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Audiobook Reviews
Children’s Book Reviews
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Receive a $100 discount off CAC26 registration, The Chanticleer Authors Conference package that will take place in beautiful Bellingham, WA April 16-19, 2026.
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When it comes to selling books, getting noticed can be just as challenging as writing the manuscript itself. Readers can look at the blurb on the back of the cover or check the customer reviews online, but how can they know the quality of the writing and whether or not they’ll be carried away with story?
That’s the job of a professional Editorial Review!
Editorial reviews are professional critiques, often written by industry experts, literary critics, or reputable publications. They offer an authoritative voice that authors can use to help shape a book’s reputation before it ever reaches the bookshelves.
Chanticleer Book Reviews loves helping authors get their books noticed by providing professionally written Editorial Reviews they can use across all their marketing channels, both traditional and digital! In this blog post, we’ll explore what editorial reviews are, why they matter, and how authors can strategically use them to boost credibility, attract readers, and enhance their book’s visibility in a crowded market.
What is an Editorial Review?
Customer reviews are great at relaying the emotional response casual readers experience when reading your book, but there’s little professional control and almost zero authorial control in what the content of those reviews are. Reader Reviews tend to quite brief, and often only touch lightly on themes and events in a book. Plus, there’s no guarantee that this reader is a good fit for the book as a whole.
Editorial Reviews, on the other hand, are written by professional literary experts and provide insights into the quality of writing as well as the emotional impact these expert reviewers experienced when reading. Unlike customer reviews, Editorial Reviews are unbiased, polished assessments that focus on story elements, such as the quality of writing, originality, structure, and the overall impact provided by the narrative. From the craft of storytelling to the story itself, Editorial Reviews give readers a peek inside the reading experience to let readers know what to expect.
Why an Editorial Review Matters
Professional editorial reviews act as endorsements of your work. They take a deeper dive into the book, evaluating its bones and providing a sense of credibility and authority. That expert vetting can have a great influence on book sales and visibility for a new novel among booksellers and librarians (who often rely on reviews for purchasing decisions), literary prize committees, and readers who seek trusted recommendations when looking for their next book. Editorial Reviews help readers sift through the overwhelming number of books published every year, highlighting books with strong literary merit, originality, or cultural relevance and guiding readers toward quality content.
In short, Editorial Book Reviews function as a bridge between authors, publishers, and discerning readers, which plays a crucial role in shaping the success, reputation, and cultural impact of a book.
What to Expect from an Editorial Review
Being reviewed by a reputable book review company, such as Chanticleer Book Reviews, is key to capturing the interest of readers through effective book marketing. Each company’s review process is different. This is ours—
Clear Timeline: 6-9 weeks for standard reviews, 3-5 weeks for expedited service
Human Expertise: All reviews are read and written by professional reviewers whose other work you can view on our website
Marketing Focus: We edit each review to ensure at least 3 blurbable lines and optimize for SEO impact
Author Control: All paid reviews require your approval; we respect that no one knows your work better than you do
Throughout the process, we stay in touch with the author, letting you know when your review has begun and working with you to refine it when it’s finished. We know Editorial Reviews are meant to work as a marketing tool to introduce your story to readers, and that’s why it is important to us that we offer authors and publishers the first look at their reviews to check for any comments, edits, or corrections that are needed to get it ready for their marketing.
How You can Use an Editorial Review
To use your Editorial Review as a marketing tool look for all the ways, online and in-person, where you are presenting your book. Add a quote from the review to your book’s cover or an inside page, place it in a press release, ads, and promotional materials.
I’ve used quotes from my review in tabletop signs at book fairs and readings at libraries alongside the blurb. I’ve also used blurbs on my website, in newsletters, and on social media in memes and messages. I’ve even seen them in video trailers! – Dena
Reviews can also be part of an introductory email to bookstores and libraries, or if you are looking for an agent or publisher, an Editorial Review can provide them with a solid recommendation they can believe in. Some of our authors have purchased a review prior to their book being published for this very reason!
