In the months before your book is published, you should begin reaching out to fellow authors to request endorsements. Ideally testimonials should come from authors in your field, and the more well-known the author, the better.
And while you may think that big-name authors are untouchable, think again. Smart authors know that endorsing a book enhances their marketing efforts since they gain added visibility with your readers. And the fact is that it never hurts to ask. All they can do is say no, but they just might surprise you and say yes!
The key to getting the attention of well-known authors is to show up like a pro. Avoid telling them your whole life story and never beg or suck up. Also, avoid ranting about how this is your first book, you’re self-publishing, and you have no idea if anyone will ever buy your work—that will NOT inspire good results!
Contact information for even the biggest authors is almost always available. Search their websites or reach out via social media mail. You’d be surprised by who reads their own mail on Facebook and LinkedIn!
Here’s a sample request for an endorsement that you can send out via e-mail:
– – – – – – – – – – – – – – –
Hi <author name>,
I loved your book <title> and found it enlightening because…<briefly explain>
I have a new book coming out this winter: <title> (published by <publishing company name>). It is about <brief description, just two or three sentences>. I am in the process of gathering endorsements for the jacket. Would you consider providing a testimonial? I would be happy to send you sample chapters or the entire manuscript for review—whatever you prefer.
Thanks very much for your consideration!
Warm wishes,
<your name>
– – – – – – – – – – – – – – –
Note that this note starts out by complimenting the author’s work. This isn’t sucking up, it’s demonstrating that you are a fan of their work and creates an instant rapport (flattery will get you everywhere!). Mentioning the publishing company also adds credibility unless you are using one of the big box self-publishing houses. If that’s the case, omit the publishing company information. The unfortunate reality is that inexpensive publishing solutions will be recognizable and an author with a major press behind him will not be impressed. Also write two or three of the most compelling sentences you can muster about your book and why it is great.
What Happens After You Reach Out
You can expect to receive responses within a few days. Some authors may ask for the full manuscript, though most simply want to see a table of contents and a few sample chapters so they know you can write. The vast majority will not take time to read your book from cover to cover. Do not take this personally!
Some may ask for you to send over some sample testimonials. That’s right, they will ask you to write a few examples that they can choose from! They may change a word or two around, but for the most part you will be crafting your own endorsement. This is a reality in this business.
The bottom line is that endorsements do enhance the credibility of a book so don’t be afraid to pursue them with gusto. Make a list of ten to twenty authors and start asking. With any luck, you’ll end up with so many testimonials that you’ll need to add a page or two to the beginning of your book to accommodate them!
Thanks for reminding us that Authors are people too, Stephanie!
Thanks also for reminding us that NOT asking for what we want gives us exactly what we ask for – nothing. Here’s to reaching out, and putting a human voice on the stories we enjoy.
What about if some responds back asking how or what to submit as a review? They either don’t know how to do one or need some help in writing one.
How should I best handle this?
Let me know.
Cheers,
Missy
Missy, If someone replied and didn’t know what a testimonial was, then I suppose you would need to explain it to them and provide some examples. I think the bigger question is whether you’re asking the right people for endorsements. Ideally testimonials that you print on your book’s jacket should come from other authors in your genre. Fellow authors should be familiar with this process. Good luck to you!
Hey Stephanie, I just designed up a pretty cool infographic flowchart that shows “How To Get Testimonials” – I think you’ll like it.
Works well with this post. 🙂
Check it out on my blog:
http://www.chrisbrisson.com/strategy/how-to-get-testimonials
Let me know what you think.
Cheers,
Chris
Very cool, Chris!
Did you take this down? The link is currently dead… 🙁
This is very imformative thank you so much! You don’t know-what you don’t know. You are a superstar Ms. Stephanie!
Thanks for sharing; this is precisely the kind of info I’ve been searching for.
A few other considerations from my experience working with authors:
1. Don’t limit yourself to authors. One of my authors is an executive coach who works with high high level execs and he just received testimonials from high ups at 6 multi-billion dollar companies. There is huge value there. Not everyone has that kind of reach, but the point is to look to key influencers on your topic who your readers already respect.
2. If you have the time, work to build relationships with people you’ll be asking for endorsements WAY in advance of when you’ll ask. Ways you interact with them might include Twitter or FB, commenting on their blogs, writing articles inspired by their thinking, etc. If you love their work and show it, people tend to appreciate it and that leads to the potential of returning the favor, or at least giving you worthy consideration.
3. Make it easy. Our authors are frequently approaching people who are simply too busy. If they don’t have time to read the full book, we send them anywhere from a single chapter to maybe 50 pages. If they are uncomfortable writing or just plain don’t feel they have time, then someone on our team calls them to give them a quick ten minute recorded interview. From that interview we can write a great endorsement in their own words and send it to them for approval or tweaking.
Thanks for the great information. We are hoping for a Febuary publishing date and I was freaking out about not having endorsements or a foreword for my book. Now, I know how to get an endorsement.
If my book covers three areas, like earthchanges, economy, survival and is also trance channeled should I ask for endorsements from each catagory?
You should ask for endorsements from similar authors who reach your target audience… Whether that includes all three categories is really up to you. Are you targeting three different markets for readers?
Great value on the endorsements. As I am looking around for endorsement I found out that it might take a while to land the big names endorsement but you should still ask anyway. I intend to revise my request letter accordingly. Sometimes it might also be a good idea to mention what’s in for them. Such as a mention on your blog or website, and a free autographed copy of your book. Most people might not also have time to read the entire manuscript so having an overview of your chapters from your book proposal might be a great idea. Also include an endorsement form to facilitate the process. Once you receive one endorsement you might need to leverage that on your other request. People want to know that they are not the only ones endorsing your book.
Once you receive one endorsement you might need to leverage that on your other request. People want to know that they are not the only ones endorsing your book. <
Hi Susah, with whom are you publishing with?
I am also in a similar point. Just submitted by manuscript to publisher for editorial review and perhaps editorial service following. When is the ideal time to start compiling endorsements?
I was hoping to go live by Spring next year.
And thanks Stephanie for sharing this information. It was really helpful. 🙂
Cheers
David
Very helpful and informative post and replies, Stephanie. I like the clean approachability of your site and posts.
A question I have is do you approach these people by email or standard mail. Getting the email address (or even mail address) has proven difficult in some cases. Sending an inquiry to their publisher is an option, but no guarantee it will get to the author, I have found.
Thanks!
Hi Sandra, I’ve had great success with email AND contacting via social media (LinkedIn and Facebook mail). Many celebrity authors read their own messages via social media. If all else fails, you can try postal mail too. Good luck!
Just the info I needed. I have some 10 books published on Amazon and Goodreads and another 20 in draft. It’s about time to search for these endorsements. Thank you for your great help. To thank you for that, I have a present on my website for your readers. http://paulardennes.com
Paul Ardennes