Donna Galanti - The Element Trilogy

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For Authors: Find Best-Fit Book Reviewers (And Deal with Bad Ones!)

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It’s a funny thing once your book is published. People you don’t know are reading it and reviewing it. Some reviews will be good. Some will be conflicting. Some may be bad. Here’s my take on what you can do as authors in response to bad reviews and also how to find best fit reviewers.

But first, you can also check out my free cheat sheet on 4 proven steps to connect with those best-fit readers even before your first book comes out! For advice on reviews read on…

Conflicting Reviews

You may wonder how two people can find such differences in your book. Easy. It’s all subjective and your readers will vary. Just as your book is unique, so is everyone’s opinion of it based on their collective life experiences.

In the same week, a reviewer for my book noted “absolutely no grammar errors were noticed which proves that good editing is out there!” and another noted “Good plot, but a lot of typos.” Recommendation? Laugh over them and then ignore them.

Bad Review

Unfortunately, you may receive them. Are bad reviews all bad? Not necessarily. If people are talking about your book passionately, it’s more likely to reach some readers who’ll like it but would never have found it otherwise.

A bad mention can be better than no mention at all, particularly for those readers who are skeptical of too many glowing reviews. It can lend more credibility to the book.

The more reviews you get the more exposure your book gets on Amazon – good or bad reviews. As you get more reviews, Amazon ranks you higher in their search engine for keywords related to your book so more potential readers can find your book. As you can see, even bad reviews can then help boost your book’s discoverability. It also helps your book to be more balanced for reviewers.

A few rotten reviews are expected with every book, as a book is so subjective to each reader, and it gives your book more credibility. A book with all 5-stars seems a bit good to be true. Readers will weed through the reviews and can surmise the value of your book and if it will appeal to them.

Best reviews are the ones that are a mix of critical comments and positive as it means the reader was affected by your book enough that they took the time to leave a thoughtful review on many points.

What not to do about a bad review? Respond. All authors receive them. Even the New York Times bestselling authors. Why a bad review? The reader might not normally read your genre, or was misled by the cover. The writing style might not be one they normally connect with. Have you read a book and wondered how people could praise it? A bad review can even lead to self-awareness of your writing and improvement. And remember, they are reviewing the book – not the writer.

Finding Best Fit Reviewers

Can you increase your chances of finding positive reviewers? Yes! Research book review bloggers in your genre and age-range that you write in. Review their website and see what kind of books they have reviewed in the past. Check out their review request policies. See if your book falls within the guidelines of what they want to read and request a review.

Places to find book reviewers? Use Google Alerts. Type in key words like “romance stories” or “action novels” and then in what medium you want them to appear (as they appear in blogs, the news, etc.). Google will then send you a list every day of all the hits according to your search specifications. Click on the links recommended. If they include bloggers that do book reviews, send them a request for review. Also, search for “book blog” plus your genre to find reviewers. Try searching Facebook book groups. They can have corresponding blogs that offer book reviews.

Have Advanced Reader Copies (ARCs)? Use them to do a Goodreads giveaway. This can generate positive reviews as readers who enjoy your kind of book will enter to win a copy of your book. Always send a handwritten thank you note with the book and politely ask that they write an honest review.

Have an ARC in e-book format only? Many book bloggers accept them for review as well.

Final tip on finding best fit reviewers. Search for comparable and successful authors with keywords of “author name” plus “review”. You will find book bloggers that reviewed that author’s book. These are good blogs to familiarize yourself with and not only request a review, but ask to do a guest post and/or giveaway.

Best of luck with your reviews!

P.S. Don’t forget to grab my free cheat sheet on how to connect with those best-fit readers even before your first book comes out!

 

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Are you a debut author or writer looking to get published? I’ve just launched a free training series on writer platform building and am giving away an info-packed cheat sheet on how to connect with readers before your first book even comes out.  Subscribe to my YouTube channel Your Awesome Author Life and Writers Facebook Group and get tips on craft, marketing, and a dash of inspiration! Happy writing!

 

Do You Need Help Rewriting Your First Draft?

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writing-stepsI’m excited to have author and marketer extraordinaire Kristina Stanley back on my blog! Instead of sharing her bestselling alpine mysteries today, we are talking about writing help for authors – something Kristina knows much about. Her new app Feedback For Fiction does just this! Writers, find out how you can participate in this exciting new app.

