Getting reviewed

just getting chummy and asking to correspond or whatever.

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Getting chummy perhaps (although I have to pretend not to be a squeeing fangirl on occasion lol). Buying them a drink, most certainly. Asking to be email buddies?* Tbh, that would come across as weird UNLESS you were pretty damn friendly already, or say you were both with the same agent (or had some other business link - in which case you'd use that perhaps). Now, you might swap business cards. But that's still not an invitation to send your stuff/be bestest blurb buddies. Even in that situation, unless I'd known them a while/quite well, I'd never ask them - I'm sure if they want to read my stuff, they'll ask me.

If I really wanted to ask, I'd still go through their agent/publisher.

*I've talked to a few authors at conferences, and seen others initiate convos. Mostly, people are asking them 'So, is Character X going to be in the next book? Why did you kill Y? OMG I love your stuff! There's a plot hole on page 245...' People are mostly asking the author about the author's stuff (or talking about publishing in general). There's nothing wrong with saying 'I'm trying to get published at the moment/will be self-pubbing next week.' But that's a far cry from 'Please make your agent sign me' or 'Read my book and tell everyone how wonderful it is' (Manners would dictate that you might mention your stuff, but you don't push it on others - wait for them to ask if they want to. At least my manners do )

Do people randomly ask authors at conferences to read their stuff? Perhaps. But as with the email, I don't suppose it has a huge positive response rate - in addition to all the reasons stated above an author might not read your work, now you have added 'Huh, so he only talked to me so I'd read/blurb his book.'

Not an impression you want to give, or likely to win friends and influence people.

DennisB said:

A couple of thoughts: If I, as an unpublished AUTHOR, attend a conference attended by a heavyweight or two and then approach said heavyweights, aren't I doing essentially the same thing?

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Nowadays, I think they prefer the term 'gravitationally challenged' or 'horizontally gifted.'

IdiotsRUs said:

Do people randomly ask authors at conferences to read their stuff? Perhaps. But as with the email, I don't suppose it has a huge positive response rate - in addition to all the reasons stated above an author might not read your work, now you have added 'Huh, so he only talked to me so I'd read/blurb his book.'

Not an impression you want to give, or likely to win friends and influence people.

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Last WorldCon I went to, a scruffy-looking fellow, MS in hand, collared famous author with just that request. To clinch the deal, he started telling the story at length. It involved Lovecraftian monsters playing baseball and was a scathing commentary on the sports world and modern society in general.

Damn. I didn't know famous authors could run that fast.

Lady Ice said:

To be honest, I never look at what other authors have said about the book anyway, unless they spoke about it in public.

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Ditto, in the same way I avoid reading reviews in the paper or online about movies I want to see: whatever anybody said about it makes no never-mind to me.

What are you trying to achieve? Publication or publicity?

DennisB said:

I've got what I think is a cracker-jack Thriller, and one way to get it noticed is to have other thriller writers rave about it.
Have any of you ever engaged an established writer to review your book, pre-publication?
I've thought about just jumping in, doing a bunch of research and finding physical addresses, email addresses, Twitter and Facebook pages of some top authors, and sending the darned thing to them.
Other than the occasionally harassment charge, what do I have to lose?

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Dennis, you say you have this thriller, but I've been all through this thread and can't determine what you're trying to do with it.

Are you going to submit it to publishing houses and/or agents, with the goal of having a physical print copy of your book? Or are you self-publishing/e-publishing?

Because those are two very different goals and call for very different strategies. And frankly, in neither scenario can I see any benefit in contacting established writers.

If you're trying to get published, I think the route to go would be to go to writers conferences, not to contact other writers to assist you, but to contact AGENTS. I've never been to prose conferences, though I used to be a semi-regular at screenwriting conferences, but from what I've read online, agents are a big part of the mix and they're looking for new clients.

If you're self-publishing, your goal shouldn't be to get an impressive blurb from an established writer - your goal should be to get your book SEEN. You could have flattering quotes from Lee Child and Dan Brown all over your book's page on Amazon, Barnes and Noble, or Smashwords, but if people don't find your page, that doesn't do you a lick of good.

If you're self-publishing, contact the book bloggers! It's their job/hobby to read books and post online about the books they've read. With established authors, asking them to review your book is an imposition, a distraction from their real work. With the book bloggers, reading and reviewing books is what they do. Yes, a lot of the bloggers won't accept self-published books, but enough of them will. There are literally hundreds, possibly thousands of book bloggers out there. Find a list of them and work your way through.

About six weeks ago, I went on an extensive book blogger hunt. I found one list of over 400, and a bunch of short lists and went through them one by one. Most book blogs have a link or tab to their Review Policy - they spell out what sort of genres they accept, whether or not they take e-books and whether or not they'll review self-published books. Out of the hundreds I looked at, I found 50 who met my criteria (Self-pubbed cozy mystery e-book), and sent the bloggers e-mail asking if they would review my book. I got about 12 acceptances back and sent out gift receipts so they could download my book. There are about five reviews posted already and I know some more will be coming in the next few months.

In April, my book sold 1400 copies on Barnes and Noble. That's up from almost nothing. I can't say for a fact that it's the reviews that drove it, but that's the marketing I was doing when the book started selling.

IMHO, if you don't ask, you'll never get a yes.

I find authors are typically very afraid to ask for things, as they know there are a hundred (or hundred thousand) other authors hounding these reviewers / more established authors for the same things. However, realistically - as long as you're respectful and don't go over the top - the worst they can do is say 'no.'

I've had authors and publishers ask me to blurb, and once I got my feet back under me from the shock of it, have said both yes and no to certain requests. Typically, I just say that if I read it and connect with the narrative, without a doubt I'll offer a praise quote. In the instances where I've declined, it's simply been because I personally didn't enjoy / like / whatever the novel strongly enough to want to put my name on it. But if they hadn't asked - I never would have offered.

I say go for it, be tenacious but polite, and cross your fingers!



Good luck