When it comes to your selling sites, like Amazon, quotes from your Editorial Review can be pasted right on your book’s selling page where the customer can read an expert’s opinion alongside the customer reviews. Amazon (and Goodreads, which is owned by Amazon) are great places to post quotes from the review. In fact, don’t miss out on posting your review on these pages, as Amazon is the world’s busiest purchasing website for books, and Goodreads is specifically dedicated to readers.
NOTE: A few years ago, Amazon changed its policy to limit access to selling pages to only the author. This move was prompted by the need to prevent fraud and keep control in the hands of the authors. It is Amazon’s policy not ours –even though Amazon ranked us highly and gave us special recognition.
But there IS something that only you can do—
Post a blurb from the review in the Editorial Reviews section on your book’s Amazon page!
How to post an Editorial Review to Amazon
To add an Editorial Review to your book’s Amazon selling page you must first create an Amazon Author Central account. This is the portal to your selling page to add, edit, or delete the content, all in the hopes of creating a more engaging experience for shoppers who visit your page.
If you don’t have an Amazon Author Central account, here’s the link to get you started:
The welcome page should look like this. Click on “Books” to get started (circled in red):
2. Your books will pop up and you can add as many books as you like.
3. Click on the book you want to add the Editorial Review for and you’ll next see a page that looks like this:
4. Press the “Add review” button and you’ll be able to place your editorial review, or a quote from your editorial review, into the data box, just like this:
5. Press “Preview” to make sure it looks professional, then press “Submit” to make the review go live on Amazon! You can add one review or more, we suggest adding 4 or five reviews that when combined will provide a well-rounded comment on your book. After you press “Submit” you’ll see a “Success!” message pop up on your screen that will tell you it can take 3-5 days for the review to publish, but I’ve seen the turnaround be much faster than that.
A Few Insiders Tips
For a professional look, do not post the entire review. A well-selected blurb will do nicely. Using different blurbs on different marketing pieces, your selling pages, your website, in posters, etc., will give readers considering your book a broader view of the quality and experience they’ll have when reading your book, and it will also make the blurbs fresh and enticing!
Be sure to use ellipses when using a quote from the review.
Always give attribution! We prefer “Chanticleer Book Reviews” for our Editorial Reviews.
Editorial Reviews are powerful tools that help authors show their work has been vetted by professionals. They help build trust with readers, retailers, and the industry, and can be the final decision maker when readers are at the check stand online or at their favorite corner bookstore!
We hope this quick tutorial helps you get the most out of your Chanticleer Book Review, on Amazon and across all your marketing channels!
Ready for Your Marketing Breakthrough?
Limited Time: Final Summer Push for Autumn Marketing Success!
Get your book professionally reviewed and ready for fall marketing season with our Labor Day Review Sale:
Don’t miss this opportunity to get the professional credibility your book deserves before the busy autumn reading season. Our reviews provide the marketing ammunition you need to succeed on Amazon and beyond! Complete with SEO optimization, multiple quotable lines, and the expert validation that turns browsers into buyers.
Transform your book marketing with professional Editorial Reviews that work as hard as you do. For one week only, save big on the industry credibility that turns browsers into buyers.
The Chanticleer Editorial Reviews Difference
We know the best when we see them!
Robust SEO Package That Keeps Working
Your review doesn’t just get published and forgotten. Each Chanticleer Editorial Review comes with our comprehensive All-In-One SEO (AIOSEO) package that maximizes your book’s digital footprint across Google, Bing, and other search engines. When algorithms change, we update your review to maintain high rankings, ensuring long-term marketing value that compounds over time.
Human Expertise in Your Genre
Every review is read and written by a professional reviewer who specializes in your target audience. No AI shortcuts – just expert analysis from someone who understands what makes your genre tick.
Marketing-Ready Content
We craft each review to provide at least three quotable lines you can use across all your marketing channels. From Amazon Author Central to book covers to social media, you’ll have professional endorsements ready to deploy wherever you need credibility.
