I think the "what are the chances" is the wrong way around for this case. Plenty of book review journals/ newspaper sections agree to review books of new autho

I think the "what are the chances" is the wrong way around for this case. Plenty of book review journals/ newspaper sections agree to review books of new authors before there are any sales figures, and it is not uncommon practice to send out review copies before the official publication date, because it is hard to get booksellers to stock books that either lack positive reviews or are "old" (i.e., well past official publication date). So while it is hard for a new author to get reviewed by influential reviewers before there are sales figures, it is also the case that there are many such reviews.