Today Kristina is talking about rewriting that first draft.

Whether you’re a plotter or a panster, you’ve completed a first draft. Congratulations! Now what?

If you’re anything like me, you’re asking yourself:

  • Where do I start my manuscript rewrite?
  • How do I keep track of all the writing tips I’ve read and apply them to my story?
  • What should I change to make my story better?
  • Am I ready to share my manuscript with others?

Wouldn’t it be nice to have an app that would help you through the rewriting process?

But First: What is Rewriting?

A comprehensive rewrite is the first step in the self-editing process. I’m not talking about copyediting or proofreading. You can do that after you’ve completed your rewrite.

Rewriting your first draft means analyzing your story from a high-level perspective and fixing any weak areas. You want to make sure that the story structure makes sense, the scenes are tense, there are no plot holes, and you haven’t left any subplots unfinished.

During the rewrite, you also take a hard look at your characters. How often do they appear? What are their goals? What gets in the way of their goals?  Characters will drive the tension in your story, and tension is what keeps a reader reading.

Finally, the rewrite should examine your settings. Do you make the most of your settings? How often do you use the same setting, and is it too often? Do your settings help with the tone of your scenes? Settings are key to keeping your reader engaged, so don’t ignore them.
How can we help you?

We’re building Feedback, an app for writers that provides a guided approach to tackling comprehensive rewrites.

With Feedback, you can focus on plot, character, and setting. You can evaluate on a scene-by-scene basis or on overall novel structure. Feedback will show you the most important structural elements to work on first.

Feedback will guide you through the rewriting process by asking you questions specific to your manuscript, enabling you to evaluate your own story.

Once you import your manuscript, Feedback automatically captures information such as word count, number of scenes per chapter, character names, and chapter and scene breaks, using this information to create the first set of reports. Any updates to your manuscript will still need to be completed in the writing app you used to create your first draft.

Feedback helps you visualize your manuscript. Forget about yellow stickies or white boards. Feedback will draw character arcs, provide reports on scene evaluation, and show your rewriting progress.

Feedback is a learning tool. If you’re having trouble with a certain element of fiction, just click on the rewrite tip associated with that element and find out how to improve your writing. There’s no need to search through dozens of writing books to find the piece of advice you need.

On the technical side, Feedback will be a secure, web-based app. This means you will be able to access Feedback from any device you use.

Find out more:

Our goal is to launch Feedback in the spring of 2017. In order to create an app that is valuable to writers, we’d like your input on building Feedback. Sign up, and we’ll send you updates on the development progress and ask you the occasional question to help define the product. As a bonus, we’ll send you rewriting tips available only to our subscribers.

Are you as excited about Feedback as we are? Show your support by helping us spread the word and share this post.

You can find us at www.FeedbackForFiction.com and follow us on Facebook.

Your support means a lot to us, so thank you!

KS 75 High ResABOUT KRISTINA:

Kristina Stanley is the best-selling author of the Stone Mountain Mystery Series. Her first two novels garnered the attention of prestigious crime writing organizations in Canada and England. Crime Writers of Canada nominated DESCENT (Imajin Books, July 2015) for the Unhanged Arthur award. The Crime Writers’ Association nominated BLAZE (Imajin Books, Oct 2015) for the Debut Dagger. Imajin Books published her third novel in the series, AVALANCHE, in June 2016.

Her short stories have been published in the Ellery Queen Mystery Magazine and The Voices From the Valleys anthology. She is the author of THE AUTHOR’S GUIDE TO SELLING BOOKS TO NON-BOOKSTORES.

As the co-founder and chief creative officer of Feedback Innovations, a company started to help writers rewrite better fiction, she made up her own job title because she thought it sounded cool!

Find out more about her and Feedback at www.FeedbackForFiction.com.

 

Monday Mashup: Book Deals, Authors & Writer Advice

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I’m over at Writers Helping Writers today talking about my eight steps to an agent, a publisher and a two-book deal. You never know what you may learn! Stop by and share your writing journey, or find out just how hard (and long) it can be to get a book to market. Want more writing advice? Visit my Writers Corner here for articles on the craft and business of writing.