Complete Marketing Package Included
Every Editorial Review comes with:
Mini-Marketing Kit featuring shelf-talkers and eye-catching silver-foil book stickers
Social media promotion across our channels with strong engagement rates
Newsletter promotion to our subscriber base
Direct links to Amazon, independent bookstores, and your author website
Author approval process for you to have final say before publication
The Review Itself:
450 words of professional analysis for full-length books
6-9 weeks standard turnaround (3-5 weeks expedited available)
Triple the engagement of our competitors on social media
Years of ongoing SEO value as we maintain and update your review’s search rankings
Thank you for this superb review! I am very pleased with it as it captures both the complexity of the battle and the human emotions and cost. I will leverage it in all my social media, with props to Chanticleer!
This review has found me humbled and speechless. I have no corrections, please publish as is. I will include it on my book’s website in the Reviews section. I’m honored and truly appreciate this magnificent review.
Thanks for your insightful review of my book, Minnesota Poems from the Outposts. I really enjoyed reading all your comments, which highlighted perceptions that I’d not entirely assembled in my own mind.
Unlike one-and-done review services, Chanticleer Editorial Reviews become permanent marketing assets. We continue promoting selected reviews through blog posts, social media features, and newsletter highlights, ensuring your investment keeps paying dividends.
Ready to Elevate Your Book Marketing?
Professional recognition provides the third-party validation that turns curious browsers into confident buyers. In a crowded marketplace, editorial credibility makes the difference between getting noticed and getting overlooked.
Your book deserves professional marketing tools that match the quality of your writing. This week only, get them at our lowest prices of the year.
In the competitive world of publishing, making your book visible to potential readers is one of the most significant challenges authors face. You’ve invested countless hours crafting your story, revising your manuscript, and perfecting your cover design—but how do you ensure your book catches a reader’s eye when it’s competing with dozens of other titles on a bookstore shelf?
Enter shelf talkers: powerful and often underutilized marketing tools that can dramatically increase your book’s discoverability and sales potential in physical retail spaces.
What Are Shelf Talkers and Why Do You Need Them?
Shelf talkers are small, eye-catching displays placed on or near bookshelves that provide quick, persuasive information about a specific title. These attention-grabbing prompts create a direct connection with potential readers at the critical moment of browsing.
You’ve certainly seen them during your own bookstore visits—those small cards beneath select books featuring staff recommendations, award mentions, or compelling quotes. What you might not have realized is how significantly these modest marketing pieces influence purchasing decisions.
The truth is, shelf talkers work because they:
Break through the visual noise of a crowded bookshelf, drawing eyes directly to your title
Provide instant credibility through third-party validation (reviews, awards, recommendations)
Create a personal connection between your book and potential readers
Trigger curiosity that leads browsers to pick up your book—the crucial first step toward a sale
Here’s the good news: When you work with Chanticleer for an Editorial Review, we create professional shelf talkers for you as part of our service! That’s right—you don’t have to design them yourself or wonder what information to include. Our team of publishing professionals handles this essential marketing tool for you.
The Chanticleer Mini-Marketing Kit: Your Competitive Edge
At Chanticleer, we understand that earning a spot on bookstore shelves is just the beginning of your marketing journey. That’s why we’ve developed our comprehensive Mini-Marketing Kit as a bonus add-on to all Editorial Book Reviews that includes:
Professional shelf talkers featuring compelling excerpts from your Editorial Review
Eye-catching foil stickers to display your Chanticleer recognition directly on your book cover
A printed copy of your complete Editorial Review on official Chanticleer letterhead
This ready-to-use marketing package does more than just help your book stand out—it signals to bookstore owners and managers that you’re a professional author who understands the business of bookselling. By providing these materials, you’re demonstrating that you’re invested not just in your own success, but in helping retailers succeed with your book as well.
When approaching independent bookstores or libraries about carrying your title, including these professionally prepared marketing materials can make the difference between a polite rejection and an enthusiastic placement in their inventory.
Effective Shelf Talker Strategies That Drive Sales
The most effective shelf talkers leverage specific elements that motivate readers to pick up your book:
Award Recognition: Shelf talkers featuring Chanticleer Int’l Book Awards finalist or winner status immediately elevate your book’s perceived value. Readers are naturally drawn to titles that have received recognition from respected literary organizations.
