Authors, you can use book reviews to build credibility and buzz about your book BEFORE IT IS PUBLISHED.

Here’s how:

1- Identify reviewers who read in your genre. (In other words, if you write mysteries, target people who read mysteries—or, better yet, other mystery authors who are willing to review your book for you.)

2- Offer to review their work, in exchange for their review of yours. (If they are not an author, offer them a free, signed copy of yours AND let them know their review will be published on the back cover of your book or inside page following the title page).

3- If you don’t have contacts of your own, you can use platforms, such as BookSirens or Net Galley, but they require a fee and the sending of free copies to their reviewers.

On those platforms, you are able to read reviews written in the past, and choose one or more reviewers (based on what kind of job you think they did) to review your book.

**Stay tuned. More information in next week’s blog.