getting a YA novel book reviewed

[Mark Herden]

I have written a YA novel called Newshawk in which a boy helps his crazy uncle who runs a detective agency solve crimes.  I need to have the book reviewed through Barnes and Noble and Amazon.  I would like to know who would be willing to do this and how I would get them a free copy.

[Alison M.]

You can find YA book bloggers here  and here. Many of them are willing to review books for authors. Make sure to look at their review policy before sending a request.

If you need more help, take a look at this article. I outline how I would find a blogger/reviewer if I needed one.

Good luck!

[Mark Herden]

Thank you very much.

[Christine Amsden]

Do you have a web site? If not, you really, really, really need one before you do any other promotion. A web site is a mark of professionalism, and it is your public face on the web. I highly recommend having your latest release prominently displayed on your front page, along with a summary, a link to the first chapter, and purchasing information. (My own review policy is that I won't accept review requests without a web site, and I insist on seeing the first chapter of a book before I make a decision about the rest.)

After that...it takes a lot of work. A LOT of work. I have two published novels now, and with each one, I've learned a bit more. I've got a whole series coming out next year (one at a time), and even though the release date isn't until February, I'm putting together a list of bloggers now. Every time I see one that looks interesting, or that might be into my stuff, I put it on a list. When I get ARCs in, sometime late in the fall, I will already have the contact list read. Why? Because reviewers like to read pre-publication material It makes them feel good to be the first ones to get to read something, and to register one of the first opinions.

[Mark Herden]

Thank you very much for the information.  I imagine that I'd have to hire someone to make me a web professional-looking site.

[Alison M.]

You can turn a Wordpress.com blog into a site pretty easily (Use the Pages feature). It wouldn't be too hard to make it clean and professional looking.

[Carol A. Spradling]

Hi Mark,

Weebly.com is a good place to create a website.  It is very professional looking, user friendly, and FREE.  Your book sounds very interesting.  I can imagine the fun these two characters will have while running this agency.  Best of luck to you with both endeavors.  I'm heading over to Amazon now to take a look at your book.

Carol

[Mark Herden]

Thanks for your interest and help.  I'm not really a computer guy, but at least to some extent I'm going to have to become one.  It may very well be more enjoyable that I think it will be.  Oh, let me know what you think of the free sample pages of my YA book Newshawk.

[Christine Amsden]

I do wordpress, like Alison suggested -- you will have to spend some time learning it, but once you get over that learning curve, it's easy to maintain.