The Man. The Myth. The Legend. |
Steve
asked me to write a few words about When
Pigs Fly receiving 100 Amazon reviews. How did it happen? And (Steve is too
polite to ask) so what?
It
took patience and persistence. When Pigs
Fly came out as a paperback in late 2006, and the first volley of reviews
came from close friends from my writers’ group. Just one relative posted a
review, which he only wrote because he could honestly be positive. Generally,
it’s best to leave your relatives alone. For many reasons, don’t put them on
the spot.
There
weren’t that many reviews until the $2.99 Kindle versions came out at the
beginning of 2012. KDP (Kindle Desktop Publishing) offered a great platform to
distribute my three novels widely—over 100,000 e-copies, including of course a
ton of freebies, assuming you can measure e-books by the ton.
But
It Isn’t Enough To Publish An E-book: People need to know it’s out there.
Twitter is a great tool for getting the word out about your book. The bad news
is that it takes time and effort. The good news is that it’s free and reaches
lots of potential readers. How to effectively use Twitter is a separate
subject, but learning isn’t hard.
If you’re giving away copies, tweet about it.
If you need reviews, tweet about it. Ask for honest opinions. And if you’re
asking a specific person, say by email or face to face, just ask once and move
on. Don’t nag. It’s not worth it. A friend of mine said she liked all of my
books but wouldn’t write reviews. That’s fine. Friendships trump reviews every
time.
Anyway,
you should quickly get to the point where you’re leaving your friends alone.
(Mostly.) You really, really want to hear from strangers,
people who owe you nothing, never mind four or five stars. Two of my reviews wrote
“Not worth my time” and “Big disappointment.” Another says the author must have
a lot of friends and relatives to have so many reviews for such a mediocre
book!
But My Favorite 1-star Review Said, “The best part of this book was
putting it away for good.” Comments like that just lend credibility to the many
good ones. And just so you know, 89 of the 102 reviews are at least four stars. So there, “Terrible, just terrible.”
Get
used to the fact that every book has its critics. If you get a bad review
that’s unfair, others will see it for what it is. Never let it ruin your day.
And if it’s fair, then maybe it’s feedback you need anyway.
Let's Give It Up For Bob: 100 Amazon reader reviews is an amazing milestone to reach! Congrats Bob, thanks for stopping by, and here's to another 100 reviews. You can check out Bob's blog HERE.
Steve's Science News and Other Fun Stuff: Once again I'll be at the Blogging A to Z Challenge every first and third Thursday of each month beginning September 19th! You'll want to tune in for that as we will be covering the awesome and amazing latest and greatest in physics, science, and other fields of science.
Who: On December 9, 2013 One person will be roasted via popular vote. This someone is a constant presence, is positive, possesses integrity, is involved in the online community (participating and hosting), is supportive of others and is a major force in the blogging community.
How: Once launched, each host has seven days to review comments and the selections made via their comments and pick one. We then present our selections and the co-hosts vote from that point. The recipient (Roastee) is announced at least two weeks out and folks can join a Linky ahead of their roasting posting. Details to follow!
Author Of The Week: Yolanda Renee and her recent release Murder Madness & Love. Just click on the icon at the top of my right side bar.
Ready to roast!
ReplyDeleteCongratulations to Bob. Glad none of my books have been free though.
Getting the 30+ reviews I have was a major feat. So I commend Bob on getting to 100 reviews. I enjoyed the tips and advice as asking reviews is something I need to work on :-)
ReplyDeleteCongrats to Bob! And thanks for all his advice on reviews.
ReplyDeleteLove the great advice from Bob, he's right about asking friends only once and then moving on. Family, really, really hate to be put on the spot, but Twitter, that one I'll give a try. Congratulations Bob, I have a lot of work in front of me to catch up!
ReplyDeleteThank you Stephen! Being chosen as Author of the Week is an awesome honor!
Yolanda, you are very welcome! good luck with everything!
DeleteI have to start writing more reviews. I think I owe it to a few writers as I really enjoyed their books.
ReplyDeleteI like Bob's attitude and his take of reviews. I like that he doesn't pout about 1-star reviews. Honestly, no one's ever going to like every book they read are they?
ReplyDeleteAwwwww Mr Sanchez sounds like a total sweetheart! I love his attitude and sanguine and cheerful demeanour! Awwwww - I think I've just developed a girly crush...! Off I go!
