Features | Self-Publishing Review

Amazon Reviews: How Readers Look At Them, And How To Sell Using Them

*This article on Amazon Reviews has been updated to reflect new guidelines!*

SPR has been working on a ton of resources to get you to shine on social media this week, and here we’re looking in detail at how book reviews will lead to sales.

Reviews are the only way to get those buyers to click that Buy Now button on your Amazon book page. As a culture, we have built up a respect for peer opinion, but it’s also important to remember that Customer Reviews on Amazon are the last port of call for a buyer before purchase.

And […]

Cate Baum2019-04-12T14:01:25+02:00January 30th, 2017|Categories: Features|Tags: Amazon News and Tips, Book Promotion Articles, Book Reviews|

Indie Author Landscape Shifts in 2017? Well, not really.

So, is it all over for indie authors? Exactly the opposite, says Cate Baum of Self-Publishing Review.

It has been a year for indie book companies to draw to a close. Galley Cat, Booktrope, AllRomance, and IndieReader are just some indie book businesses who have declared “a shift in the indie author landscape” to be the cause of their indie book business closures, while many others seem to be in decline with much less activity and showcasing. On the other hand, Self-Publishing Review, a business that was started before most of these companies opened shop, has seen […]

Cate Baum2017-03-24T07:31:24+02:00January 10th, 2017|Categories: Features|

Announcing The Finalists of The SPR Book Awards 2016!

It’s been a very competitive year for The SPR Book Awards, as self-publishing continues to flourish with some really nice book covers, interiors, and storytelling. This year, the SPR reviewers decided to focus on the writing skills and presentation of the words – we wanted to really enjoy to the material the authors created themselves. In a few hours, we’ll be announcing the winners, but we are proud to announce the following finalists.

FINALISTS – Announced 8am PST December 15, 2016

All Finalists will be invited for an author interview at SPR over the next weeks. Congrats to all […]

Cate Baum2019-04-12T14:11:36+02:00December 15th, 2016|Categories: Features, News|Tags: SPR Book Awards|

Authors – Use This Cunning Trick To Protect Your Book From Plagiarism!

There’s a clever way to find your pirated book online if you follow this simple trick, sometimes used by dictionary and reference book publishers. All you have to do is use a Mountweasel.

Yes, that’s right. A Mountweasel. A Mountweasel is a made-up word that is unique to you, and makes it entirely easy to Google your book’s contents to see if has been pirated or plagiarized. Lillian Mountweasel was a fountain designer and postbox photographer whose fame was eternalized in the 1975 New Columbia Encyclopedia. The thing was, she was fake, and entirely a Mountweasel herself!

The word Mountweasel […]

Cate Baum2016-12-13T08:20:51+02:00December 13th, 2016|Categories: Features|Tags: Book Editing Tips, Copyright for Authors|

Amazon Book Reviews – “Allowed” and “Not Allowed”

There still seems to be some confusion around what Amazon calls its Editorial Review section. Despite there being very strong evidence that it is a good idea to have editorial reviews for your book, authors are still, yes, still, muddling these up with the dreaded “paid” review. As COO of one of the major services delivering editorial reviews and mailout services, it’s about time I made yet another attempt to clear up this misinformation.

Paid Reviews are NOT Editorial Reviews – May this be your mantra

When authors talk about “paid reviews”, they are talking about individuals who offer […]

Cate Baum2020-02-21T06:34:05+02:00September 12th, 2016|Categories: Features|Tags: Book Promotion Articles, Book Reviews|

Why We Write About 9/11

It was a balmy day in September. I was in London, working in a digital studio, churning out tabards and display signs on Photoshop for conferences. Standing next to me was a woman who was flying out that afternoon to present a new credit card to her colleagues at Morgan Stanley in New York, based in the South Tower of the World Trade Center, waiting for me to print her last display image.

A tiny TV on silent over the printer caught our eye. We couldn’t quite figure out what the image was, maybe a fire at a local school, […]

Cate Baum2024-09-10T11:15:18+02:00September 11th, 2016|Categories: Features|

SPR Awards 2016 Open For Submissions!

NOW CLOSED FOR SUBMISSIONS! WINNERS ANNOUNCED DEC 15, 2016

Click here for the latest contest

It’s time for our international book awards to kick off again! This year the prizes have got bigger and better with the first prize giving you over $2000 of book promotion, so we hope to see some strong competition! In its third year, the SPR Awards has been an exciting and diverse competition, with exposure for authors to thousands of readers and a real chance to gain some kudos for all your hard work!

This year we are awarding one overall prize and opening up […]

Cate Baum2019-04-16T07:39:10+02:00September 9th, 2016|Categories: Features|Tags: Competitions, SPR Book Awards|

Promoting Your Book 101: Google vs Amazon vs Facebook vs Twitter

Often we are faced with a daunting task of promoting our books. But how? What is the difference between promoting on Google and Amazon? Why does it matter what sort of promotion you do as an author?

Lately I have been surprised by the amount of clients missing the basics. Here’s a quick guide to fill in some gaps in knowledge.

First Things First – The Plan

Most authors buy promotion without having a plan. What is the goal? How many books do you aim to sell? Do you want reviews, ranking, or to build up your social media followers? […]

Cate Baum2016-09-05T11:14:41+02:00September 1st, 2016|Categories: Features|Tags: Amazon News and Tips, Book Promotion Articles|