How Can a YA Author Get Quality Reviews for Their Novel?
Are you looking for ways to get quality reviews for a YA novel? Learn more here!
Before the internet and its mass-marketing access, how did authors spread the word on their books? Through tried and true methods that remain to this day: print advertising, published book reviews, signing events, and word of mouth.
So, nothing has changed much except that the internet has only offered a broader reach as that word of mouth now extends to social media, those ads are now all over Google and other websites, and you can reach out for book reviews with greater ease.
But do you just cold-call/email folks for reviews? Sure, that’s one way, but I want to share a few more options to help you get your young adult novel in front of more readers!
What’s the Worth of a Review?
It may seem like a no-brainer, but to be clear, getting insightful feedback from reviewers goes a long way toward building trust with prospective readers. To quote Ferris Bueller, “Life moves pretty fast,” and it’s only getting faster as modernization demands more for less.
We have an overwhelming amount of sources for distraction in the media and online, and that means people value their time. A review of your novel helps them determine if it’s worth the precious hours it’ll take them to read it. Sourcing positive book reviews is far more valuable than any advertisement for attracting readers.
Beyond the marketing and sales aspect, a review can help you improve your craft. Once you finish your manuscript, it has your perspective. Then it goes to your editor, and they lend their point-of-view.
Finally, it’s published and subject to the objective opinions of the general public, who are not nearly as close to the source material as you. The (hopefully) constructive critiquing that comes from reviews, whether professional or general opinions on something like Goodreads, can be an opportunity for growth in your next piece of work.
What Review is Right For You?
Editorial reviews are more formal, impersonal, and objectively unbiased. They provide a professional view of your work and thoroughly break it down from start to finish, withholding opinions regarding personal tastes. If you want a great, quotable review telling people why they should read your book, seek an editorial reviewer.
The more casual quality reviews for your YA novel can be more accessible but also hit or miss. Their personal opinions can really resonate with prospective readers. But they can also get hung up on issues related to their tastes.
For example, if they didn’t like one scene, the entire review could fixate on that point. But these people are often authorities on a genre and offer a more approachable review to other fans, which holds a lot of value.
Knowing what reviews are good for you is excellent, but getting them is the real challenge. Thanks to the internet, many options are more readily available to modern, independent authors. Some cost money, others don’t, so it’s up to you to decide what’s most worth your while.
Book Bloggers
These are definitely in the “casual review” category, as you’re reaching out to bloggers passionate about reading books like yours, focused on particular genres or styles. Obviously, you want to find bloggers with large followings, as the marketing is already mostly done for you. Lists like this are a great place to start researching reviewers, and they all are easy enough to reach out to and get the ball rolling on your book review.
Social Media
Another obvious spot for the casual review is social media. Find influences through TikTok’s #BookTok, look at influencers on Instagram, or even get in touch with your fanbase for quotable feedback on your novel. If you’re engaging with your readers and the community regularly, you could have no problem getting solid reviews by directly messaging others on social media.
Online Communities
Writing groups and communities are excellent sources for free casual reviews. Connecting with others interested in your chosen genre is easy, whether through a forum post or direct messaging and emails. You can offer novel review trades, give feedback as currency, and add another author’s opinion to your list of accolades. It’s also a great way to expand your reach, as you’ll benefit from your peer’s following.
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Friends and Family
If you have book lovers in your social circle, see if they’d be up for a review. While they may not be the most professional source, they’re still a source of feedback, which looks good on paper. Plus, they’re free and more likely to offer positive book reviews (again, look good on paper), so be aware of that if you’re looking for a more critical take.
Email Newsletters
If you have your own website and have been building a following and mailing list, you can use a newsletter to request reader reviews. Going directly to your fanbase gives you a quick, free source of casual feedback that hits dozens to hundreds of inboxes, depending on your current clout. Be clear about what feedback you’re after and how you want to receive it, then let the book quality reviews for your YA novel start rolling in.
Goodreads Giveaways
Authors can create their giveaways on Goodreads, allowing them to get free copies, physical or digital, into the hands of lucky readers in exchange for thoughtful reviews. It’s a great way to get an unbiased review. You’ll also spread awareness to readers who may have yet to find you or your novel.
Attend Events
Book signings and other events, like conferences or festivals, allow you to access a bevy of readers and collect reviews. You meet people face-to-face, which sometimes works better for immediately soliciting feedback by building that rapport.
While in-person doesn’t work well for me and my social anxiety, I see how it can benefit those who thrive in social settings. So if this works for you, find an event near you, bring a few copies of your novel, and build a relationship or three that’ll garner casual or editorial book reviews.
Review Copies
While this isn’t a method on its own, so to speak, it can facilitate any of the above outreach. By giving away free copies of your novel, you only lose out on the prospective sale and any possible money spent on shipping, but it can help you get that quality review for your YA novel.
People love free stuff. You have a much better chance of collecting a casual or editorial review by offering your prospects free copies of your novel, so be prepared to eat the cost for the greater good of your writing career.
While this list isn’t exhaustive, it should give YA authors like you a place to start looking for feedback. With some research and outreach, you can build a library of quotes and book reviews that will attract more readers.
After publishing Getting By, I was fortunate to have former educators and other trusted readers in my life give me some excellent feedback. It not only boosted my confidence as an author and helped me market the novel, but I saw where I could improve while I worked on my follow-up title.
If you haven’t read my debut novel yet, please check it out and let me know what you think. I’d love to return the favor, too, so don’t hesitate to reach me at jsims@jairesims.com, and maybe we can do a review trade.
About Jaire Sims
Award-Winning YA Author, Course Creator, Blogger, and Self-Publishing Consultant. At twenty-one and as a junior in college, Jaire was diagnosed with Asperger’s Syndrome. Fast forward one year, Jaire proved that he had overcome all of the challenges he had faced up until this point by graduating from Monmouth College with a Bachelor’s Degree in Communication Studies.
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