{"id":6982,"date":"2022-04-27T07:00:17","date_gmt":"2022-04-27T12:00:17","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/buildbookbuzz.com\/?p=6982"},"modified":"2023-12-07T21:34:13","modified_gmt":"2023-12-07T21:34:13","slug":"difference-between-book-reviews-and-endorsements","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/sandra.oddjar.com\/difference-between-book-reviews-and-endorsements\/","title":{"rendered":"The difference between book reviews and endorsements"},"content":{"rendered":"

What’s the difference between book reviews and book endorsements? (And why should you care?)\u00a0Authors sometimes use the terms interchangeably, but there are distinct and important differences between the two.<\/p>\n

A book review<\/strong> is a literary criticism that expresses the reader’s opinion about the book’s content. It might be flattering; it might be unflattering.<\/p>\n

An\u00a0endorsement, also known as a book blurb or testimonial<\/strong>, is short, advance praise for your book from someone who influences your book\u2019s target audience. They key word here is “praise.”<\/p>\n

Two forms of book reviews<\/h2>\n

While endorsements are (nearly) always solicited, reviews aren’t always. They can happen organically when any random reader decides to critique your book.<\/p>\n

Before Amazon, book reviews were written by professional reviewers — people whose job it is to read and critique books. Since Amazon initiated “customer reviews,” book reviews now come in two forms:<\/p>\n

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  1. Professional media\/editorial\/literary\/trade reviews (they go by many names)<\/span><\/li>\n
  2. Reader reviews<\/li>\n<\/ol>\n

    Professional reviews<\/strong><\/a>\u00a0(media\/editorial\/literary\/trade) are written by professional book reviewers. Their goal is to provide objective commentary that will help people decide if they want to read the book.<\/p>\n

    They can come from reviewers who work for publishing industry publications (such as Kirkus Reviews<\/em><\/a>\u00a0or\u00a0Publisher’s Weekly)<\/em>, trade magazines, newspapers, or certain blogs or websites.<\/p>\n

    Publishers and authors solicit them in advance of publication for two reasons. First, so that they can pull excerpts to use as blurbs. And second, so that the reviews will be published around the time the book is released.<\/p>\n

    You solicit them from monthly, printed publications three to four months in advance of publication date.\u00a0Newspapers, bloggers, online publications, and websites have shorter lead times, so you can contact them closer to your release date.<\/p>\n

    \"customer<\/a>Reader reviews<\/a><\/strong> are exactly that — reviews from your book’s target audience. They’re reviews from the people you wrote the book for.<\/p>\n

    You can secure them before publication\u00a0by giving away pre-publication review copies<\/a>. Unlike literary reviews and blurbs, however, they can’t be posted on your Amazon sales page until the book’s publication date.<\/p>\n

    Still, if you’ve got a well-organized review campaign<\/a> in place, it’s possible to get honest reviews posted and shared on or near your publication date so that people see honest reader feedback as soon as they visit the book’s sales page.<\/span><\/p>\n

    Book endorsements<\/h2>\n

    Endorsements\/blurbs\/testimonials are secured pre-publication so that they can be featured:<\/p>\n