The truth is, expert reviews are often more valued by potential readers than customer’s reviews. Customer reviews are helpful, and an author should still have a variety of the different types of reviews under their belts as a part of a larger marketing plan: Expert Editorial Reviews, Consumer Reviews, and Peer Reviews by other authors. By leveraging a holistic review strategy as a part of a larger marketing plan, creators will be able to take advantage of more opportunities as they present themselves. Creators who perceive reviews as an either/or such as they should focus on either consumer reviews, editorial reviews, or peer reviews, are ill-informed. The authors who want to increase their chances of success understand that the different types of reviews serve difference audiences and goals. Authors who have a variety of the different types of reviews will increase their chances of standing out and getting noticed for the right reasons. 

It makes sense to pay for expert editorial reviews as you’re paying for that expert’s time, professionalism, and astutely informed critique; which is very different than a casual consumer review or a review by a fellow author in the same genre. A lot of creators convince themselves of the fallacy that Consumer Reviews are the same as Professional Editorial reviews or Peer Reviews, when that’s just not the case. If you’re here because you understand the difference and are willing to invest in editorial reviews as a smart way to get meaningful feedback while increasing your books discoverability, then you’re in the right place.

There are some venues where authors can secure free professional editorial reviews. This is a great option, albeit very competitive. As a matter of fact, many of these venues have limits on how many reviews they can offer or shut out independent authors and creators completely. If you’d rather skip the uphill battle by paying for a professional editorial review, you’ll be able to get back to writing your next book or creating your next project that much sooner. If you’d rather not spend time pitching to free editorial review venues so you can spend more time on other marketing activities, then investing in an editorial review may be a good fit for you. If you don’t have the money, then it may instead be worth your time to pitch free editorial reviews venues. Although we recommend authors have multiple reviews of each type, investing in at least one editorial review as part of your overall marketing plan would still be beneficial; you’d want to be particularly picky about which one you choose since you’d only have one to leverage and learn from instead of multiple.