Getting reviews can be tough; especially if the work in question is a novel. It doesn't necessarily have anything with your work either. It's just people don't really like reading long text online. It causes eye strain, and the web is thus best relegated to short text. However, that doesn't mean there aren't some ways for you to boost the number of reviews you get.
Tip 1: Entice the reader with a good title and description
The first step to getting reviewers is simply to get people to click on your work. However, if your title is "Untitled" or "I can't think of a title," that is not going to cut it. Tell me, would you read a book titled, "I need a title"? Of course not. You also wouldn't read a book where the title is misspelled or looks silly (such as having more than one exclamation mark).
So put thought into your title. It doesn't need to be interesting - it just needs to be a title. However, where you should try to be interesting is with the description. Here, you should write something short and sweet; that is, something that will make potential reviewers interested in your work. Saying, "I wrote this yesterday," isn't interesting. Also, saying, "Please review!" is just annoying.
Instead, make your description about the work itself. Reviewers want to read something interesting, and they are more likely to read a work where the description is interesting. Something like, "Two star-crossed lovers doomed by greed" or "One man's journey to oblivion and back," sounds interesting. If you are at a loss for a good description, just use the first line or sentence from your work.
Tip 2: Proofread at least once
Okay, now you've got people clicking on your work. Yet, the first thing they see are misspelled words. Guys, the vast majority of you have a spell-checker. Use it. For the few who don't, just proofread your work before submitting. In fact, everyone should proofread at least once. Reviewers want to help you, but they don't want to help someone who won't even help themself.
Tip 3: Review
If you're not reviewing, then you should not expect any reviews whatsoever. And when you review, make yourself look good by spending time on the review. A good rule of thumb is to spend just 10 to 15 minutes per review. If you spend less than that, you're probably not helping the writer. If you spend more than that, then you're probably writing too much to be of any use.
Tip 4: Advertise the work in your signature
While allowed, advertising your work in your review just seems wrong (and annoying). However, you can easily get around that by posting a link to your latest work in your signature. To edit your signature, choose "Edit Profile" from the "My YWS" drop-down in the navigation menu. Then look look for "Signature" on the left hand side.
And the best thing about advertising in your signature is you can literally say almost anything without appearing like a nuisance. Of course, tip 1 still applies to signatures!
Tip 5: Engage with your reviewers
Okay, so now you have some reviews! Way to go, but your work doesn't end there. Donate points to your reviewers as a thank you, and thank them either through PM or in the topic itself for taking the time to review your work. Do not ever argue with a reviewer! You may be 100% correct, but it looks bad and will put off future reviewers. Of course, if you want to clarify something, that's one thing. But it's quite another to call a reviewer names or to tell them they don't know what they're talking about.
And one thing that always works well is to make edits your reviewers suggested, and then PM those reviewers letting them know you took their advice to heart. These are the best kind of PMs for a reviewer to receive, and it makes you look really, really good.
Special Tip for Novels
Okay, getting people to read anything past Chapter 1 is tough. Really tough. However, this is what you do.
First, create a club for your Novel. While people can't follow novels, they can follow clubs. This way, you may be able to get a few people to join your club and thus keep them apprised of your progress. Of course, if someone joins your novel club, you should join their novel club as well.
Second, let your previous reviewers know when you add a chapter. Of course, don't overdo this - no more than once every two weeks.
Third, post new chapters a week apart. A lot of people seem to be under the belief that posting your novel all at once is the best way for it to get read. If you're novel is awesome and a potential best-seller, then yes, that's true. But, chances are that's not true. Thus, posting a lot of chapters at once just causes people to completely glance over your novel (even the first chapter). So do yourself a favor, and post a week apart.
Sum up
This was long - a lot longer than I meant it to be. But that's because getting a lot of reviewers is hard work. If you do nothing, you're likely to get at least two... eventually. However, if you put some effort into it, you'll get a lot more reviews in a lot less time.
