212 pages
Publishing and Books/Writing Reference/Writing Skills Reference.

Subtitled ‘An Author’s Guide to Getting and Using Book Reviews’, this is manual designed to do what the title suggests. Unfortunately, in common with a number of other books offering similar advice, it has little new to say about fiction, concentrating mainly on nonfiction. This isn’t a fault of the book; it’s an issue with the marketplace. I was hoping I might find something new here, but I’ve come to the conclusion there is no more to be said on the subject of promoting fiction through reviews.

The process is time-consuming, frequently ineffective, and can be expensive.

For those who write nonfiction, there is a good deal to be found here, some of it new.

The advice given for fiction writers is exactly what I’ve come across in other books on the topic, so I’ll waste no more time on new titles on the subject. Having tried most of the advised routes, I understand I lack the dedication to promotion, the necessary concentration on selling, and the generous funds needed to make these things work for my novels.

If you write nonfiction, and I suspect you wouldn’t be interested unless you are a writer of some sort, you’ll find useful information here, hence the start rating.

[Any review is a personal opinion. No reviewer can represent the view of anyone else. The best we can manage is an honest reaction to any given book.]