Be sure to customize these questions to fit the author.   Delete the questions that don’t apply and add ones that do.  If you know that the author likes to travel, is a musician, or is a gardener, ask several questions about that interest.  If the author has achieved certain target goals, ask for an overview. 

Feel free to ask more questions, but keep the grand total to no more than 25 questions (more than 25 and half your questions won’t be answered, as the author will be overwhelmed).

Now, when I email these customized questions to any author—it’s a fishing expedition.  I have no idea what I’ll receive in return.  My intent, in doing this, is to pan for gold.  I’m going to pick and choose the answers that best display why this person is a great resource, what is unique and different about them.  Often you’ll discover information that is not commonly known and may never have been publicized before—that’s the goal of these questions. 

The bio for an Author is not meant to be a dry or boring synopsis of skills, experience, and education.  This bio, instead, should offer conflict, trials, tribulations, triumphs, moments of glory, great accomplishments, and, most importantly, it should be entertaining. 

Remember, a media contact is not looking to hire an author.  What they desire is a subject to attract readers and to be newsworthy.  They are seeking what is new, fresh, and exciting.  Keep this in mind, likewise, when composing your questions and compiling a bio!  

Some confusion exists about what exactly is PR, mainly, I admit from PR practitioners trying to maintain an aura of mystery about the services being provided to clients.  It's actually not about the press release, which is what most people think is PR.  Public relations is simply marketing, and to be precise, it's marketing to the narrow niche of editors and journalists who would consider you and your books newsworthy. 

As an author, you've already been engaged in PR, without even realizing it.  At least fifty percent of public relations is polishing up your marketing collateral, so that you'll make a great first impression when a media opportunity arises.  If you've written your bio, selected your photograph, consulted on the design of your book cover, composed your product description, or sought reviews—then, you've engaged in PR.  Public activities such as guest blogging, participating in a blog hop/promo, book signing, or book club discussion also fall under the umbrella of PR. 

Another huge component of PR is digital marketing.  An editor or journalist will conduct basic online research when deciding whether you and your book should be featured.  In addition to their online bookstore presence, authors will be evaluated by their websites, blogs, FaceBook pages, YouTube book trailers, and Twitter accounts.  Online reviews and interviews may also be considered (expect the media to conduct a brief search on Google to see what turns up).

The first step in launching a PR campaign is to evaluate all your current marketing materials.  Are there gaps?  Is everything at a level that suggests that you should be taken seriously?  You need to think about how you are presenting yourself and your books to the world… 

Just writing a book can be overwhelming, but taking shortcuts with your marketing will cost you, not only in book sales, but also in reviews and interviews.  After you have created the best product possible, it is now time to consider the packaging.  It's time to put your house in order.  How is your curb appeal?  Are you a 'drive-by' or inviting people in?  It's a well known fact, in real estate, that curb appeal is key.  If people won't walk in the door, it doesn't matter that your house has a gourmet kitchen and spa-like bathrooms. 

Yes, a book must be well-written, but that's on the inside.  It'll be a well-kept secret unless the outside beckons people to look further.  Think of PR as that brand new welcome mat, a little landscaping, and house numbers that can be seen from the distance.  This blog will be about identifying the best practices that you can follow in order to create a public image that will attract both readers and the media!