Editorial Validation: A compelling quote from your Chanticleer Editorial Review provides instant credibility. When browsers see professional, thoughtful commentary about your work, it reduces the perceived risk of trying a new author.
Genre-Specific Appeal: Our shelf talkers are crafted to highlight aspects of your book that will resonate most strongly with your target audience, whether it’s the atmospheric tension in your thriller or the authentic historical details in your period romance.
Bookstore owners know these tactics work. That’s why prominent display areas like staff picks sections feature shelf talkers prominently. Below we have a photo of Chanticleer’s own Dena Weigel’s husband standing proudly beside his new release in the Featured Author section at Village Books. Notice how each displayed title has its very own custom shelf talkers that catch browsers’ attention and drive sales, just like a staff pick shelf!
Take Your Book Marketing to the Next Level with Chanticleer
In today’s crowded publishing landscape, professional marketing support can make all the difference in your book’s commercial success. When you invest in a Chanticleer Editorial Review, you’re not just getting an insightful analysis of your work—you’re acquiring powerful marketing tools designed specifically to increase your book’s visibility and sales potential.
You can read more about different reviews here, but in a nutshell our Editorial Book Reviews provide:
In-depth, professional assessment of your work
Compelling quotes perfect for book covers, websites, and promotional materials
SEO-optimized online presence that improves your discoverability
Complimentary shelf talkers and marketing materials ready for immediate use
Did you know? From Finalists and First Place Winners can request mini-marketing kits specific to their achievement in the CIBAs as part of the recognition for their own incredible achievement. Email info@chantireviews.com to learn more!
Don’t let your book get lost among thousands of titles competing for readers’ attention. Give it the professional marketing support it deserves with Chanticleer’s Editorial Reviews and custom shelf talkers.
Chanticleer Editorial Services – Taking Your Writing to the Next Level
Ready to ensure your manuscript is at its absolute best before publication? Chanticleer’s professional editing services can help polish your work and prepare it for the marketplace.
Our team of professional editors has worked with top publishing houses including TOR, MacMillan, Thomas Mercer, Penguin Random House, Simon & Schuster, and more. They bring their expertise in the Chicago Manual of Style and years of industry experience to help your manuscript shine.
A great place to start is with our manuscript evaluation service, which gives you a comprehensive overview of your work’s strengths and areas for improvement. This bird’s-eye view can significantly shorten the time needed for developmental and line editing, saving you both time and money.
Chanticleer’s ONLY cyber sale of the year is here!
With discounts on the Chanticleer Authors Conference and all of our Editorial Book Reviews, the time has never been better to launch your marketing journey for 2025!
We can’t save the turkey, but we can save you $$$ on our Authors Conference and more!
This is your chance to unlock incredible savings and set your author journey on the path to success! Our annual CYBER Sale is the biggest discount event of the year! It’s live NOW through Cyber Monday (December 2nd). Let’s dive in!
“This looks like a good place to start!”
Here’s what you can save on:
The Chanticleer Authors Conference (CAC25)
Save $100 off CAC25 Registration with the code: CAC25TRZRFH4X
Join us April 3-6, 2025, at the beautiful Bellingham Yacht Club! Conference seating is limited, so don’t wait!
You’ll learn from industry professionals across sessions on:
These Discount Codes for the Conference and all our Editorial Book Reviews are Valid from now through the end of Monday, December 2nd, 2024!
You don’t want to miss out on these one-time-only discounts! Whether you’re an established author or just starting, Chanticleer’s service help elevate and vet your work for outside audiences. From the Editorial Reviews to the life-changing Conference experience, you don’t want to miss out!
Need assistance?
We’re here to help! If you have any questions, please connect with us at info@ChantiReviews.com. Our team is standing by and ready to assist you.
From all of us here at Chanticleer, we wish you and yours a wonderful and safe Thanksgiving! We’re thankful for you, our amazing Chanticleer family. Keep writing, and we’ll see you soon!
