You publish your book, tell the people closest to you, and hear the words every author hopes to hear: “How can I help?”
Now, your first thought might be, Please leave a book review!
That's a very reasonable thought. Book reviews help readers decide whether a book is right for them, and the people who know you best are often the first to offer support. But a review from someone with a close personal connection to you can raise a conflict of interest under Amazon’s review rules. (Yes, even if they bought the book and sincerely loved it.)
The good news? Your friends and family can still make a meaningful contribution to your author journey... just in a slightly different way.
Why Asking People Close to You for Amazon Reviews Is... Complicated
Amazon customer reviews are meant to help shoppers hear from independent, unbiased readers. A glowing review from your sister may be heartfelt, but your relationship with her makes it different from a review left by someone who discovered your book on their own.
That’s why it’s wise to keep the people closest to you out of your Amazon review requests. If you want a fuller explanation, read our guide on why you should stop asking friends and family to review your book on Amazon.
Of course,“Please don’t review my book” can feel like a strange answer when someone genuinely wants to help. So what can you ask them to do?
Simple Ways Friends and Family Can Support Your Book
You don’t need to turn everyone you know away. Here are some ideas for you:
- They can recommend it to the right reader. A personal recommendation to someone who enjoys your genre or needs your topic is more useful than a generic “Buy my friend’s book!”
- They can share your launch news. A friend might pass your book announcement to their book club, share it on their social media channels, or forward it to an interested colleague. Let them choose what feels natural.
- They can help you spot problems. Before or after launch, someone you trust can tell you if a link is broken, a description is confusing, or the paperback looks different from what you expected. That kind of practical support is easy to overlook and is genuinely valuable.
- They can support you via BookMonty! This is where your circle can help you build review opportunities without reviewing your book at all.
Meet BookMonty’s Friends & Family Reader Network!
BookMonty’s Friends & Family Reader Network gives people you know a way to take part as independent readers. This is a perfect opportunity for family and friends who love to read... for free!
Basically, you invite them to join BookMonty. They browse the available books and audiobooks in our library, choose titles from other authors that interest them, and take part in those review opportunities. Their read+review activity earns Hoots for you, which you can then use for review requests for your own work. Win-win!
Here’s the safeguard that matters most: People you invite through your Friends & Family Reader Network cannot access or review your books or audiobooks through BookMonty. The feature is designed so their support doesn't take the form of reviewing your title.
You can think of it as a way for your book-loving cousin to help your author journey by discovering someone else’s book. They get to choose what appeals to them, another author gains a potential reader, and you gain Hoots to put toward your own review requests.
How the Network Works
- You invite someone you know to join BookMonty as an independent reader. You can do this by logging into your BookMonty account, clicking the Account Settings icon on the top right of your screen, clicking the Friends tab, and then copying the link under Your personal link. (This is the link you give them for signing up.)
- Invitees choose a book or audiobook from another author that they’re interested in reading or listening to.
- They participate in that review opportunity. Their eligible activity earns Hoots for you.
- You use your Hoots to create review requests for your own book or audiobook, so independent readers can discover it.
Your invitees make their own reading choices and share their own honest opinions. You cannot ask them (you're unable to, really) to review your book through the network, and earning Hoots doesn't guarantee that any particular reader will choose or review your title.
Who Could You Invite?
Think beyond Mom and Dad :) who are more than willing to buy your books out of loyalty. Your network may include a friend who reads several novels a month, a coworker who loves audiobooks, or a family member who enjoys discovering indie authors. The best invitees are people who truly want to read or listen, not people who feel obliged to complete a task for you.
That makes the invitation easier, too. You’re offering them a library of books and audiobooks to explore and an optional way to support you while they do something they already enjoy.
You could say: “You’ve asked how you can support my books. Please don’t review mine on Amazon, but if you enjoy discovering new authors, you can join BookMonty as a reader. You’d choose books you genuinely want to read from other authors, and your activity there would help me earn Hoots for my own review requests. No pressure if it’s not your thing!”
One BookMonty author even used their personal invitation link to invite a friend’s teenage bookworm!
A Different Kind of Support for Busy Authors
Reviewing books takes time. If you’re writing, publishing, marketing, and managing everything else yourself, you may not have enough reading hours to earn all the Hoots you’d like through your own activity.
TheFriends & Family Reader Network lets willing readers in your circle participate, too. It won’t replace the work of making your book appealing to readers: your cover, description, sample, genre fit, and launch plan still matter. What it gives you is another way to involve people who want to help, while your book’s review requests remain open to independent readers.
And because BookMonty supports books and audiobooks, the feature can help you build Hoots for review opportunities across the formats you publish.
Frequently Asked Questions
Am I allowed to review my own book on Amazon?
You should never post a customer review of your own book. As its author, you have a direct interest in its success, so your review would not be an independent customer opinion.
You can still describe your book through the information Amazon provides for authors and publishers, such as its description and author details. Leave customer reviews to readers who can give an honest, independent assessment.
How do you get people to review your book on Amazon?
Start by making it easy for independent readers to discover and finish your book. You can invite honest reviews from your newsletter readers, include a polite request at the end of your book, or work with ARC readers and book review communities. Amazon allows authors to provide free or discounted copies to readers, but you cannot require a review in return or try to influence what it says.
When you ask, keep the request simple: invite an honest review, make it optional, and never ask for a particular star rating.
BookMonty gives you another route to independent readers. You can use Hoots to request reviews for your book or audiobook; the Friends & Family Reader Network lets people close to you help you earn those Hoots by participating with other authors’ titles.
How can I ask friends and family to join BookMonty? What do I say?
Keep your invitation personal and optional. Explain that they would choose books or audiobooks from other authors, and that they wouldn’t be asked to review yours. Invite people who already enjoy reading or listening, and give them an easy way to say no.
Short message:
Hiya! I know you love reading; want to do it for free? I just joined BookMonty, and they have this Friends & Family Reader Network. If you join, you can discover books from other indie authors and share your honest thoughts. What's in it for me? Your activity also helps me earn Hoots for my own review requests in the network. You won’t see or review my books there. Would you like me to send you an invite? No pressure at all.
For someone who loves audiobooks:
I know you enjoy listening to audiobooks, so I thought you might like this. You can join BookMonty, choose books or audiobooks from other authors that interest you, and give your honest feedback about them. Through my Friends & Family Reader Network, your activity helps me earn Hoots to use for my books. There’s no need to read or review anything of mine. If you’re interested, I can send you the invitation.
Give the People Who Love You a Useful Way to Help
When friends and family ask how to support your book, you can give them more than a purchase link, and you don’t have to put them in the awkward position of reviewing it.
They can recommend your book to the right people, share your news when it’s relevant, and help you catch small launch problems. If they love reading or listening to new books, they can also join BookMonty’s Friends & Family Reader Network and support your review efforts while discovering other indie authors.
The best help is help someone wants to give. Let them choose how they’d like to be part of your journey.
