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anamardoll · 06-01-2011, 02:35 PM

@Mel: 550 copies and zero reviews is not a cool ratio I think many people will leave reviews if the suggestion is planted well, e.g. the last page of the book, or a "get this book for free but please review" sort of exchange.

My I throw in my 2 cents?

I'm a reviewer at Amazon and am currently ranked at #109 in the new system. This means I get roughly 15-30 review requests a month just by email alone. It's REALLY difficult to keep up, and I pretty much tell everyone who sends me their book that it's purely luck of the draw if I ever review their book. (I hate this and wish I could do more, but....)

I *can*, however, give some advice from the reviewing side of the fence about what motivates me to read a certain book.

1. If you have good reviews on Amazon, take some time to check the reviewer's profiles. A lot of people have contact information in their Amazon profile: consider writing them a nice email, thanking them for their review, and humbly asking if they'd take a few minutes to post their review on Smashwords (SEND A LINK. MAKE IT EASY FOR THEM.) As a reviewer, this takes me maybe 5 minutes, but it's a nice easy thing to do for an author you like.

2. If you've sent the book out to reviewers specifically, don't BUG them or STALK them, but it is acceptable to establish a relationship with them - it's okay to send a very polite follow-up email, and if you have a good excuse to do so (like "here's an updated copy with a new cover" or "here's one with some corrections"), then that's always a good reason to politely remind the reviewer that you exist.

3. What format is your book in? I groan now when I get PDF copies from authors. PDF is great for manga and comics, but when something is a text novel, it needs to be in epub/mobi/not-PDF. PDF doesn't render as nicely on my readers and practically guarantees it gets sent to the slush fund.

4. Lastly, don't worry too much.

If you're getting 550 free downloads but no reviews, it either means that your book sucks (i.e., people read it and toss it) or they haven't read it yet. You KNOW your book doesn't suck - you have good reviews on Amazon - so hopefully those free copies will eventually get read and reviewed.

EDIT:

For paid books, you must purchase at Smashwords in order to leave a review. You can usually get a Kindle-compatible version at Smashwords, though.

Ah, this is a dumb rule and probably explains your problem. That's a shame.

06-01-2011, 02:35 PM	#34
anamardoll Chasing Butterflies Posts: 3,132 Karma: 5074169 Join Date: Mar 2011 Location: American Southwest Device: Uses batteries.	@Mel: 550 copies and zero reviews is not a cool ratio I think many people will leave reviews if the suggestion is planted well, e.g. the last page of the book, or a "get this book for free but please review" sort of exchange. My I throw in my 2 cents? I'm a reviewer at Amazon and am currently ranked at #109 in the new system. This means I get roughly 15-30 review requests a month just by email alone. It's REALLY difficult to keep up, and I pretty much tell everyone who sends me their book that it's purely luck of the draw if I ever review their book. (I hate this and wish I could do more, but....) I can, however, give some advice from the reviewing side of the fence about what motivates me to read a certain book. 1. If you have good reviews on Amazon, take some time to check the reviewer's profiles. A lot of people have contact information in their Amazon profile: consider writing them a nice email, thanking them for their review, and humbly asking if they'd take a few minutes to post their review on Smashwords (SEND A LINK. MAKE IT EASY FOR THEM.) As a reviewer, this takes me maybe 5 minutes, but it's a nice easy thing to do for an author you like. 2. If you've sent the book out to reviewers specifically, don't BUG them or STALK them, but it is acceptable to establish a relationship with them - it's okay to send a very polite follow-up email, and if you have a good excuse to do so (like "here's an updated copy with a new cover" or "here's one with some corrections"), then that's always a good reason to politely remind the reviewer that you exist. 3. What format is your book in? I groan now when I get PDF copies from authors. PDF is great for manga and comics, but when something is a text novel, it needs to be in epub/mobi/not-PDF. PDF doesn't render as nicely on my readers and practically guarantees it gets sent to the slush fund. 4. Lastly, don't worry too much. If you're getting 550 free downloads but no reviews, it either means that your book sucks (i.e., people read it and toss it) or they haven't read it yet. You KNOW your book doesn't suck - you have good reviews on Amazon - so hopefully those free copies will eventually get read and reviewed. EDIT: For paid books, you must purchase at Smashwords in order to leave a review. You can usually get a Kindle-compatible version at Smashwords, though. Ah, this is a dumb rule and probably explains your problem. That's a shame.