What Should I Do About a Bad Review on Amazon?

It's frustrating to get a bad review, but it happens to most authors sooner or later. 

My advice for authors is to try not to take it personally and to remember that books (especially fiction) are subjective - some people will love your book and others won't. And many book buyers realize that most books will have some negative reviews, even if most of them are positive.

If a review contains factual errors (for instance stating that a nonfiction book was missing important information) you can click the "comment" button on the review and leave a note. But be very careful not to sound defensive - just state the facts. (e.g. Perhaps you missed chapter 6 where I discussed that topic in detail.) 

If you think a review was really unjustified, you can also click the "no" button next to "Was this review helpful to you?"  

If a review violates Amazon's terms you can ask Amazon to remove it. Amazon will not remove a review simply because it's unfavorable or you think it's unfair, but they sometimes remove reviews that are reported for violating their terms.

Also focus on getting more good reviews to offset the bad ones. 

And finally, take an objective look at negative reviews and see if there are any legitimate comments that you might use to improve your writing.

Tips for Getting Booked on National TV

Serve, support and assist. When you're pitching to a national television show, your job is to add value, not to sell your book or be the star. Throughout the process, you need to be prepared to help in any (and every) way you can.

Being the most helpful guest the show staff ever worked with, while also delivering a stellar on air performance, can take you a very long way.

(Most bestselling authors I know refine this skill with professional media training, which teaches you how to balance self-promotion with delivering valuable content to viewers.)

Research is king. Before you write the first word of your pitch, you "need to know the audience, the people watching the show you're pitching." If you're pitching a morning show, for instance, your story should appeal to stay-at-home moms and seniors, who are most likely to be home during the day.

Short is good. Punchy is better. Given people's packed schedules and abbreviated attention spans, the length of your pitch definitely matters. "Shorter is better, punchy is best, and sexy is always good. Try to hook them in 9 or 10 sentences".

Be the squeaky wheel. The goal of your pitch is to get attention. Once you've done that, you'll need to follow up, often multiple times, by email and phone. Pitching major media, requires that you "aggressively pursue" each opportunity.

Work the system. Your initial point of contact at a television show is typically the booking department. Approach them first, but remember also to pitch the show's producer(s). The more points of contact you have, the better your chances of getting on air.

Never discount the "little gal." The more senior the person you're pitching to, the less time they have to look at your pitch. Assistants and associates, whether in the booking or production department, can be valuable allies -- if you approach them in an interesting, respectful way.

Be exclusive. The shows you're pitching want to offer their viewers fresh stories, so listing all the other shows you've been on can be "a real turn off," because it makes you look "overexposed." Share your media resume if and when you're asked for it.

5 Ways to Make Google Your Publicist

1.  Push out timely blog posts.Every author should have Google Alerts set on at least five keywords related to their topic area. Each morning, review the stories that are running in your topic area and consider how you can add to the discussion. Odds are the media members are searching for resources and insight on those timely topics and when you create a blog with your take and tag it correctly, you widen your net to attract attention from journalists looking for experts just like you. Extra tip: host your blog on your website and make sure one of the main links will take media members to a “press room” where they can find links to previous media coverage, press materials and contact information for you or your publicist.
2. Conduct an online brand audit.If I am a radio host and my friends at Smith Publicity have told me what a perfect guest you would be for my show and I Google your name to book you, what will I find? If you don’t currently have a website or any online platform, do I have any way of getting in touch with you? If I can’t find you quickly, I’m moving on to the next guest. If you do have a website or blog, is what I find when I arrive there going to reinforce my decision to have you on my program or make me wonder about your credibility? Also, think about those media members who may not know your name, but are searching for someone with your exact credentials . . . does your website or any of your blog posts come up in even the most specific search? Extra tip: Watch every single video that comes up in a simple search for your name on both Google and YouTube. Put yourself in the shoes of a producer at a top morning show and ask whether or not the video would encourage or discourage them booking you. Take down any videos that detract from your brand.
3. Pay it forward to journalists doing a good job in your topic area.When you read articles or hear stories in your topic area that you believe are well done, pay attention to the name of the media member responsible and find a way to help them drive traffic to the story. The best way to do this is to search for the journalist’s Twitter handle and drive your followers to the story with an encouraging tweet: “Love this story by @JohnSmith in the Wall Street Journal today (link) Really smart take on this, John.” While most journalists get hundreds, if not thousands of e-mails a day, they get far fewer @ replies and often pay attention to those talking about them on Twitter. One key point is to never pitch with an @ reply on Twitter . . . all of your journalist-related content should add value and contribute to the discussion. Extra tip: Use MuckRack.com to sort and find journalists on Twitter by category and media outlet.
4. Consider your social media infrastructure as an online press kit. In today’s changing media environment, the first place that readers, media members, colleagues and others are likely to interact with you and your book won’t be at Barnes & Noble or even Amazon – it will be on your website, or perhaps more likely, via your various social media extensions. In many ways, these online extensions make up your virtual press kit, and you must make sure that your branding is consistent and you are providing value across each. Extra tip: Nothing looks worse to media members or readers than a social media extension that hasn’t been updated in months. Don’t set up a Facebook page or Twitter account unless you intend on engaging and providing consistent, valuable content there. If you have social media accounts that you don’t update, cancel the accounts.
5. Be interesting. Your odds of getting your content in front of a journalist within social media are dramatically improved if you are writing pieces that your readers want to share with their networks. People don’t engage with those who stay in the middle of the road—so be interesting and thought-provoking with your content and make sure you give people a reason to share your insight. Extra tip: Blog titles often make all the difference in the world. Consider ways to spice up your headlines to attract more attention from journalists online.

Plan a Book Launch Party for an Ebook

Do a presentation based on the book's content, not just a signing where you sit at a table. Nonfiction authors can speak on their book's topic or plan an interactive activity based on the topic. Novelists can do a presentation based on some aspect of the book's story or do a short reading. Children's authors can read the book aloud, speak on the topic of the book, and plan fun activities for kids. All authors can talk about writing and publishing and take questions from the audience. Be creative and plan something interesting!

Print lots of bookmarks and handout several to all of the attendees so they can share with others. If you print your bookmarks with uncoated paper on the back side, you can sign the back of the bookmarks.

Encourage attendees to bring their ebook reading device to the event. They can download the ebook on the spot.  You could even provide a laptop computer where people can order the book if they don't have their ebook reader with them, but you'll need to make certain that each person logs out of their Amazon or other ebookstore account after using it.

You can "autograph" Kindle ebooks by using KindleGraph to send personalized inscriptions and signatures to the customer's Kindle ebook reader.

If your ebook is available on the Nook store, you may be able to arrange an event at a Barnes & Noble store. Last year B&N announced that they were going to offer autographing services for Nook Color devices, but it's hard to find any details on how to do it. Your local store event manager may have information on autographing.

Remember that you'll need to promote your event heavily. Suggested promotions include press releases to local media, emails or evites to your friends and local contacts, announcements on your blog and social media accounts, and postcard invitations. Ask others to help spread the word.