Kiffer, David, Anya, Scott, Dena, Argus, and the entire Chanticleer Team!
This year we celebrate the 125th anniversary of the birth of one of America’s most important authors, Ernest Hemingway.
Born on July 21, 1899 in Oak Park, Illinois, the influential American literary icon changed the style of novel writing by creating prose that was straightforward and concise, while not sacrificing the emotional impact and lyrical prose. Hemingway wrote about important and timely topics, such as war and the bloody sport of bullfighting, in an accessible way without losing the underlying meaning or sacrificing the emotional reaction he strove to activate in his readers. For this reason, he continues to be celebrated today. In honor of his 125th birthday, I’ll connect three of his most famous stories with the real-life events that influenced his writing.
A Farewell to Arms – Exploring the Heart of A Young Man in Love and War
After graduating high school, Hemingway became a reporter for the Kansas City Star in Missouri, and the following year he volunteered as an ambulance driver for the Red Cross in Italy duringWorld War I. He was wounded by mortar fire and spent months recuperating under the care of an English nurse, Agnes von Kurowsky, with whom he fell in love and had affair. She was an older woman who eventually broke Hemingway’s heart when she ended the relationship after he returned to the United States.
In A Farewell to Arms, Hemingway’s fictional character Lt. Frederic Henry falls in love with Catherine Barkley, and their relationship explores the emotional, physical, and spiritual connection Hemingway and van Kurowsky shared during the tumult of World War I.
A Moveable Feast – A Writer’s Life in 1920s Paris
Ernest Hemingway chronicled his early years as a strugglingjournalist and writer in Paris during the 1920s in A Moveable Feast. The work mentions Paris’s legendary bars, cafes, and hotels of the era, and gives insight into his relationships with other notable cultural figures of the “Lost Generation,” such as Sylvia Beach, Aleister Crowley, F. Scott Fitzgerald, Ezra Pound, and Gertrude Stein.
One scene in the book offers a moment of reflection for every writer. His first wife, Hadley Richardson, mistakenly throws out the only copy of a book he’d been working on. It’s a heartbreaking scene, but one that adds to the poignancy of the story.
The Old Man and the Sea – The Death of the Writer’s Soul
After a period of frustrating writers block, Hemingway published what would become his last significant work in 1952. “The Old Man and the Sea,” a novella about an aging fisherman in pursuit of a marlin off the coast of Cuba explores how perseverance and dignity are the “weapons” used to battle through a person’s struggles in life and the theme acts as an allegory of the writer’s own struggles to preserve his art in the face of the fame and attention.
Hemingway struggled to produce a major literary work for more than a decade before the “The Old Man and the Sea” debuted, and despite some critics proclaiming it didn’t hold up next to his earlier works, the book was awarded the Pulitzer Prize in 1953 and won the Nobel Prize for literature in 1954.
We will always remember Hemingway
Oftentimes, Ernest Hemingway’s life is told as a series of amazing adventures, mental and physical suffering, lost loves, and a sad and unfortunate ending. Many would say his life was tragic, but that life provided a deep well of stories that propelled Hemingway to produce some of the most important literature in the American cannon. With the skill of a surgeon, Hemingway relied on lessons gained as a reporter to deliver emotionally impactful storytelling in a clear and concise way that many writers continue to turn to for inspiration and learning.
Happy 125th birthday, Ernest Hemingway!
Interested in exploring the times Hemingway experienced through the storytelling of today’s authors? We encourage you to dig into stories written by Chanticleer’s authors who bring to life the early days of the Twentieth Century with the following books.
Passage Home to Meuse By Gail Noble-Sanderson First Prize Winner in the Chatelaine CIBA Division
It’s 1923 and character Marie Durant Chagall is now 27 years old as she tells about her life-altering events inThe Passage Home to Meuse,thanks to author Gayle Noble-Sanderson. This is the second historical novel in the Meuse Trilogy. The world around Marie is still reeling from the devastation of World War I. She and the other characters in the book are learning how to continue living, and perhaps more importantly, wishing to find joy once again in life.
