Book Talk: Why bloggers are not reviewing your book

This is going to be one of those "Hard Truth" posts. Book bloggers are a group of people who do what they do for free (most of them anyways). Since it's our spare time used and no money involved, we're pretty selective about the books that we choose. For the most part, a review rejection can be pretty cut-and-dry; we're not interested in the topic so we decline the review.

There are some things that authors do that influence our choice before we even look at the book synopsis.

1. Not reading review policies - As I just said, we often times get review requests for a book that we have absolutely no interest in; meaning obvious disinterest in the genre and not book theme. If you can't take 5 seconds to read the policy, then why should we read your book? 
2. Poor grammar in emails - We're internet acquaintances. We don't know you or anything about you. But when you send an email with "will u read my book bout traveling 1 leg man"  we will judge you and assume that this is how your entire book reads. 
3. Controversy on other sites - Sometimes we do a bit of sleuthing. If we go to a review site and see that every review is met with defensive comments or the author's name pops up in a stalker controversy case, then that is something we really don't want to get involved in.
4. Poor reviews - If your book has ten reviews on a single site, and they're all very poor, then we're probably not going to get back to you very fast (or at all). If it is a rewrite then be sure to tell us that in the request. 
5. We're bombarded with emails - We get a ton of emails a day. If we don't respond in 24 hours, don't just assume that we "missed" it and resend. Consider sending after a month with no response, BUT ONLY IF there is nothing specified on our site about not using email to request reviews. I have a specific form that is right under my review policy. I automatically delete all review request emails (as stated in my policy). I black list those who send emails stating that they filled out the form and are sending an email(s) "just in case" (as stated in my policy). I assume that the author didn't take 5 seconds to read the review policy and doesn't care that much about their book.
6. You're using too many buzz words - We believe in the saying "too good to be true". If you're catch line for us is something along the lines of "Something you've never read before. Completely new to the genre. You won't be disappointed. Not your typical boy meets girl," then we'll likely think that you're overselling it. Perhaps we'll check out a few reviews beforehand to see where all of the rave is coming from. Is it your personal raving or actual reviews? A good way to remedy this is to send a few lines of actual reviews. We're more likely to believe someone else using buzz words than we are your biased point of view. No offence. That's just life.
7. Do not, I repeat, DO NOT send full books through email without previous correspondence - Don't just hand your book(s) out willy nilly -- Treasure it! Don't just give it away to anyone with a blog email! And certainly don't send numbers 1-5 of your series! To you that may be a sign of good faith and you're just hoping that the ease of access will wear the reviewer down a bit. I (and many others) find it annoying. We don't have that much space in our inboxes and when everyone starts throwing eBooks at us it gets to be a bit much.
8. You want us to make an exception - I do not review many non-fictions or certain genres listed in my review policy. That's my way of saying I am not involved enough in that genre to make an informed decision as to whether or not it is well written within the interests of that community. Even after saying that, I get follow-up emails asking to make an exception. Because this book is very different from anything you've ever read. Yeah. I bet it is. Because I don't read them. Angering your contacts with dead end emails is not a good way to get help from them in the future. 

I can almost hear some of the responses next -- but what about those of us who do not have any reviews and need to get someone's -- anyone's -- attention? 

1. Check out the Indie Review for a list of bloggers, their genres, and their review policies. This should clear up issues 1,5, and 8.
2. Leave an excerpt on your author site in an easy to find place - Sometimes we'll reject a review but remember you in the future and will want to pass your name on to another blogger. The first place they'll check is your author site to find out more about you. Make their life and your life easier by leaving a book trail.
3. I don't encourage sending a chapter of their book in an email because the file sizes can add up and kill our inboxes, but if you can link to an online chapter using something like Dropbox or Smashwords,  that would be helpful.
4. When sending a reviewer information about a book, be sincere about it -- or at least pretend. We know a generic mass email when we see one. Many times our names are incorrect in the salutations. Dear "reviewer" or "blogger" works in place of our names (if not available) or our site name. But bonus points to someone who addresses The Book Cove/Jessi or others who are involved. 
5. Mass emails aren't always inappropriate. Be smart about it.
• If you have a list of reviewers that you think would like your book, then feel free to send out one email. But include a personal line such as "I am (---) and I've been gathering a list of potential reviewers for my (old, new, ARC) book. Your interests that I think align with my book include (--), (--), and (--). This let's us know that you did your homework first and were not just a CC from the list that another person forgot to BCC us on.
• Oh, speaking of which. If you're sending an email to say, five, of us. We don't mind a CC (carbon copy email where the recipients can all see who received the email). It can actually be helpful for us to know who you've contacted so that we can reach out to each other. If you are going to mass email all 500 of your contacts, please BCC everyone (blind carbon copy where the recipients CANNOT see all who received the email). Our emails are out there enough and when people start saving each other's mass contact list then things start getting out of control. 
6. Get to know the site and state why this reviewer would like your book. Let us know that you care about who is reading your book -- that you want someone who is interested in the topic to read it and not just a random person off the street with a computer and internet access.
• For those thinking that a get to know you stage takes too long when searching for reviewers, well, I don't know what to tell you. You get out what you put in and not every situation works out. We really do want you to have success in getting your book reviewed and out there, but you don't need a disinterested person attempting to write a review.
7. Ask for direction from bloggers. We're all pretty friendly. If you haven't received a response to your email inquiry, or you did but it was a rejection, then ask if we know anyone that would be interested. We can usually point out at least one other blog or provide insight about something if needed. It's kind of like a job interview where you didn't land the job but you ask the employer why you weren't selected. Was it poor email etiquette? Grammar? Other reviews? Worst case scenario they call you out on not reading an obvious policy...or delete the email.
8. Send us subliminal messages. Only partially joking here. Interact with us on our blogs. We love to know who's reading and keeping up with our posts. You don't have to comment on everyone of them, but regardless of blog size, we all love comments and we start to remember who has been the most interactive. If you're name is already floating around in our mind then we're more apt to help you out because we appreciate the support you've shown us. Sincere reciprocation is a beautiful and powerful thing.