And if you missed these best selling authors who stopped by my blog this year so far, check them out! New York Times bestselling author Allison Brennan, who talks about killing characters and keeping a series fresh, and Eric Van Lustbader, who was chosen by the estate of the late Robert Ludlum to continue the Jason Bourne novels, are both interviewed. Can’t get enough of authors? Check out all the authors who have been guests over the years.

And if you haven’t heard I’m thrilled to announce my 2-book deal with Month9Books for my middle grade fantasy series Joshua and The Lightning Road! Book 1 comes out April 2015 with book 2 following in December 2015.

But WAIT – there’s more (I know, accutane this sounds like an infomercial)! Joshua and The Lightning Road is launching Month9Books’ new middle grade imprint called, Tantrum Books, AND will be the first hard cover they ever released! It’s perfect for 8 to 13 year olds (just ask my son).

What’s Joshua and the Lightning Road about?
Twelve-year-old Joshua Cooper learns the hard way that lightning never strikes by chance when a bolt strikes his house and whisks him on an adventure to a world where stolen kids are work slaves ruled by the frustrated heirs of the Greek Olympians.

And if that weren’t enough to hoot and holler about, the sequel to A Human Element will be published by Imajin Books this summer! A Hidden Element contains more murder and mystery with a dash of steam.

Here’s the scoop on A Hidden Element:
When one couple’s son is taken by the same unearthly evil that once brutalized them, they race to find the kidnapper and discover his horrifying mission that binds them together–and their only hope is to trust the mad man’s son who puts his life on the line to save them all.

Keep it human! –Love, Donna

Writer Resources, Books & Bram Stoker’s Birthday

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Books are more fun when we share

Thought I’d share some fun book goings-on with myself and other authors today!

Promo fun

Stop by Night Owl Reviews Suspense today where A Human  Element is featured and so am I in a fun Author Q&A interview.

I’m also interviewed this month in the Bucks County Women’s Journal, talking about the power of change. Check out pg. 34 in the PDF or pick up locally. A wonderful magazine promoting women’s business and successes. Visit the BCWJ website.

Plus I love waking up to more five-star reviews for A Human Element on Paranormal Romance Guild and Amazon, by a reader who won the book through my Library Thing giveaway and says it’s a “good mix of sci-fi, mystery and romance…this book grabbed and kept my interest from the get go.” Watch for my short story collection coming soon, featuring characters from A Human Element and new ones from its sequel, A Hidden Element (2013).

Writing Resources

Don’t miss my friend, author, and agent Marie Lamba’s series Agent Mondays and get great info on landing agent from the source! Want the newest scoop on publishing industry trends and help with writing craft? Visit The Author Chronicles, a resourceful blog run by five aspiring authors. Need  experienced advice to take your writing to the next level? Stop by The BloodRed Pencil, a team of editors and writers who share their techniques and advice on writing and editing.

Hot new reads!

Looking for new reads by cool xanaxlowprice.com debut thriller authors and words of wisdom by legendary thriller authors? Then get yourself to the International Thriller Writers Debut Authors blog The Thrill Begins and November releases!

Horror more your thing? In celebration of Bram Stoker’s birthday today, check out the 2012 Bram Stoker recommended reading list chock full of goodies by new and veteran authors. Two of my new faves? Billie Sue Mosiman and Michael McCarty (my review).

And congrats to my friend Stacy Green who has a short story out, Welcome to Las Vegas, that’s a creepy prelude to her debut suspense novel that hits the streets this month, Into the Dark! Participate in her charity blog tour to help the homeless.

Events

Local to Philly? Stop by Chester County Book and Music Company on November 23rd and help support a landmark bookstore that may be going out of business. Local authors will be there for a grand social to talk and sign books, including Lisa Scottoline, Kelly Simmons, Carmen Ferreiro-Esteban, and Jon McGoran.

I’m thrilled to have been invited as a guest author to my first conference, Farpoint, for their 20th anniversary conference in Timonium, Maryland on February 15 – 17, 2013. This is an annual gathering for fans of all genres and types of imaginative fiction, including media, books and more. Fun to share the event with Lee Arenberg, “Pintel” from Pirates of The Caribbean.

That’s all folks!