How Our Book Review System Works
01
Authors Upload
The first step in the process is for one of our authors to decide that they would like to offer a free copy of their book to our readers to review. This is completely separate from the process to upload books after they are published to enter into book fairs. The author needs to provide a front cover image, a PDF copy of their book, the title, the book description, pen name, and finally the number of downloads they wish to allow. A great time to ask for reviews is BEFORE a book is published. It allows the author to get feedback from readers and hopefully those same readers will give that book a great review on Amazon and other sites once it is published.
02
Readers Apply
Once the author’s request for reviews is saved it becomes searchable for all of our readers an eBookFairs reader or author account is required. We also send out periodic emails to let our readers know that there are books they can download for free in return for a review. The readers then look through the books and apply to be a reviewer. As soon as they apply, the author receives an email and that will give the author the opportunity to accept or reject the review request. We highly recommend that readers have a complete profile before applying to be a reviewer (first name, last name, Twitter, FaceBook, and Instagram). The process moves on for all reviewer’s the author accepts.
03
The Review
The reader will receive an email once the author accepts their review request. At that time, they will be able to go to the review page and download a watermarked PDF of the book. The watermark contains the reader’s email address to protect the author’s book rights. After the reader has read the book they rate the book on a 5-star scale and provide a review message that the author will be able to see. The goal is to provide honest and helpful feedback to the author. There is no guarantee that the review will be favorable, just that it will be honest.
04
Review Ends
After the author feels they have collected enough reviews and/or they are ready to release the book if it is a pre-release reivew, they end the review. This will delete all traces of the review from the system including the digital copies of the book so they cannot accidentally be found as well as all of the reviews. The author does receive a download of the review data via email that they can then use as they deem appropriate to contact the readers and engage with them regarding the book and ongoing review efforts. It’s important to note that when readers apply to be a reviewer, they authorize the release of their email address to the author. This helps the author and gives them a great reason to offer the review copy.
