Have you ever thought of how readers discover new books they want to read? Although technology has helped the book industry develop by leaps and bounds over the last decade, word of mouth remains one of the biggest factors that sells books even today. Meaning the majority of modern-day readers are more comfortable picking up new books that others have read, like and recommend, instead of having to make the decision themselves. This makes word of mouth one of the most powerful tools you need to explore as an author to increase the visibility of your book to readers. In today’s digital age, online book reviews, blogs and recommendations on social media serve as the primary medium for authors to increase the visibility and spread word of mouth for their books to thousands of readers and it is important that you know exactly how to make use of them for your book.
Here are a list of top book reviewers, blogs and platforms in India you can reach out to, to help you promote your book:
Top Book Reviewers/Bloggers in India
Book reviewers and bloggers contribute in-depth long-form articles based on their opinion of a particular book. This can be very helpful for serious readers looking for good recommendations to understand exactly what a particular book is about before picking it up.
BookGeeks is one of the best book review platforms dedicated to Indian authors. They help with Reviews, Author Interviews and other opportunities for Indian authors to promote their books. Books Geeks is the go-to option for book lovers looking for simple & apt review of books written by Indian authors.
Anu reviews run by book lover and voracious reader Anuradha Goyal is one of India’s most popular book recommendation and review platforms. Anuradha reads books across many genres in both fiction and non-fiction and even adds the books she reads in a small library at home which is open to the public.
Initially started on Facebook, The Bookoholics slowly grew in prominence amongst readers and was converted as a full-fledged website to offer Indian readers easy discoverability of new books through book reviews, author interviews and recommendations.
Top Support Groups For Authors
Author support groups are social groups consisting of other authors who help each other out by buying, reading and putting up reviews on social media and platforms like Amazon where the book sells. These reviews add more credibility and can help you convince readers who are browsing books through these platforms to pick it up
Kindle Authors Helping Authors
This active Facebook group not only helps budding writers and authors with ideas on writing and publishing but also supports published authors with book reviews, promotions on Kindle and other marketing opportunities. Majority of the 5 thousand strong group are already published authors on Kindle
Sharing stories is a dedicated community of writers. The community is aimed at world Harmony through writing. The community has Authors, Bloggers, Screenwriters, lyricists and people who are involved in the Art of Writing. The platform also offers many writing contests for upcoming writers and also helps published writers promote books through Author Interviews, Book reviews and Social Media Promotions. Sharing Stories Online Magazine has featured some exciting and popular writing talents like Screenwriter, Director & Actor Deepti Naval, National Award Winning Director and screenwriter Anjali Menon, RJ Balaji, and many more talents.
Authors and reviewers – Goodreads
A&R helps authors promote their books by connecting them with reviewers, bloggers and other authors who don’t mind contributing an honest review about a book. They also have tons of other features and programs like giveaways and author of the month to engage their group members.
In this group, authors can gain honest reviews from other authors. All members are encouraged to participate fully in the review process, rather than concentrating only on obtaining reviews for their own work.
Top Social Influencers for Books
Social influencers have a huge following of fans you can take advantage of. Tons of readers view and engage with the content they put out on platforms like Instagram and this can be a great way to expose your book to thousands of readers at one go.
With close to 13,000 followers, The Book Elf helps promote the culture of reading and makes people fall in love with books through their visually stunning posts that also feature reviews. This Instagram account posts frequently and gets tons of organic engagement.
Books on the Delhi Metro offers an innovative way to aid book discovery for readers. They leave copies of books in different metro stations across the city for readers to find, read and return for someone else. Although they not a traditional recommendation platform, with a growing follower base of close to 13,000 book lovers, this Instagram account is winning book lovers’ hearts all over the country for their initiative.
Although Booxoul has its own website and blog for reviews and blog posts, their Instagram account is simply the most attractive way they reach out to readers online. They have a follower base of close to 9,000 readers who they engage regularly with beautiful book reviews, recommendations, polls quizzes etc.
Book recommendations and reviews come in different formats in today’s digital age. Each of these formats caters to different types of reader segments. As an author, it is important for you to showcase your book wherever your readers hang out and in whichever format they consume content. The list of reviewers, bloggers, groups and influencers is a good place to start, but you need to do your own research as well to find out what suits your book specifically.