Thursday, April 23, 2015

Writing Reviews


Are you a reader? When you read a book, especially if you like it, do you write a review?
Are you also an author? Do you write a review?

As authors we know reviews are important. They may not sell a lot more books, but they trigger algorithms that may give you a better position in a book store (traditional or online). It may help the author to get better paid advertising. There are a lot of reasons we need reviews of our book. Me – I’d like to hear what the reader thought. Did she love it? Did she figure out the killer in the first chapter?

Why don’t you write a review? Maybe you don’t how or figure it will take too long.
You can write a short review. It may only take a few minutes. First, give it a rating, usually out of 5. Remember a review should be respectful and honest. Next, in a couple of sentences or less describe the book. Then explain what you liked – characters, plot, and/or setting and perhaps where you found a few challenges, specific to yourself as a reader. If you liked it, maybe recommend it to other readers. That’s it.

Yes, you can write a lengthy review and discuss the characters, motivation, plot, etc in detail which other readers will appreciate, but a short, quick review is always appreciated by the author.

Here’s a couple of references that might help you write a review:
https://support.google.com/plus/answer/2519605?hl=en

And if you write a review for any of my books, I thank you in advance, as all other authors will also do, I’m sure.

7 comments:

  1. I never realized how much reviews mattered. If I liked a book, I'd write to the author but with the world of Amazon...reviews have become gold. A book I read to my class had some parent reviews which were way off on what the book was about. Yet it triggered a huge fall out over the book. It is important to leave a review but I think your comment about being nice and tasteful was the most important.

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    1. Thanks Melissa. I didn't realize the importance either until a little while ago. Hopefully a few more people will try and write a few short reviews.

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  2. What a fab-YOU-lous opportunity to serve you while on earth, girl!! I'd also looove to write many stimulating, zzAny novels with you Upstairs! Just a savvy lil' witty ditty on why we ROTE our 22 blogs:

    Faith, hope, and love -
    the greatest of these is love:
    jump into faith...
    and you'll see with love.
    Doesn’t matter if you don’t believe
    (what I write);
    God believes in you.
    God. Bless. You.
    Meet me where the Son never goes down…

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  3. I haven't written any reviews other than on the author's Amazon page. Maybe I should start writing them on my website?

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    1. The author's amazon page is great. Goodreads is also good. Anywhere helps. Writing on your website might help, too.
      I usually write one and then I copy it and post to Amazon, Good reads and any place the author would like. I usually ask them where they would like it posted..

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  4. Great advice - succinct, clear and easy to follow. I don't know why more readers don't leave reviews - it's such a pity. Maybe they just don't realise how important their opinion is to other readers and, of course, writers.

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    1. Thanks for the comment. Maybe this will help a few more realize the importance.

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