Interview with Steve Weber, Author of “Plug Your Book”

 

One of the emails we received after last month's issue was a request for information about obtaining credible reviews for self-published books in the mainstream media. Enter Steve Weber, the author of  "Plug Your Book!" which teaches authors how to promote themselves using Internet social networking. We interviewed him about getting your book reviewed on Amazon.com and how that can actually help your career as much as a print review could. This is the first in a series of interviews about book reviews.

 

Do you believe that sites such as Amazon.com that feature customer reviews are as credible as print reviews by professional reviewers?

 

No, they don't have the same degree of credibility as print reviews by professional reviewers, but the online reviews can have more impact on book sales than print reviews. Readers are relying more on online reviews for several reasons. For one thing, newspapers are devoting less space to book reviews, while newspaper readership is in decline. At the same time, the market share of online booksellers like Amazon is increasing and, presumably, readership and impact of their customer book reviews.

Do you believe authors will get more publicity from a good review on a site like Amazon.com or from a good review in a place like the New York Times?

 

The Times' book review section reviews only a tiny sliver of the most notable books. Because of space restrictions, it must exclude whole categories of books, meaning that most books never have a chance of being reviewed. In addition, The Times has a policy of not reviewing self-published books, no matter what the quality or popularity of the book might be, which excludes another publishing vehicle increasingly used by new writers.

So, I agree that a Times review would award more prestige, but I'd argue that a pattern of favorable customer reviews on Amazon would tend to support book sales. Also, online reviews are preserved (they're usually displayed for many years), while newspaper and magazine reviews are usually discarded after a short while.

 

Could you expand upon why you think positive amateur reviews are so necessary for selling a book?

 

By scanning several "amateur" book reviews, book buyers can get a quick idea of whether the book is one they'd like to read. This is the kind of information online book buyers are really looking for when making their purchasing decision -- something that often isn't apparent from a "professional" book review.
 

As newspaper readership goes down, do you think there will be a time when amateur reviews will take over professional reviews?

 

I think there will be more of a fuzzy line between the "gatekeepers" of old (these are the people who publish print book reviews) -- and the online reviewers who have a bigger impact. For example, Amazon has "Top Reviewers" whose reviews are displayed more prominently based on voting results from other Amazon customers. Also, there are many literary social networks -- such as LibraryThing.com, GoodReads.com, Shelfari.com where amateur book reviewer can build a following nowadays.
So, I think there will always be a class of reviewers who have more impact and credibility based on the quality of their analysis and reviewing, whether they're online or offline.

Do you think that books published solely in an electronic format will only be reviewed online by peers or will eBooks eventually be reviewed by big name reviewers? When do you think this shift will happen?

 

Just as there's a prejudice against self-published work, I think there is still a prejudice in the reviewing community against e-books (or, more specifically, books that are published only in an electronic format). So, I think it will be many years before influential, independent reviewers would consider reviewing a publication available only in e-book format.
Part of their reasoning for excluding e-books from consideration (which I tend to agree with) is that e-books are still used by just a tiny percentage of the reading public. Traditionally, this has also been one of the main reasons that self-published work was never prominently reviewed -- because an author supposedly couldn't reach that many readers without a traditional publisher and distributor.

Are there other credible sites like Amazon you would recommend authors try to get their book reviewed by?

 

The social networks mentioned previously can provide great exposure. Also, LibraryThing and Goodreads have programs where authors can distribute complimentary review copies of their books (hard copies or e-books). The resulting reviews, or summaries of them, can eventually appear not only on these sites, but on blogs and shopping sites, including Amazon.

 

Do you have any other important advice for authors looking to get their work reviewed?

 

In addition to the online review opportunities mentioned previously, authors should definitely try for all the big, traditional prepublication review outlets, like Library Journal, Publishers Weekly, and the remaining newspaper reviews. Also, authors should be very cautious about paying for book reviews because they're usually a waste of time and money. Book buyers rarely consult these types of reviews when making their buying decisions.