Steps for Finding an Online Book Reviewer
It's in the job description.
Are you an author and remember the mountain of effort it took to find reviewers online to give your little book a boost? Well, I’ve not done it yet, but I’m certainly getting a taste for what it’s going to wind up being like.
Not only do you have to write a captivating pitch for you book and follow the criteria of whatever reviewer(s) you may be reaching out to that day, but also finding an active blog in your genre in the first place.
While I’ve not had to write the emails myself (yet), simply doing the research in and of itself is tiresome, and I’ve been doing this since October now! The amount of blogs with broken links, shut down servers, updates a year or more old, without date tags, or even having a simple “we’re closed now” sign… somewhere on the front page is surprising.
I really do advise if you are going to publish a novel and are expecting to go on the reviewer hunt, do so well in advance, usually by four or five months before you expect to publish. You’ll see why I say this in just a bit.
As I have just passed my first six months of doing reviewer research, I’d like to share my criteria for finding a “good reviewer” versus a “bad reviewer”.
Warning: Bad Links
As mentioned before, there are many blogs that have simply gone offline. Either they’ve shut down their server service or let the domain sit unpaid. Some scammers have scooped up old blog domains as well - yes, I’ve been led to sites pretending to tell me I have a virus on my computer by simply sifting through some of the entries on The Book Blogger’s List.
When using sites like The Book Blogger’s List or any other site of a similar type, you will come across these sorts of websites at some point or another. Most don’t even have a warning pop up to stop you, just as sometimes warnings pop up blocking clean blog sites.
As you search for reviewers, make sure your computer is safe and secure first, and maybe even run a VPN for good measure. You never know when you might accidentally pick up malware when simply trying to promote your book.
Step 1: Are They Active?
Most, if not all, blogs come built in with date stamps as to when a post has been made. This is the first thing that I look for. Regardless of how detailed the reviews are, or how nice the site itself looks, or the genre of books this person reviews in the first place, there is no reason to waste your time on a dead site.
When determining whether or not to go through with this website, the following must be answered:
When was their most recent post?
If their last post was over 4-6 months ago, with or without a closure warning, it’s safe to assume that the site has been quietly abandoned
How frequent do they post?
If it’s multiple times a month, then you have a fair chance to get into their review pool
If it’s once or twice a month, then you better pray your pitch is good enough if you really want to go ahead with this site
I have come across websites without date tags, or you have to click on the reviews themselves to see when they’ve been posted. These are the places to check for date tags:
On the post’s thumbnail or under the post’s title. This is the most common place to find the date tags.
The URL of the post. If you don’t want to click on the post itself, hovering over the URL should give you a year and month at the very least.
The post itself. If the post thumbnails and the URL don’t contain the date information, then clicking on the post should reveal a date, once again anywhere underneath the title.
I cannot express how frustrating it is to find a promising site that has either stopped being updated or are without date stamps. If I can’t tell when your last post was, then I can’t tell if the blog is still active. If the blog simply stopped getting updated over time, then could there at least be a “good bye” post to let me know?
Step 2: About the Blog
Step 2a: Review Criteria
Most blogs, not all, have a tab on their site for their review criteria, often saying their favorite and least favorite genres, what format they like to have for their reviews, and how to contact them, although this sometimes redirects you to their dedicated “Contact Me” page.
Places where review criteria might be found:
“Review Policy” or any sort of variation.
“Policies” or “Privacy Policies” - I’ve found review criteria in these places before
“About Me”
“Contact Me” - very rare but this does happen sometimes if none of the above contain the information you’re looking for.
Sometimes you must click on multiple links to collect all the necessary information you’ll need to determine whether or not this reviewer might be good for your book. This typically happens when the blog is run by two or more people, as sometimes each reviewer gets their own pages rather than one page all together.
Step 2b: Review Acceptance Status
This one is a little hard to mess up, as reviewers are surprisingly great at telling you if they are open or closed to unsolicited reviews. If you manage to find their review criteria or if you visit their contact page if they have no dedicated review criteria page, there should be a notice at the very top in bold letters, sometimes in red as well.
These warnings vary, from being closed entirely to closed temporarily to closed to certain genres or closed to a specific type of publishing method, usually self-published novels. Read these notices carefully. Sometimes the reviews want no further review requests. Sometimes they’ll continue to have emails be sent to them, but not guarantee that they’ll be able to pick up your novel in a timely fashion.
Exceptions are often made for authors that the reviewer has previously worked with, but if you’re just stumbling on this blog for the first time, it’s best to keep an eye on it to see if their reviews ever open up again but pass it by all the same.
Also to note is usually there is a “date updated” stamp on these pages. If the stamp is a year or older, then it’s safe to assume that review requests here won’t ever be opening up again.
Step 2c: Contact Details
So maybe there’s no review criteria, but there is a contact page, or at least contact details. What then? Well, you have two options: email them with fingers crossed they’ll pick up your book, if they reply at all, or move along. There’s very little point in bothering with a blog that doesn’t list their review criteria but does hand out their contact details.
