Asking readers for reviews

[Marian Perera]

I'd like more reviews (wouldn't we all?) but I was wondering something. If someone emails you out of the blue to say hi, I read your book and it was great, would you reply thanking them and then asking or suggesting that they post this as a review on Amazon, B&N, etc?

So far I've been thanking people and letting them know that I've planned a sequel to my book. It didn't occur to me to ask anyone to post a review because I figured, that's up to the reader and they might feel pressured by such a request. But today I read a suggestion to do this (in a polite non-pressuring way, of course) so I was curious as to what other writers thought of this - and of course, how readers would feel.

Marian Perera
Flights of Fantasy

[Gareth Wilson]

To be honest with you marian, you really need the readers to do it off thier own back. By all means, collect what people have said to you and keep it on your site but they need to feel strongly enough about the title to place the review on the sites themselves.

[Marian Perera]

That makes sense to me, Gareth, though I also read this :

Soliciting Online Reviews from Customers

"If you receive a compliment from a customer, don't be afraid to ask if they would be comfortable writing about how and why they were satisfied. Many people are happy to do so - all you need to do is ask."

But I'd definitely like to get second opinions (and third and fourth ones as well) on whether it's advisable for authors to do so.

[Marian Perera]

Thanks for your reply, RYCJ! Yes, I contact reviewers too. Much easier to approach them for some reason. :)

[cheryl sherrard]

I think it doesn't hurt to bring it up . All they can do is say yes or no . I think eventually you would get a yes.
www.bookaddict4real.com

[Dream Books LLC]

I'm not sure on this one either, I would have to side with, if the customer wants too they would. If they bought it from Amazon, Amazon normally asks you to review your recently purchased books so you're covered there. Now if someone sends you a review through the email you could write them back and ask if it would be alright to quote them and then make your own review or press release using their words making sure to give credit. Just make sure you don't spin their words at all, keep things honest and upfront.

[Sniffly Kitty]

I think it might work if you asked something like "I'm glad that you loved my book. I'm planning a sequel and would love to know exactly what made you love this book and perhaps what you might not have liked (if you happen to have a review that says something to that effect, I'd love to read that)."

If they have written a review, you'll know which reviewers are fans. If they haven't written a review, they may write one because you are willing to read it. If an author I liked said they would be willing to read a review I wrote, I'd write one very quickly.

Sniffly Kitty

[ManOfLaBook.com]

Of course you should reply but not for the reasons you mentioned.
You should reply to be courteous as well as to start a dialogue and build a fan base.

You can suggest that they'll follow you on Twitter and / or Facebook. I don't see anything wrong asking for a review either, especially if they enjoyed your book. The trick is to do it in a "polite non-pressuring way" and you must remember that people don't read emails in the same tone you write them.

http://www.ManOfLaBook.com

[Leslie Wright]

I actually post to those venues as part of my reviews, I also send the links to the Author. If they are not available on them I also usually let them know. But if for some reason I missed that part of the process, I would not have a problem being asked. I think that is a great question, but I just speak for myself.
Thanks,

[Marian Perera]

That's a really nice thing for a reviewer to do - post to different venues and send the links to the author.

[Amy Henry]

I have no problem sharing a review of a favorite novel online on retailers and other booksites. I wouldn't be offended if you asked, nicely of course. Writers have to work for their exposure, and can't rely simply on publicists. If someone goes to the trouble of contacting you, I'm sure they'd be open to help you.

[Marian Perera]

You're so right about the working for exposure part. :) Thanks for replying - it was good to hear your perspective.

[Julie Christensen, Author]

I had a reader contact me and tell me she was going to write a review on Amazon when she was done with my book. I emailed her and asked if she'd mind uploading it to BN, too, which she did. I think it's also okay to ask this kind of reader if they would mind posting a review. I think a lot of people don't feel comfortable enough with their writing to do a review, but I'll bet it also just doesn't occur to lots of people. A reader who likes your book enough to contact you would probably be happy to help in any little way he or she can. Also, I recently read a book that ended with something like, If you liked this book, please post a review on Amazon. (Which I did). I thought it was a great idea and I added it to my book and re-uploaded it. Good luck with your books!