Pre-Publication Reviews

Many authors mistaken believe marketing begins when the book is finished. Unfortunately, for some forms of marketing, a finished book is a day late and a dollar short. There is no replacing pre-publication reviews. They can do so much to boost a book's appeal and sales. 

Pre-publication reviews can be used in a thousand ways, depending upon the topic of the book and the author's marketing agenda. Some uses of these reviews include:

• Back cover and front matter- include these reviews in your book. For those browsing the bookstores, these kind of reviews are very important.
• Author website and blogs- you need to build the excitement around your book's release. Adding these reviews will get the attention of readers and build anticipation. This is how you sell out of your first print run through pre-pub marketing. (Note: Most readers say reviews from others sway them toward books.)
• Website/blog of friends- in the same way, having friends feature your reviews and the upcoming release date of your book works to build anticipation and excitement over your title.
• Postcards/Bookmarks/Flyers- all of these kind of marketing materials should ideally be done by the time the book goes to print and having genuine reviews on them only boosts the likelihood that the recipients of these materials will purchase your book.
• Media release- don't wait until your book has been on shelves for months to do a media release. It should be sent during your release push. Therefore, pre-pub reviews can work wonders here also.