The Importance of Reviews - and Chocolate

In my last blog I talked about the expense of publicity and why, therefore, it is important to attract readers through other means. Social networking, blogging and and just being "out there" apparently helps people to know your name and have an interest in your work. A gripping, intriguing and well-written back cover blurb is vital, but personally I think you can't beat reviews and recommendations. If someone else has read the book and loved it - especially if they are someone I know and trust - then there's a good chance I'll want to read it too.

When a potential buyer is considering the book on Amazon a good review might be the difference between clicking "buy" or not. To this end, I have a proposal.

The "Chocolate and Reviews for Books" proposal

Here's how it works:

1. You, the author, email me a word document of your book (to anna [at] buttimore [dot] org [dot] uk - and include your postal address in the email).


2. I post you a bar of British or Swiss chocolate (your choice) to say "Thank you".


3. I read your book.


4. I post a review of your book on Amazon.com, Amazon.co.uk, Goodreads, Shelfari, my blog, and anywhere else you would like me to promote it.

Questions?

If I email you my book, you're not going to buy it and I will lose royalties!
Yes, that's true, but the fact is that I can't afford to buy books at the moment anyway so without this deal I wouldn't get to read your book at all. And I'm hoping that my review will mean that you sell more copies. I really love reading, and this was the only way I could think of to get access to good clean literature. The libraries here in the UK don't stock LDS books.

Why British or Swiss Chocolate?
I wanted to sweeten the deal, and British chocolate is the best in the world, with Swiss a close second. If I send you a bar of Galaxy or Milka you will love me forever. And you'll be more likely to send me your next book too. Or possibly your entire back catalogue.

Will you guarantee a glowing five-star review?
Um, unfortunately I have to be honest. But even if I hate your book I will try to focus on the parts of it I did like, or put aside my personal preferences and recognise what its strengths were. I promise to write the best review I can whilst maintaining my interity.

So... it costs me nothing?
Not a penny. You get chocolate and reviews for the time it takes to send an email. It will cost me about £3 ($5) to send you the chocolate, but that's considerably less than the £7 ($11) it would cost me to download your book or, if it's not on Kindle, the £10 ($15) plus $25 shipping. So I get to read books I can't afford to buy, and you get chocolate and reviews. Everyone wins!

I'm open for business! Send me your book!