Getting More Reviews ...the nice way! by BitterEpiphany

Everyone wants more reviews.  Even the most self-assured and promising of authors enjoy reviews and would love to get more feedback from their readers.  There is truly no satiating this desire. That said, there are tasteful and distasteful ways of getting them and, odds are, the distasteful will not yield positive results. Do - Ask Politely - Respond To All Of Your Reviews, Even If It’s Just A “Thank You!” - Draw The Reader In - Use Cliffhangers If You Must - Proofread Your Story Before You Post It (This Will Draw A Higher-Caliber Reader) - Set Realistic Expectations (1 review/300 reads is normal) - Advertise Your Submission (Site Adverts or, for those of you who cannot afford it, the forums) - Take The CC Seriously – If Readers Feel Their Opinions Are Not Being Heard, They Will Stop Reviewing Don’t - Beg (puh-puhlease!) - Threaten (20 reviews or I wont write!) - Whine (I only have four reviews and this is a really good story L) - Review Your Own Story (this can result in story deletion) - Chat In Your Reviews To Up Your Count (this can result in story deletion) - Bump Your Chapter To The Recently Added List Some great techniques I’ve seen (and I see a lot in the validation queue) are listed below:  In this chapter, I focused a lot on my descriptive capacity.  How do you feel I did?  Do you think there are area’s were I can improve? Having a “Target” area for improvement shows your readers that you’re trying to improve your writing and your story.  That will give them hope and make them feel like the time they are spending leaving you a review is not wasted. This is different then asking for “plot bunnies” or writing an “interactive” story.  Do not ask readers what should happen next or offer to write readers into your chapters. ”Oh! My God! That was the greatest!” A sample of a review I would like to see when I log on tomorrow :) This is cute, first and foremost because it’s a great way of bringing up the topic of reviews without simply saying “R & R” And, there is always the fallback. I really appreciate your kudos and criticisms so please do not hesitate to leave a review! All in all, don’t rely too heavily on your reviews.  Some people read, love a story and never review it.  Some people review religiously.  If your writing is good and you’re enjoying yourself – that’s all that matters :)

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