What Reviewers Want [Kindle Edition]

D.L. Graham (Author)

Book Description

What Reviewers Want: Get Inside One Reviewer's Mind is written by D.L. Graham, a reviewer as well as self-published author. This booklet offers  help to those who venture into self-publishing to make informed decisions, including how to spend your money wisely while producing a quality digital book, without going broke.

Written in a helpful, yet informal manner, "What Reviewers Want," dispenses advice on book covers, editing and much more. Includes links to helpful people and websites which can help you in your self-publishing quest. This is a writing skills guide/reference.

These are important things that reviewers are looking at when reviewing your book, yet there is more.  This book will strive to help you learn what will help you get your book reviewed.

Editorial Reviews

Review

I think this book will lead you in the right direction and will save you from many costly 

mistakes. This is one book I wish I'd written myself. 

As a reviewer I believe the advice is invaluable. ~The Rebecca Review~

Dealing with a lot of straight-forward ideas like attaching a cover to your

 book, editing your book properly, utilizing tools and focus groups to get the kinks out, 

It goes over a lot of basics that many self-publishers seem to forget in the age of kindle. 

~TastyBabySyndrome/Amazon Review~

From the Author

This ebook will be updated periodically to add new information.

See all Editorial Reviews

Product Details

• File Size: 178 KB
• Print Length: 27 pages
• Simultaneous Device Usage: Unlimited
• Publisher: Twisted Rose Publishing; 2 edition (October 9, 2011)
• Sold by: Amazon Digital Services, Inc.
• Language: English
• ASIN: B005U8GS9E
• Text-to-Speech: Enabled
• X-Ray: Not Enabled
• Lending: Enabled
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #985,744 Paid in Kindle Store (See Top 100 Paid in Kindle Store)

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

3 of 3 people found the following review helpful

5.0 out of 5 stars Fast, easy and filled with basics you would want to at least scan March 2, 2012

By TorridlyBoredShopper TOP 1000 REVIEWERVINE™ VOICE

Format:Kindle Edition

Logging in at 25 pages, it wouldn't seem like this would be filled with helpful information. The book really is. Dealing with a lot of straight-forward ideas like attaching a cover to your book, editing your book properly, utilizing tools and focus groups to get the kinks out, it goes over a lot of basics that many self-publishers seem to forget in the age of Kindle.

Considering the cost of the read and the fact that this might actually help get your book out there, it cannot be a bad thing. It took me a whole 5 minutes to look over to see if I wanted to check it out, then a few more to look into it in-depth. That certainly can't hurt, especially considering just how much time and energy is invested in creating and trying to get something to the public. If you don't want anything else, check out the links inside because they might just lead you to someone design you want to use or a tool you might want to try out.

5 of 6 people found the following review helpful

5.0 out of 5 stars Good Advice for New Authors March 1, 2012

By Rebecca of Amazon HALL OF FAMETOP 100 REVIEWERVINE™ VOICE

Format:Kindle Edition|Amazon Verified Purchase

"What Reviewers Want" is an excellent guide for new authors who want to make a good first impression and want to promote themselves in an honest way. This book explains mistakes self-published authors make and how not to make them yourself.

I totally agree with the author about making sure you have a good cover for your book. So often the quality of the book seems to be the same as the quality of the cover. I find this especially true with poetry books. As the author explains, this doesn't have to cost you a lot. I personally made covers for my books by taking pictures with my husband's cell phone. Authors do what they have to do!

D. L. Graham also explains why editing is very necessary. The quickest way to get a two-star review is to not edit your book. If you want five-star reviews you may also want to consider beta readers. There are some websites mentioned at the end of this book that will help you find one.

Some other things discussed in this book include information on how to follow a reviewer's guidelines and what to do if you get a negative review. Last but not least the author explains why you should never review your own book. I think this book will lead you in the right direction and will save you from many costly mistakes. This is one book I wish I'd written myself. As a reviewer I believe the advice is invaluable.

~The Rebecca Review

1 of 1 people found the following review helpful

4.0 out of 5 stars Book Reviewer Shares Secrets August 31, 2012

By Janette Fuller

Format:Kindle Edition|Amazon Verified Purchase

This booklet gives some good advice to authors who are seeking reviews for their self-published book.

There are several things this book reviewer advises a self-published author to consider before publishing their ebook. Good editing is at the top of the list of requirements for a quality product that will attract reviewers and readers. Grammatical errors, typos and poor writing style is a big turn-off to any reader and should be avoided like the plague. This might seem like common sense but it is a fairly common problem in self-published books.

There is really only one chapter in this booklet about how to get a reviewer to read your book. I would like to see more information about choosing reviewers, writing query letters and communicating with the reviewer. There are many resources available that deal with good writing, editing, etc., but few books advise authors on how to work with book reviewers and get the kind of reviews that will persuade others to read the book.

As a book reviewer, I enjoyed reading this booklet and I agree with everything that was written. I just wish the author had gone a little deeper into the subject of how to get reviewers to read your book.

3 of 5 people found the following review helpful

4.0 out of 5 stars Useful advice, despite technical problems April 8, 2012

By Mark J. Welch

Format:Kindle Edition|Amazon Verified Purchase

This is a very useful, helpful resource for authors hoping to get their books reviewed favorably. Oddly, the author appears to have ignored much of his own advice when publishing this book: it's riddled with silly typos, plus a surprising numer of grammatical errors. This will likely lead many folks to stop reading or to devalue the advice given, which is unfortunate because the advice is mostly good. (I'm quite surprised to see that other reviewers who've lavished praise on this book haven't even mentioned this; such a glaring omission casts doubt on the legitimacy of those reviews.)

Over the past 30 years, I've written hundreds of reviews (mostly of books, computer software & hardware, and office products), most published in newspapers and magazines (who paid me for my work). A good reviewer, in my opinion, looks past superficial problems (like the typographical and grammatical errors in this book) to focus instead on how the product serves it intended audience, for its specific purpose.

Here, the author has identified a very specific list of obstacles to getting positive reviews of a book, including factors that affect the book's marketability (having an appropriate cover, as the first example)as well as factors that affect a reader's experience (including character, plot, and pacing, as well as "mechanics" like spelling, punctuation, and grammar).

This short eBook is written in a somewhat conversational style, based on the personal experience of the author, who has worked both as a writer seeking good reviews for his work and as a reviewer.... The book's brief length seems appropriate for its intended audience, though I certainly can think of many more ideas and especially examples that would be helpful but would probably prevent most readers from reading the entire work.

This is a great free resource. [Update: I see that it's no longer free, but it's certainly worth 99 cents for a first-time author.] Read more ›