Wow, so the past few months have been busier than I could have imagined with school, work, and not to mention working on my next novel as well as continuing the marketing process for my first novel. So in this blog I want to continue talking about the independent publishing route. In the past few blogs I’ve talked about how the publishing process works and how it’s not simple but takes dedication and time.  So, now, either after the book is published or the publishing process is beginning to finalize, what happens next?

Well reviews are one thing that an author, newly published/debut or experienced, needs regardless. The book needs positive reviews to help boost sales and to create buzz. Now sometimes negative reviews can do the same kind of like when someone says ‘don’t look over there’ and suddenly you want to look and analyze everything just to see what the person saw that they didn’t want you to see. When a reviewer says something negative it can sometimes have the same effect, however, a positive review is what any author is shooting for.

Now, how do you get a five star or even a four star review? Well that I can’t really answer. Being new to the published world I’m not exactly sure how a reviewer reviews a book except that most reviews are mostly the reviewer’s personal opinion to a point. People who read your book are going to have their own ideas about how you wrote it, the characters, the ending, ex cetera. So it’s only natural that a reviewer will have some opinion on the book they are reading.

So, how to find a reviewer? Finding people that will review your novel isn’t too hard, but it is somewhat of a process. You’ll find reviewers that you will send an email to or contact about reviewing your book and then wait for their response. When and if they respond then they will ask questions or let you know whether or not they will/can or won’t/can’t review your book. Some reviewers are so far out that you may have to wait a while. Others won’t even respond due to the fact that they get so many submissions for reviews that they can’t respond to everyone. Now, believe me I know waiting is hard, but eventually you’ll get some reviews.

However, before you even get reviews you need to choose who you want to review your book. Choosing a reviewer, that’s entirely up to you and who you want to review your book, but pick a few. There are people who will review the book for free and just accept a copy of your book or manuscript as payment, while others accept payment for reviews. There is some controversy over paying for reviews because some believe that if you pay for a review then they have to give you a good review. However, it is completely up to you the author on whether or not one should have only free reviews, paid reviews, or perhaps a few of both.

After you have gotten a few reviews you will then know how some people will view your book, but don’t worry if they are negative or low reviews. There are many more people out there willing to review your book or manuscript and just remember a review is a critique with a little opinion thrown in.