How to Make the Most of a Good Review of Your Book

So your book just got an excellent review . . . Congratulations! Good reviews are like gold. If you're fortunate enough to get one, you'll want to make sure you do everything possible to put that endorsement to work for you to help sell more books. So where do you start?  Here are a few tips for ways to help spread the word about recommendations for your book . . .

Press Releases

Submit your book review as a press release to all your local media (newspapers, magazines, radio, television news, etc.)   If your book appeals to a specific niche, make sure you submit your press release to any publications online, or otherwise, which cater to the demographic of your readership.  Don't forget to use online free press release services to help spread the word. 

Back Cover

If you've received a positive review from a reputable review agency, make sure you put it out there where potential buyers can see it. Use a quote, or an excerpt of a quote for any future print runs of your book.  Don't forget to credit the source of the reviewer; if you've received a great review from the New York Times, then you want to make sure everyone knows about it!

Banners & Signage

If you're attending book-signings at festivals or other venues, you'll want to create professional looking signage.  Banners and signs are a great place to promote positive reviews of your book.  Take the time to do this well.  Professional looking banners with sturdy banner-stands are eye-catching and can do wonders to create a professional image for you and your book.  If a banner is impractical, or out of the budget, you can also print professional looking signs to place inside plexiglass frames.  

Social Media

Do you have a blog?  Great!  Post your review there.  Don't forget to share your review on your Facebook, Twitter, Google + and LinkedIn pages. Make sure to use #hashtags to increase your post's visibility.  Go ahead, be shameless, and ask your friends and family to like and share your posts.  

Amazon's Editorial Reviews

The Editorial Review Section on your Amazon Author Central profile was created to help you bring attention to your professional reviews and literary achievements. This is a great place for sharing your success as an author!

GoodReads Profile

Post your reviews in your GoodReads profile (go to your dashboard to do this).  Also, don't forget to blog the review in GoodRead's blog section.

Your Barnes and Noble Profile

Post your review in the section entitled: More About This Book.  Take the time to get this right the first time though, because Barnes and Noble does not make it easy to edit your posts here.  

Your Website

Post all, or a portion of your all your positive reviews on your website.  Don't forget to include images and logos (with permission) to help bring attention to those reviews which have been provided from reputable and well-recognized agencies. If you have a media page include a PDF of your review which can be downloaded directly from your site.  

Your Sell-Sheet

Your sell-sheet is the perfect place to include reviews of your book. A sell-sheet should include pertinent information for bookstores, libraries, and buyers to tell them why and how to purchase your book.

17 New Years Tips for authors - Gain greater recognition for your book in 2017

No matter how good your book may be, if you're not getting the recognition you deserve, your potential sales may end up sitting on a shelf collecting dust.  To follow are 17 tips for gaining the recognition you deserve to help generate activity and greater sales for your book.  Take every opportunity to claim your title as an expert in your field and 2017 may just be a banner year for you and your book!  


1) Brand your Facebook cover photo.  Include images of any awards you may have won.  According to BookBub 69% of readers use Facebook to find information about their favorite author and 88% follow their favorite author on Facebook.

2) Create a discussion on Quora. Get involved.  Ask questions, engage users, don’t make it all about pitching your book. Use keywords in your post title and content to increase promotional returns.

3) Have experience with public speaking?  Give a talk at an event. Pitch your subject to a writers’ conference, such as The Great American Book Festival.

4) Start a podcast or reach out to see if you can participate on someone else’s podcast.  The more exposure the better.  Take every opportunity to reach out to others who may benefit from your expertise.

5) Submit your book as an award contender.  According to BookBub, including an author’s awards in their blurbs increases clicks an average of 6.7%.  Try for established and reputable award programs such as Literary Classics book Awards or the CLC Top Honors Awards

6) Comment on relevant threads in Facebook groups or on other people’s threads to help build your reputation as an expert.

7) Write an in-depth blog post on a topic related to or covered in your book, then reference and link to your book within the post as well as at the end as part of your bio.

8) Contribute advice and ideas to a LinkedIn group.  Make sure your profile includes a link where people can purchase your book.

9) Write a press release for PRWeb. It’s a great way to get some backlinks to your site and maybe even some press interest!

10) Use discussion forums on your topic including places like yahoo answers, to get in front of people who want to know what you know. Make sure you provide a link to your author page.

11) Sign up as a HARO source (HARO: Help a Reporter Out) and be seen as an expert in your field.

12) Become active on HubPages, and publish valuable content that will establish you as an expert while providing greater exposure for you and your book.  Be sure to include a link to your site.

13) Post free content or excerpts from your book on Scribd. (You may also sell your book on this site.)

14) Create short presentations about topics related to your book and put them on SlideShare.

15) Share your knowledge.  Have you learned a special technique for promoting your book?  Offer an article for submission with Author.Pub

16) Offer speaking topics at local schools which the schools will find beneficial for their students. If possible, tie this in to the subject or theme of your book.

17) Make a series of videos for YouTube related to your book content.  With nonfiction books you can include a series of how-to videos.  For fiction books, you can do this by including thematic topics.

Whatever you do, resolve to make 2017 the best year yet for you and your book.  By presenting yourself as an expert in your field you will establish greater credibility while increasing your exposure.  Here's to making it great in 2017!