What Reviewers Wish Authors Knew

While on the subject of book reviews, I thought this excellent advice from Amazon top 50 reviewer Cindy Penn was important enough to pass on to fellow authors. In a recent issue of The Writer Gazette, Cindy listed a dozen pet peeves of book reviewers, and she certainly should be aware of them. In addition to her work for Amazon, she serves as Senior Editor of http://wordweaving.com and is the eBook specialist for the highly respected Midwest Book Reviews.

Cindy cautions when sending an ARC (Advanced Review Copy), be certain the draft has been relatively well edited even if the very final editing hasn’t yet been completed. She warns that it’s her practice to “mention really poor editing in a review if it interferes with the reading experience.”

When you submit the manuscript, be sure to include your name, book title, e-mail address, ISBN and date of publication on it whether it is digital or hardcopy. If you don’t send a press kit or release with your manuscript, at least include a synopsis and setting. Reviewers also want to see a bio of the author, particularly items that are relevant to the book.

It is important to query and read submission guidelines before you send your manuscript. Be polite and be patient. Realize the high volume of books submitted to a reviewer. And when the review has been completed, stay polite even if the review is less than positive. Thank the reviewer. Remember that many reviewers are book lovers and volunteer their time to review. They won’t always like your work. Don’t condemn them for that, for we all read with different viewpoints and varied likes and dislikes. Be gracious even if you don’t feel like it. You never know whether a future book might be sent to this same reviewer.

DEVELOPING A CATCH PHRASE THAT CATCHES

Publishers, agents and promoters frequently look for a catch phrase to use as a hook when marketing your book. Using the old saws like "Discounted price" or "Finest quality writing" just doesn’t cut it. In the first place, the reader probably won’t believe you without further justification. But more important, it doesn’t relay a sense of what the book is all about.

Think about some of the hook you see every day used to promote a company or a product on TV or in print. For example, "Chocolate that melts in your mouth, not in your hands" immediately bring up the image of M&M candies.

To promote my latest book, The Writer Within You, I use "It’s Never Too Late To Learn To Write & Publish." The book, of course, is geared to retirees and other seniors who have a dream of writing a book. For a while I used "Old Is Getting Younger Everyday." That had the element of incongruity that immediately caught one’s attention, but I felt that it described the change in the attitudes of current retirees, but didn’t really tell the story of my book.

It is important to distinguish yourself from the crowd with a catchy phrase that people can remember easily. If you haven’t created one already, do it now and use it with regularity on all the promotional materials you send out.

SOLID ADVICE TO HELP YOU

SELECT THE RIGHT SEO FIRM

As usual, Derek Gehl, the head honcho of the Internet Market Center comes up with basic practical suggestions. This time is it  to help you select a Search Engine Optimization firm to support you as you catapult your web site to page one of the top engines.

His basic philosophy: "You get what you pay for." And of course, he’s right. The majority of SEO firms ballyhoo their extraordinary skills, promising page one ranking and tons of traffic to your site. Ranking’s fine, as Derek states, but "It’s not your ranking that’s ultimately most important - it’s the quantity and the quality of traffic delivered." The key is converting quality visitors into buyers of your ebook, print book or articles.

This highly experienced expert also cautions against selecting an SEO consultant who concentrates solely on one single strategy. With the constant shifting of algorithms by Google, a winning strategy one day can prove disastrous the next. Gehl uses another old saw to make his point: "Don’t put all your eggs in one basket."

SEO is a complex process, and it is very easy for us non-techie authors to be wooed by charlatans. There are lots of highly competent SEO specialists out there, but it takes a bit of studying to find them in the pack. Using basic common sense is probably the most effective tool one can use to make the best choice.

VIRUSES-WIDELY PUBLICIZED AND DREADED

BUT NOWHERE NEAR AS COMMON AS THEY SEEM

Despite the concern over the damage computer viruses wreak, they are not as prevalent as they appear to be, according to an interesting article written by Reid Goldsborough in the August edition of PMA’s newsletter.

Based on the research of MessageLabs , a security company that analyzes 180 million emails  a day, the article claims that viruses are found in just 0.15  percent of emails. That compares with the far more common phishing attacks that attempt to invade your personal affairs. Messagelabs reports that 0.45 percent of emails suffer from these invaders who seek info on your credit card, banking and other financial matters.

MessageLabs  lists SPAM is the number one  email problem with unsolicited material arriving on a huge 44.96 percent of all emails.

Author Goldsborough goes on to explain that viruses are small computer programs that can be written from scratch by a programmer or created by using virus-writing kits that require no special skills. They quickly spread to another computer by moving through any file when it is shared by other computers.

The best defense against these invaders, Goldborough explains, is to backup data frequently on a medium that is not permanently attached  to your computer. In addition, proved anti-virus software like Norton AntiVirus or McAfee Virus Scan should be installed on your computer.

You're an author....expert or wannabe. One of the easiest forms of promoting your web site and/or your book is writing and distributing informational articles on the Web. These need be no more than 800 words and can be as short as 300. Most editors prefer they not go beyond at most 1,000. Short tips are always welcome too.
 
Make sure that all submissions contain the key words that are featured in your web site or blog. That will attract spiders to your site. List your site's URL in the brief bio you are allowed to add at the end of the piece to bring people interested in what you have to say directly to your web site.
       
Derek Gehl, whose Internet Market Center distributes highly informative articles, newsletters and eBook and sponsors conferences from coast to coast, recommends in his newsletter, "Once you've taken a few hours to write one or two quick articles, head to one of these top online content distribution sites. Upload your keyword-rich content to:

www.contentdesk.com

www.ezineartiocles.com

www.freesticky.com

www.goarticles.com

www.ideamarketers.com

www.findsticky.com

It only takes a couple of minutes, but the rewards to your site will be huge." (www.marketingtips.com)