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Getting professional reviews - does it help when trying to sell a new book?

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Kim Edwards
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Getting professional reviews - does it help when trying to sell a new book?

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Hello all,

I found this site while trying to help a friend promote his book for Amazon: http://reviews-easy.com/ It's a big database where you can find the highest rated reviewers on Amazon (of course for many domains, but you can find also book reviewers). From what I've seen on similar sites this type of service is quite expensive (on this site it's for free), to find professional reviewers to endorse your work, but seems somehow necessary when you are not a social media guru, no one has heard of you and has no good reason to buy your book :-)

Have you ever tried tried something like this?
KentC
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Re: Getting professional reviews - does it help when trying to sell a new book?

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I wouldn't pay for reviews, and it might get you in trouble later (although some big names do it too...), but that site looks interesting so I might try it.

Reviews are surely important and you need lots of them. A top reviewer gave my story 5 stars but exactly zero people have still bought it since then... Even bad reviews are probably useful, since if you look at some books which have low grades, people still read them to see if they are as bad as everyone thinks.
janny
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Re: Getting professional reviews - does it help when trying to sell a new book?

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Really, it all depends on the audience you're catering it to. Reviews are good for a book, however the impact varies.
Janny > Love books, Coldplay and my second half Henry Ford - my beautiful Berner sennen
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rchapman1tewantin
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Re: Getting professional reviews - does it help when trying to sell a new book?

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You can offer an ebook for free in exchange for a review - doesn't always work but it helps.
Rita Lee Chapman
Author of the Anna Davies Mystery Series
Winston - A Horse's Tale
Dangerous Liaisons,
The Poinciana Tree
The Unicorn Angel
My Very Naughty Pony
Kim Edwards
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Re: Getting professional reviews - does it help when trying to sell a new book?

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One reader and one review doesn't make much of a difference, that's why sites like http://reviews-easy.com/ exist, to reach more then one reviewer. I am not comfortable either with paying big sums of money, but this one is apparently only asking for donations. It looks appealing to me, i think i might give it a try :-)
GalaxyZento
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Re: Getting professional reviews - does it help when trying to sell a new book?

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Reviews are nice, but I wouldn't pay for them. Makes it look like you paid for a good review and that could bite you in the butt later. Just do what you do, and do it well. It's fine to ask for reader reviews and sometimes people will even do it. Always be gracious and thankful for good reviews and never respond to negative ones.
Kim Edwards
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Re: Getting professional reviews - does it help when trying to sell a new book?

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Just a short remark, you're not paying the reviewer, you are paying a site to offer you contacts, e-mail addresses of these reviewers that you will later on contact on your own and based on your work you will or will not receive a review. As i have said before, this site i am talking about is not even asking you to pay them, they're asking for a donation, at most. You can search for a domain your interested in, like books, and you can download for free a list of names and contacts of the top Amazon book reviewers. If you manage to convince them to review your book, that's just your job :)
GalaxyZento
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Re: Getting professional reviews - does it help when trying to sell a new book?

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That's very interesting. I did a giveaway and hope that some of those who claimed their copies of my work will come back and give input. I have 2 whole 4 star reviews so far! Yay me!
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rchapman1tewantin
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Re: Getting professional reviews - does it help when trying to sell a new book?

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Well done, GalaxyZento - that's a good start.
Rita Lee Chapman
Author of the Anna Davies Mystery Series
Winston - A Horse's Tale
Dangerous Liaisons,
The Poinciana Tree
The Unicorn Angel
My Very Naughty Pony
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