How to Use Your Book Review After You Get It

Most authors spend all their energy getting the review. Then they don’t know what to do with it.

That’s backwards. The review is the beginning of the work, not the end.

Amazon is the most important placement. A review from a named, credible outlet in your editorial review section outperforms star ratings in one specific way: it signals professional validation to the reader who’s on the fence. Star counts tell you what other readers thought. An editorial review tells you that a professional found this book worth covering.

The process for adding a review to your Amazon listing lives in Author Central and is simpler than most authors expect. The step-by-step is at getmybookreviewed.com/how-to-add-book-review-to-amazon-listing. Many authors don’t realize it’s possible, or that it carries the weight it does on the product page.

Press kit. Author bio page. Query letter for the next book. Back cover of the next printing. Email newsletters. The review works in all of them.

A single professional review, placed correctly, pays for itself across the full life of the book.

Fast verdict in the first sentence (you need something quotable). Enough word count to give you marketing material. Publication on a domain with real search authority. Full permission to quote freely without licensing fees.

Manhattan Book Review is part of the City Book Review network, which covers 9 cities and has published over 70,000 reviews since 2008. Submit at manhattanbookreview.com.

Get the review. Put it everywhere. Let it work.