Marie is at home in France, seeking peace within, as well as for those around her. She looks for ways to help others who are in need, and her nursing skills come in handy to help this farming community. Nearby she’s found a sense of belonging with the Sisters at the Chapel, and her friendships continue with Henri and others.
A War in Too Many Worlds By Elizabeth Crowens
Grand Prize Winner in the Cygnus CIBA Division
Musician-turned-time-traveler John Patrick Scott adds spy and saboteur to his resume while undercover in Germany in the final months of World War I, in A War in Too Many Worlds, the third installment of Elizabeth Crowen’s thrilling sci-fi series, The Time Traveler Professor.
Meanwhile, Scott’s once and future collaborator in psychic experiments, Sir Arthur Conan Doyle, is back in Britain sharing real time-travel adventures with the inventor of the fictional time machine, H.G. Wells.
A Week at Surfside Beach By Pierce Koslosky Jr.
Grand Prize Winner in the Shorts CIBA Division
Vacationers from all walks of life converge on Portofino II-317C, South Carolina, a quaint blue beach house, in Pierce Koslosky Jr.’s short story collection, A Week at Surfside Beach.
From May 30th-December 26th each group of people comes to stay one week at a time, to forget their cares of the big city, to work, to celebrate, or to simply get away. Surfside Beach has much to show them, including temperamental weather.
The small town itself offers a charming supermarket where fishing supplies, whoopie pies, and local southern favorites can be found. The Christmas vacationers, the final of the thirteen beach house renters, struggle to find a tree in time; a real tree simply wouldn’t allow enough space for the family to sleep, and the fake tree would cost too much. But they find arts and crafts supplies in town, to fashion a paper Christmas tree during a day of rainy weather.
In The Sower of Black Field, Katherine Koch’s historical fiction novel, Father Viktor Koch— a 67-year-old Catholic priest— presides over a monastery in a small German village, as the Nazi regime sweeps through the country.
The time is April, 1941. Fr. Viktor’s order, the U.S.-based Passionists, built the monastery eight years prior, providing employment for most of the villagers and remaining a symbol of their faith.
Fr. Viktor has lived in Europe for over 20 years, but balances his love of Germany, its land, its mysticism, with his American roots. He will need all his personal and religious resources over the next four years as the Nazis take hold in the village and, later, the Americans come to “de-Nazify” the town and hold its people responsible for the horrors of the Holocaust.
Thank you for joining us in celebrating America’s literary icon, Ernest Hemingway!
Do you have a book that deserves to be discovered? You can always submit your book for an Editorial Review with Chanticleer!Chanticleer Editorial Review Packages are optimized to maximize your digital footprint. Reviews are one of the most powerful tools available to authors to help sell and market their books. Find out what all the buzz is about here.
Is your book an Award Winner?
Submitting to Book Awards is a great way to get your book discovered! Anytime you advance in the Chanticleer Int’l Book Awards, your name and book are promoted right here on our website, through our newsletter, and across social media. One of the best ways to engage in long tail marketing!
Celebrating the Twelve Days of Christmas – A Day at a Time
“But Jiminy Crickets, it is the 27th of December! Is it not too late for the 12 Days of Christmas?” you say.
Not to fear, Chanticleerians! The 12 Days of Christmas begins on December 26th! And it continues to the 6th of January – Three Kings Day. The four weeks leading up to Christmas is known as the Advent.
Some say that December 25th is the first day of Christmas, but we are going with the medieval date of the 26th because revelry could not take place on the 25th as it was a holy day. And the Twelve Days of Christmas is about revelry!
So if you haven’t finished wrapping presents, sending out those cards, and baking cookies—don’t worry—you’ve got an extra 11 days!
The second day of Christmas, my true love sent to me
Two turtle doves
And a partridge in a pear tree
Two Turtle Doves are a representation of love and loyalty and friendship.
Which brings us to why in Japan, Christmas is considered the holiday for lovers (rather than family time). Couples plan romantic dates, special dinners out, and engagement promises.
Click on the link below to enjoy PENTONIX’s version of The Twelve Days of Christmas. Pentatonix is a fabulous international a cappello singing group.
