The Happy Writer 12: Authors and Reviews

In this episode of The Happy Writer, we look at the fraught relationship many authors have with their reviews. Many of you who know me will know that I tell authors not to look at them, because you can't change them, you can't remove them or reply to them and they're not worth getting upset about. But that doesn't mean that I think they're either useless or unimportant. We look at how to get reviews, and how NOT to get them, what to look out for when someone offers a service that will get you reviews, and whether you need to pay for review services anyway. We discuss how reviews can inform you of future steps you may need to take in your writing, and what bad reviews can mean. Are one-star reviews always bad? Can they really ruin your career? We talk about review teams and review agreements. What can you do if people have agreed to review and they don't? What is a good return rate for giving out review copies anyway? What are some simple tricks for getting reviews that cost nothing? Of course there is one major ingredient that's pretty much required for all successful publishing careers. What is it? Listen to this episode. If you enjoy this show, please put some money in the tip jar at Patreon or Ko-fi. I am an author of science fiction and fantasy. You can get my books here.