Go to your bookshelf and turn any book over. You may notice there are stellar reviews on the back. These are editorial reviews. While an editorial review can technically be written by anyone who receives a copy of your book, it should be an unbiased review of a published or soon to be published book by someone with more expertise compared to an average reader. This includes editors, review sites, and even other authors. They usually analyze not only the plots and themes of a book, but also the author’s craftsmanship, grammar, formatting, consistency, and other technical aspects.
While a review may appear as a short quote on a poster or a book’s back cover, editorial reviews are actually much longer— usually around 500-700 words. Editorial reviews are unpublished so authors and publishers can pull quotes from the review in order to highlight their work. Editorial reviews are a great way to market your book. They are often used in the “editorial reviews” section of a book’s Amazon page, on promotional posters, and other marketing materials including:
Press releases for bookstores, libraries, conferences, and news sites
Trailers
Social media graphics
What is the difference between editorial reviews and regular reviews?
While a good customer review can sway a potential reader to purchase your books, editorial reviews may carry more weight than them. This is especially true if an editorial review comes from a reputable or famous source. For example, if you’ve written a fantasy book that's been reviewed positively by Brandon Sanderson, readers may be more inclined to buy your book than if the exact review had been written by a random person. In a way, editorial reviews can act like an endorsement for your book. Despite this, both types of reviews are very important and having a balance of both is recommended.
How do I get editorial reviews?
Despite being unbiased, many editorial reviews actually have to be purchased. These can range from $50 to over $500 dollars. However, some review sites have free options. Many of these require either “winning” a submission through a contest or lottery or a reviewer taking interest in your work and deciding to review it solely because of said interest. Some authors and publishers will review your work if you ask for one. However, if the author doesn’t know you or if they are very famous, you are likely to be rejected or have to pay a fee.
Another way to potentially get free editorial reviews is to have writer friends review your work. Many writers are more than willing to write an editorial review for someone they know. A writer, specifically one familiar with your genre, is more than qualified to write an editorial review. Family may also leave editorial reviews, though the fact they are related to you must be disclosed in the review.
Should I get an editorial review?
Like many questions, the answer is: it depends. Reviews are crucial in marketing your book, however if you are a new writer or self-published, it may be better to invest that money into other things like a graphic artist for a quality book cover or an excellent editor. It’s also important to note that because editorial reviews are supposed to remain objective, they aren’t guaranteed to be positive. Getting an editorial review before polishing your manuscript would certainly be unwise. However, if you have all your ducks in a row and are ready to send your book into the world, editorial reviews are a great place to start your marketing campaign.
In our next blog post, we will go over both free and paid editorial review options.
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