Happy Holidays to You from the Chanticleer Team!
On the Second Day of Christmas, Chanticleer brings to me…
Two Essential Reviews
Editorial Reviews
Everyone knows about the Editorial Review. It’s best to start submitting for these once your book is at the Proofreading stage, and once you have a publication date in mind. These are powerful tools filled with blurbs that you can use to market your work.
Of course, the Editorial Review should go on your book’s Amazon page, and every blurb you can pull out can be put everywhere else your book should be marketed. Those different blurbs should appear here at a minimum:
Your website
Goodreads
Barnes & Noble
Beyond that, you can post to places like StoryGraph, and you can use each blurb as a new post on social media. The reason you rotate your blurbs is to make them always feel fresh and engaging to the audience who follows you. The Review can also be used in publishing packets, press releases, and any other way you can imagine!
Manuscript Overviews
Less well-known, the Manuscript Overview (MOV) provides a birds-eye view of your work. This service catches plotholes, character inconsistencies, and those big ideas that authors need feedback on once they feel confident in the story as a whole. The best part is the way a MOV can save authors time and money in the long run by helping them to create the most polished work they can before turning to the next round of editing services.
Stay Tuned for the Third Day of Christmas, and Happy Holidays to all!
If you haven’t heard the news, Kiffer was interviewed on DIY MFA where she and Gabriela Pereira discuss
Why now is the best time to be an author
The difference between a write-up and a review
The Four Types of Reviews
How advance reviews help to promote your book
When you should start sending your book out for reviews
Plus, Kiffer’s #1 Tip for Writers
You can listen to the full interview on Chanticleer’s under the hood technology that gets increases the digital footprint of each book review published on Chanticleer’s website here or wherever you get your podcasts. Kiffer also gives quick and easy tips about how to get more “Amazon Love” to your book’s Amazon selling page. Below is a quick synopsis of the interview, but tune in to get the full scoop!
So what does all this mean? We have the inside scoop!
The Best Time to be an Author
With millions of books being published every year, it’s harder for an author to be noticed than ever! So why is now the best time to be an author?
Simply put, the number of resources available to authors now are greater than ever before. Not only can Chanticleer help you navigate this vast ocean of publishing, but we provide many of the tools directly. A brief list of our formidable resources are:
Overwhelmed? You can always email us at info@ChantiReviews.com for assistance, or message us directly on Facebook. Of course, one of our primary services is the Editorial Review.
A Write-Up vs A Review
The proof is in the pudding for write-ups vs reviews. A write-up, as said on Merriam-Webster is a review that is intended to be “flattering.” While there’s nothing wrong with one of these, readers will wisely be wary of them as they have a biased tone. By contrast, Editorial Reviews are unbiased and objective, referring to what a text specifically does or does not do – it focuses on the quality of the work. Editorial Reviews are an excellent way for readers to gauge their actual interest in a book, instead of having to read between the lines to see if it’s actually something they’ll enjoy. Both happen and can help with book sales, but an Editorial Review will be more versatile. Let’s dig into that!
The Four Types of Review
Editorial Reviews
These reviews are unbiased and objective, the standard by which readers measure if they’ll want to read a book or not. Chanticleer Editorial Reviews are a professional avenue for your book to be fairly assessed and get people talking about it! We keep up with the latest in Search Engine Optimization technology to maximize the digital footprint of our clients, including cross-posting across social media.
Chanticleer’s Marketing Kits are given to authors whose books receive a 4 or 5-star CBR review.Our kits include personalized Shelf Talkers you can use wherever your print book is sold, as well as samples of our silver-foil Book Review stickers designed to catch readers’ attention.
Typically, the best time to begin submitting your work for an Editorial Review is when you reach the proofing stage. Your reviewer will understand that the book is approaching its final form, and that minor changes will still be made. Your book will be evaluated, not on minor typographical errors, but on how well you’ve realized your story.