ReplyDeleteTake care
x
CONGRATS to Bob! Great milestone to reach. : )
ReplyDeleteCongrats, Bob! Twitter is effective that way. As long as you're not just Tweeting about your book of course.
ReplyDeleteWonderful having Bob here today. I'm so glad I don't have to face reviews yet. I'm still safe in my little writer bubble. :)
ReplyDeleteAnd can't wait for the fest, Stephen!
That's a great (and informative) article. I will tuck away its wisdom until that day where I experience bad reviews and cry. Then I'll remind myself, it is what it is, dry my tears and learn from them.
ReplyDeleteNo, you can't let a bad review ruin your day. Reviews are subjective and from the reviewers take on what they've read. Some are going to like your story others won't but that's the way it is. As a writer, hearing something negative about the words you poured your heart into, is never easy to swallow because we do take it personal and that's because it was written from our personal cache of emotions. But having good crit partners or beta readers should prepare us for that.
ReplyDeleteI like your point about using bits of the good reviews. Smart.
Sia McKye Over Coffee
Congratulations to Bob! This book sounds like a fun read, I need to check it out and possibly add to those reviews.
ReplyDeleteCongratulations Bob! 100 reviews is pretty impressive.
ReplyDeleteLee
Wrote By Rote
Great article, Bob-- I like the balance you give those 1-star reviews. I read a lot of rants about one-stars but your perspective is good: It gives the other reviews more credibility.
ReplyDeleteAnd wooot woooot to Yolanda!
I love Yolanda's cover art. A spider invokes fear yet is fascinating at the same time. A great way to get potential buyers to pick up the book and check it out. Good luck Yolanda!
ReplyDeleteOh, I've read When Pigs Fly and enjoyed it immensely.
ReplyDeleteJust stopped by Bob's blog for the first time - and I'm an instant follower - so THANKS for the heads up about him and his 100+ reviews:)
ReplyDeletePS: My Roastee vote is for Julie Luek - she of the awesome saucefulness :)
zzz... Huh? Oh, hello. Rip van Winkle here, just noticing Steve's post has been up for two days while I've been sleeping. Thanks for hosting me, Steve. And I appreciate people's good comments. Diane Wolfe makes an important point: On Twitter, don't just push your own books. Tweet for other writers. Tweet on other subjects as well.
ReplyDeleteCongratulations to Yolanda, and best of luck with Murder, Madness and Love. Great title! I can see how those three things can go together.
Way to go with 100 (102) reviews. I'm glad others are starting to chime in. After I wrote seventy-two individual reviews for your book, my fingers were getting tired. I'll be in New Mexico, and I expect to get those twelve boxes of Lil' Debbie's you promised me for that effort. Twitter--Yeah, I might have to ramp up on that, but you know, I think the best way to get a lot of reviews is to write a damn good book. It's nice that you started with that concept first. Makes everything else a bit easier to deal with. Okay, back to the salt mines while you roll around on the floor with copies of those electronic reviews tickling your belly and sticking to you like well-deserved glitter on a Vegas showgirl.
ReplyDeleteRick, it's three days later, and I'm still thinking about sticking the glitter back on that Vegas showgirl.
DeleteThis comment has been removed by the author.
ReplyDeleteWay to go, Bob. I guess I'll have tweet more. Peter.
ReplyDelete
ReplyDeleteBob SanchezSeptember 10, 2013 at 12:36 PM
Rick, I can't thank you enough for those 72 reviews. That means I only had to write 30. Shame about Lil' Debbie, though. That restraining order keeps you at least a hundred yards away from her. I'll get you some Devil Dogs instead. More appropriate, wouldn't you say?
Congrats Bob! That's awesome news.... Keep it up!
ReplyDeleteGotta love Bob's sense of humor!
ReplyDeleteBob, you're an example--and an inspiration--to us all. Congratulations on 100 reviews! Thanks for the great post, the great tips, and thanks to Stephen for making it all happen.
ReplyDeleteYes, Guilie, Steve is one of the good guys.
ReplyDeleteThank you, Bob. I like your practical, sane approach to Amazon reviews. --And just when I was thinking about closing my Twitter account.
ReplyDeleteThanks Bob for stopping by and telling us your story! Now I'm inspired to write a few reviews this week for the books I finished this summer.
ReplyDeleteEl Sanchez is full of good advice, I know this from personal experience. Good stuff Bob!
ReplyDelete