Ian David Noakes
  • Home
  • About
  • Contact
  • My Books

Hey, let's talk!

HOUSE RULES:
Don't be offensive.
Don't threaten anybody (especially me!).
Try to stay on topic.
Er, if I can think of anything else I will add it later!

I'm on facebook too!

Gold Dust: The Value of a Book Review

23/10/2014

0 Comments

 
Firstly, if you haven’t read any of my books before, I hope you’ll click on the  – My Books – link above and check out a few of my titles! However, the points in this post can be applied to any book you have read and enjoyed.

• Why Leave a Review
• How Easy It Can Be!

Why Leave a Review

It goes without saying that as a reader, you are not obliged to leave feedback on a book. You’ve already taken the time to purchase it, and spend your hard earned money on it.  Authors just hope that if you really enjoyed their book, then you may want to read their future work. If you leave a glowing review for a book you loved, you are playing a vital part in ensuring an author, whose work you enjoy, will be given the opportunity to carry on writing.

When it comes to deciding whether or not to leave a review, I guess a lot depends on how much you want to re-live the enjoyment you got from a particular book. If a book didn’t particularly excite you, then maybe it doesn’t merit any feedback.

Writers have bills to pay, just like anyone else, and a great review really DOES help the author, more than you might think. At first glance, a positive review can do the obvious: convince potential readers that a book is worth purchasing.

In the wider scheme of things, retailers such as Amazon LOVE books that generate positive reviews. Its founders may have been passionate about books, but ultimately Amazon is a business, and a huge one at that. It needs customers to buy books. If a potential customer visits a book page without any reviews, positive or n*******, they could easily be put off purchasing (excuse the asterisks - I just hate writing that word out!).

So, Amazon loves rewarding the books that generate the most positive reviews with MORE exposure! When books with positive feedback attract so many buyers, why would a retailer want to waste their advertising space and promotional tools pointing customers to pages with no reviews? The simple answer is: they won’t!

So, the next time you leave a review on a book you’ve thoroughly enjoyed, take pleasure in knowing that you have put a smile on the author’s face (you have - I promise!), and that you have prodded a promotional piece into the Amazon Jigsaw Juggernaut.

How Easy It Can be

Let me just get this out there! Yes, it can be a pain in the ass to:

1) Write a review after reading a book. Where do you even start?
2) Take the time to log in, find the book, and leave the review!

Some people genuinely love writing reviews, and I take my hat off to all of them. If you’re one of these lucky people, you can skip point one, and maybe even point two, as you’re obviously an avid reader and reviewer.

I will hold up my hands, and admit that I do not particularly enjoy writing reviews. I could even stretch to saying I struggle to write them. Give me 10k words of story any day of the week! I can’t quite put my finger on why; maybe I just feel like I’m always leaving out something that should be included? Sometimes, I just can’t get my brain to start working and find a way to start composing the review.

An easy way around this is to not think of what you’re writing as a book review. Sometimes a potential reader just needs to know that you enjoyed the book. One of my favourite book reviews was for Partners In Crime, and it simply read: BRILLIANT. The reviewer also rated it five stars.

Feel free to write as much as you want, but bear in mind that one simple word or short sentence will work just as well for Amazon (or Goodreads) as a long, professional book review. 

Don’t get me wrong, professional book reviews are an important part of the publishing process for an author, and in most cases these longer reviews will end up on multiple websites and blogs around the world. These in-depth reviews also serve an additional purpose: sure, they advise and critique like a conventional Amazon or Goodreads review, but they are also content in their own right. They analyze stories, and provide deep insight into a piece of work. 

But when it comes to poking Amazon’s supply/demand algorithms, a small, snappy testimonial is like: GOLD DUST!


Leaving the review: I can help there too!

  • Find the Amazon sales page listing your book. (If it’s one of my books go directly to it by clicking the purchase link next to the book you believe merits the feedback. You’ll find it on the My Books page on this website.)
  • Scroll down the Amazon product page until you find a button asking you to leave a customer review. Click it.
  • Scroll down until you find the book you want to review.
  • DO THE BUSINESS, and you’re done ☺





You may notice I’ve only spoken about positive reviews; I couldn’t build up the courage to write anything about the ‘bad’ ones. I guess you should read the above, and then twist it around.




0 Comments

The 'Hourglass Heights' Virtual Book Tour!

13/10/2014

1 Comment

 
Picture
I thought I'd kick things off with a post about my upcoming Release Day Blitz and subsequent Virtual Book Tour for Hourglass Heights.  

I've put my tour in the very capable hands of 'Bit'N Book Tours', and it has been arranged to announce - and celebrate - the U.S. launch of my book. It was released in the U.K. last June, and it has since been nominated for the 'People's Book Prize', and it is also a contender for the National Book Awards. Sales are going well, and the reviews have been very positive. So, long may this continue.

But this post is all about the U.S., launch, and introducing my erotic, murder-mystery to everybody on the other side of the big blue pond. I've broken down this post into two parts: BOOK BLOGGER/REVIEWERS & FANS!

(Hopefully, I can convert a few bloggers and reviewers to be fans of my books during the process too!)

Let's start with FANS...

I am hoping that this tour can successfully introduce readers to the world of Hourglass Heights. An erotic, murder-mystery with a dusting of the supernatural that is packed with characters that will make you scream and squirm. Some will make you laugh. And -fingers crossed - some that will make you cry. 

I also had one fan from the U.K. who told me she was "shamefully aroused", but I will leave that one up in the air. 

The participating blogs will be handed exclusive material that they can use to host the tour. They will be provided with books to give away, exclusive interviews, excerpts from the book, along with character bios and dream cast admissions for the key characters. I will also be checking in on all the blog hosts on a regular basis to respond to your comments.

On February 1st, I will also be hosting a LIVE 3-hour Facebook Event, where fans - or curious readers - can ask me anything they like in realtime.

*I know you all lead busy lives, so all you need to do is LIKE my FACEBOOK PAGE in order to be kept up to date on all my news and announcements.

BOOK BLOGGERS & REVIEWERS

If you're a book blogger/reviewer, then I hope the above has piqued your interest. As a host, you will be provided with complimentary copies of the book to review, along with books to giveaway to your followers. I will be checking in on a daily basis to respond to posts/comments on your blogs too.

This is my first virtual tour, but I am confident we can make it a successful event for everybody involved. If you're interest, please: CLICK HERE TO SIGN UP AND JOIN IN!

Thank you for your time, 
IDN
1 Comment

    Author

    'I'm just a bloke, tapping keys in front of a screen, hoping for an audience to love me.' #IDN

    Archives

    November 2016
    January 2015
    November 2014
    October 2014

    Categories

    All
    Book Promotion
    Book Reviews
    Giveaways
    News / Press
    Personal Stuff
    TOP TENS


    RSS Feed

Proudly powered by Weebly