Reader Reviews
Close kin of the write-up, these are the kinds of reviews you’ll find everyone on Amazon and Goodreads letting you know how someone who read the book liked it. While some are helpful and provide real insight on the book, many are just a rating from 1-5, and the information relating to your book varies. You can’t be sure this reader is in your audience, even if they read your book! There’s no denying that reader reviews help your book do well, and it’s more of a question of quantity over quality, but they’re tricky to maneuver and guarantee.
Peer Review
One of the most difficult reviews to obtain is that of the peer review, or, as it’s commonly known, the book blurb. This describes an author or someone else in your circle of influence who readers will listen to. J.D. Barker, a regular presenter at The Chanticleer Authors Conference, has networked to have Stephen King blurb his thriller novels, and you can believe that King’s readers sit up an pay attention to that!
Circle of Influence is how Kiffer describes those who surround you that can directly contribute to your success as an author. If you aren’t sure who your circle includes, try writing down ten people who you know you can turn to for advice or support. Each year, you’ll want to grow this circle by another ten people. Kiffer and Sharon Anderson wrote an excellent article about this that you can read here.
JD Barker presented at CAC19 and VCAC21!
While you will, of course, reach out to authors on your level, it’s always good to have a few authors who are doing better than you blurb your book. Obviously, writers at the top of their game will be inundated with blurb requests, so be gentle and patient when asking, even if you never hear back.
The Manuscript Overview
This one is always unexpected, because a review of your manuscript doesn’t come after your book is done (or close to it). However, Kiffer recommends that you do a Manuscript overview around the second of third draft of your book. It’s before you’ve paid someone to painstakingly line edit and proofread your book, but after you feel comfortable with knowing the core of the story, and you know the ideas you want to convey are on the paper. That’s when you’re ready for your overview.
A manuscript overview (MOV) is a broad overview of your manuscript – what’s working and what isn’t from all aspects of your story: structure, plot, pacing, character development, dialogue, etc. Chanticleer can offer guidance on what you need next. Using a manuscript overview before you begin the editorial process will not only save you money in terms of editorial services down the road, but it also will save you time by clarifying where you are in writing your story right now.
Now that we’ve covered the four types of reviews, let’s continue to dig deeper into how you can use your Editorial Reviews
How Advance Reviews Can Support Your Book
So often when authors receive their Editorial Review, instead of inspiration lighting up the night sky telling them what to do next, there’s a strange buzzing sound that surely isn’t dread and uncertainty.
It’s okay! Of course, you’ll want to test bits of your Editorial Review as blurb material for you book. Feel free to be selective and grab multiple sound bites that you like to describe your book. Workshop them with friends and fellow writers in your circle of influence. For the other potential blurbs, you can use those on Amazon, Goodreads, Barnes Noble, and Kobo. Each one of those places has a special location for Editorial Reviews that the author can upload. The reason you use different quotes from you review for these is so that readers who come across your book on multiple platforms have something new to read in each spot. Editorial Reviews used in this way can really help drive presales.
If your book hasn’t been published yet, but is a manuscript that you are sending to agents and publishers, then the Editorial Review can still be used in the same way to market it to those you query regarding your book.
The other big thing is link to your review! Adding links on blog posts and websites increase your SEO rating, and having your digital footprints over a wide path with help readers come across your book online.
When Should you Solicit Reviews?
At least six months in advance. In times where shipping is not being impacted by a global pandemic, it takes about two weeks to receive a shipment of books. And that’s in the best case scenario. Remember, even if all you have left to do is proofreading, your book will still have the following to go through before it can go to print:
Interior Formatting
Cover Design
Proof Copies
The interior formatting and cover design time varies greatly, and the time it takes to receive a galley or proof of your book will be another two weeks for shipping. Six moths will be the minimum amount of time you’ll want to make sure the blurb can appear somewhere on your book and then will be sent out in marketing packages. Bestselling books are often sent out a year or more in advance to receive reviews.
The book is a wonderful tool for someone interested in an MFA, but sitting on the fence. It walks you through the essentials of what an MFA program provides, and the dives into how to create a similar situation, while providing craft tips on par with the latest advice from top-tier editors. Highly Recommended!
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