There are exceptions to this rule, being:
It’s a company or multi-reviewer site. This usually means they’re open to every genre, so it’s best to take the gamble.
It’s a reviewer that says they like “everything” or “a little bit of everything” or anything similar.
But, usually, if the reviewer cannot be reached and doesn’t have any contact details listed anywhere, then it’s best to move on.
Whether or not you decide to go off-platform and reach out to reviewers over social media is solely up to you, if their socials are even listed in the first place. Working for a publisher myself, I don’t have access to the company social media accounts and also don’t have any personal accounts for myself to use to reach out to these sorts of reviewers.
Step 3: Sifting Through Preferences
This step is the most tedious one of all, just because blogs are all structured differently. Some have all their information in neat bullet point lists, others have it all in a paragraph of text.
My advice is to use a spreadsheet, like me. It’s a good way to visualize a reviewer’s preferences, plus you can customize it any way you like!
When looking at review criteria, take note of the following:
Genres they review and don’t review. This is a make or break for your novel. If they don’t review the genre of your current novel, then maybe keep this place in mind for when you write something that’s more in their vein.
Whether or not they accept indie or self-published novels. Most don’t say if they do or not, so those bloggers are more of a gamble when asking for a review from if you’ve taken this specific road.
Where they post their reviews. The more places they post their reviews, the higher value that blog is to you and your book. Prioritize those that post reviews on social media alongside Amazon and their own website.
Note: UK reviewers typically have issues with posting reviews to Amazon.
What formats the reviewer accepts. There are some that are eBook or print only, some that are pre-publication only, and on and on. If there are pre-publication blogs you’d like to reach out to, make sure to take note of how long before publication they would like to hear from you.
Multiple Reviewers with Different Preferences
It can get a little daunting when it comes to multi-reviewer blogs, as seeing if one of the reviewers has what you need can lead you to three or more different links if their profiles are all separate. Don’t give up! Sometimes there’s a general “blog theme” that the reviewers typically fall under, and even a primary email instead of separate ways to contact each reviewer. Even so, just because it’s daunting doesn’t make the site any less valuable for your book. It just means that you can come back to this site time and again, so long as you continue to fall under their preferred genre umbrella.
Accepted Formats
There are a variety of different formats a reviewer may be willing to accept. This is often listed in many review policies, but not all the time. It’s best to make sure you have an eBook copy and a physical copy to provide to reviewers.
Otherwise, the formats are as follows:
Print → Paperback or hardcover books, any physical format
Digital → eBooks in the following formats (usually specified):
ePub
Mobi
Kindle
PDF
ARC → Advanced reader copies, also called galleries, for pre-publication books
Audio book → Usually post-publication books, if you have an audio version. Not as common to see but they’re out there
Mailing addresses are usually not listed on reviewer websites, and are only provided if the reviewer is interested in reviewing your book. Many that accept eBooks don’t like it when unsolicited copies are sent to them before they can even accept or deny the review request, and often delete these sorts of emails.
Remember, do not send reviewers ANYTHING until they have accepted your review request.
Avoiding Information Overload
This is the one thing that I will say does happen from time to time. I visit anywhere between 3 to 8 blogs in a day or even more if I get unlucky compiling information. It’s tough.
Collect your blogs beforehand. This will take you the most time, so it’s better to take a week or two of your time to find and document 3 good blogs every day. If you want to do more, that’s great. Personally, I find 3 to be my mental limit before I start to get lazy with my documentation process.
When you have about five or six blogs you want to email, do it all at once. It’s better if you reach out to those with similar submission requirements first - any that require book cover images, additional website links, and other extra pieces of information outside of the pitch, blurb, and genre - so that you’re not trying to fulfill five completely different requests at the same time.
And just to make sure you don’t loose track of who you’ve emails and who you’ve not, make a note next to the blogs wherever you’re keeping track of them of their status (sent → yes // no // no reply → review has been posted) as some blogs you’ll be reaching out through whatever contact form is on the website.
If there is no given time frame in the review policy or on the contact page and you don’t hear back from a reviewer in a month or two, it’s safe to assume they have turned down your review request.
Final Checklist
Let’s put this all into a neat checklist for anyone to use when it comes to finding the right reviewers for any given novel:
When was their last post? If it’s over a year old, move along.
Do they have a review policy page? If they don’t, check their “about me” page or even their “contact me” page to make sure.
Are they open for reviews? If not, keep an eye on the site to see if they open again and move along.
What genre(s) do they review? Make sure your novel fits what they’re looking for.
What format do they accept? Make sure you have both print and digital copies of your novel ready for any request.
Can they be contacted? There is usually a “contact me” page or an email provided on the “review policy” page, or even linked social media accounts elsewhere on the site. Make sure to use their preferred method of contact (usually email).
What are they looking for in your request? Take note of any special requirements outside of genre, title, blurb, pitch, and publication date. Some may require a very specific email structure in order to be considered.
I hope this helps anyone looking into reviewers for their upcoming novels. Have a good time zone!