Here’s something nobody tells you when you’re deep in the excitement of finishing your manuscript: the book being done is not the finish line.
The finish line is readers. And between your finished manuscript and actual readers is a stretch of road that includes one of the most anxiety-inducing parts of indie publishing — getting reviews.
Not because reviews are hard to understand. But because most authors wait until their book is already live to start thinking about them. By then, the window for building real momentum has mostly closed.
So let’s talk about how to get book reviews — before your launch, at launch, and after — so you’re not staring at a blank reviews page wondering what went wrong.
Why Book Reviews Matter More Than You Think
Before we get into the how, it’s worth understanding the why.
Reviews are not just social proof, though they are that too. On Amazon, the number of reviews a book has — and how quickly they accumulate after launch — directly affects how the algorithm decides to recommend it. A book that launches with fifteen or twenty reviews signals to Amazon that this is something readers are engaged with. A book that launches with zero signals the opposite.
On Goodreads, reviews build your book’s presence in reader communities before it’s even widely available. Readers mark books as “want to read,” leave early thoughts, and share them with friends. That activity is hard to manufacture after the fact.
The authors who have strong launches almost always started building their review strategy months before launch day. Not weeks. Months.
Getting Reviews Before Your Book Launches
This is where the real work happens — and where most authors wish they’d started earlier.
Build an ARC team
An ARC — advanced reader copy — is an early version of your book that you send to readers before your official publication date. In exchange for early access, readers agree to leave an honest review on or around launch day.
Your ARC team is the foundation of your launch day review count. The bigger and more engaged your team, the stronger your launch. Ideally you’re recruiting ARC readers at least eight to twelve weeks before your book goes live — not the week before.
To find ARC readers, look for your target audience where they already spend time. BookTok, Bookstagram, genre-specific Facebook groups, and Goodreads reading communities are all good places to start. Be specific about what your book is and who it’s for. The right readers are out there — you just have to meet them where they are.
Use ARC platforms
If you don’t have an existing reader community to pull from, ARC platforms like BookSirens, NetGalley, and StoryGraph can help you reach readers who are actively looking for early copies to review. These platforms do some of the heavy lifting for you in terms of discoverability — readers browse available ARCs and request access, which means you’re not doing all the outreach yourself.
The tradeoff is that platform readers can be less reliable than a personally curated ARC team. You’ll likely get a smaller percentage of reviews from platform readers than from people who specifically signed up for your list. Use both when you can.
Make it easy to say yes
When you’re pitching your book to potential ARC readers, your pitch needs to do one thing above everything else: help the right reader immediately recognize that this book is for them.
Be specific about genre, tone, tropes, and content. Don’t oversell and don’t undersell. A reader who picks up your book knowing exactly what they’re walking into is far more likely to finish it and leave a review than a reader who felt misled by a vague description.
Getting Reviews at and After Launch
Even with a strong ARC campaign, launch day is not the end of your review strategy. It’s the beginning of a longer game.
Follow up with your ARC readers
Life gets busy. Readers forget. A kind, well-timed reminder sent one to two weeks before your launch date is not pushy — it’s helpful. Include a direct link to your Amazon or Goodreads page so there are as few steps as possible between finishing the book and leaving the review.
Ask your readers directly
This one feels uncomfortable for a lot of authors, but it works. If you have a newsletter, use it. A personal note to your subscribers — not a generic blast, but something that actually sounds like you — asking them to leave a review if they’ve read the book is one of the most effective review-generation tools available to indie authors. Readers who love your work often just need to be reminded that reviews make a real difference.
Reach out to book bloggers and bookstagrammers
There is an entire community of readers who specifically love to read and review books, often before they’re widely released. Book bloggers, Bookstagrammers, and BookTok creators in your genre are worth researching and reaching out to with a personalized pitch. Not a copy-paste email — an actual message that shows you know who they are and why you think your book is a fit for their audience.
This takes time and research. It also works.
Be patient with Goodreads
Goodreads operates on its own timeline and its own culture. Readers there tend to be thorough and honest, which is exactly what you want. Add your book to Goodreads as early as possible, make sure your author page is complete, and let the community do what it does. Don’t try to game it. Just show up and be genuine.
A Word on Honest Reviews
It’s tempting, when you’re staring down a launch with fewer reviews than you hoped for, to look for shortcuts. Buying reviews. Trading reviews with other authors. Asking friends and family to leave five stars without having read the book.
Don’t.
Beyond the ethical issues, it’s against Amazon’s terms of service and it doesn’t actually work the way people think it does. Savvy readers can spot inauthentic reviews. Amazon’s algorithm can too. The short-term boost isn’t worth the long-term damage to your credibility.
The authors who build sustainable review counts do it the slow way — by writing books readers genuinely love, by building real relationships with their audience, and by asking for honest feedback with the confidence that the work can stand behind it.
That’s the only strategy that compounds over time.
The Bigger Picture
Reviews are not the measure of your worth as a writer. But they are a practical tool for getting your book in front of more readers — and they matter enough to think about strategically, not as an afterthought.
Start early. Build your ARC team with care. Follow up kindly. Ask your readers directly. And trust that the readers who are meant to find your book will find it.
If you’re planning a launch and want help building an ARC strategy that actually works, we’d love to talk. Free consult calls are available at Dragonfly Literary Co. — no pressure, just a conversation about your book and where you want it to go.
