BOOK REVIEWING MADE EASY

During the current lockdown, many are working flat out – doctors, nurses, care workers, supermarket employees, prison officers, the volunteer army – and we sincerely thank them all, clapping and singing and showing support in any way we can.

But for those doing their bit by staying indoors we are encouraged to stave off boredom by trying something new. In our household that’s included testing out new recipes, mastering Zoom and my husband even tried his hand at giving our eldest son a buzz cut! However, today I encourage readers to give something less hazardous a go - to try book reviewing.

WHERE TO START

If the thought of writing and sharing a review feels daunting, why not start short? Think of a book you loved and write a couple of sentences about what made it so special. If you would like to add more, try including a brief summary (avoiding spoilers) or suggest authors who write in a similar style. I can’t stress enough how authors will love you forever if you make the time to leave even the shortest of reviews.

 

NEVER WRITTEN BEFORE

So, you’ve never written before – it doesn’t matter. Now is the time to have a bash, and perhaps make new reading friends and discover new authors to enjoy at the same time.

STILL NOT SURE …

Book reviews and star ratings help promote an author’s work, which is always helpful, but during this time of uncertainty when bookshops are closed and supermarkets are removing bookshelves to make room for essential items, it has become a vital way for your favourite authors to reach new readers.

And remember, readers gain from reviewing too.  As a writer it makes me reflect on a novel – its characters, setting, point of view. What worked well, and occasionally, what could have been done differently. Even though I only write a couple of paragraphs, often publishers send me e-books they think I might enjoy.

WHERE TO SHARE REVIEWS

Again, for those starting out, begin where you feel comfortable sharing. Writing an Amazon review is a great place to begin, then consider popping it on Facebook or Twitter. I also post on Instagram and Pinterest, but do what feels right for you. Goodreads is an excellent site to browse for ideas on how it is done. Remember something is better than nothing when it comes to sharing book love.

WHEN TO REVIEW

It’s easiest to review just after you’ve finished a book. However, if you have days to fill, why not check out your bookshelves or kindle library and get writing?

WHAT IF I DIDN’T ENJOY A BOOK?

This is a tricky one. Usually I check out other reviews, magazine articles or book blogger posts  before I commit, so I’m confident I’ll enjoy a novel. On the odd occasion when I discover a book isn’t for me, then I’ll stop reading. I never review a book I haven’t finished and encourage everyone who reviews to be kind - especially during such stressful times.

DOING OUR BIT

Of course our priority must be to support key workers in any way we can, but if you wish to try something new, why not give book reviewing a go? Let’s do our bit by showing our love for authors and the publishing industry during this difficult time…

Stay safe… and start reviewing!

Rae x

Let’s talk about reviews - and in particular Amazon reviews.

I love it when one of my books receives a 4 or 5* review. The world glows! The gloom that descends when there is a non favourable review is all consuming and depressing for a while until I pull myself together and remember not everyone is going to like what I write and maybe the reviewer had a valid criticism. And then I get on writing the next book and telling myself a mix of stars is a good sign in readers eyes. It proves that more people other than just your mates have read the book.

There’s been a lot of talk on various FB groups this week about a certain reviewer leaving one star reviews with the words ‘Didn’t read’ against a lot of books on Amazon. But, aside from the fact that it is quite simply not a review at all, the one star automatically lowers the author’s overall rating, which is what has angered many authors and caused them to react. But should authors react to these type of reviews? Isn’t it a question of the best policy is to read, sigh and ignore? A difficult question to answer.

For authors dependent on Amazon reviews to sell books it’s all turned into a bit of a lottery hasn’t it? Amazon’s policy of emailing customers within a week of them making a purchase of anything, asking them to review the item, seems to intimidate people into leaving a comment immediately. This way of garnering reviews simply doesn’t work for books. For example  ‘5* - arrived safely’ says more about the packaging and delivery service than it does about a book. So a failure as a review but it will give the author’s rating a boost - albeit unfairly. Some people also seem to fail to understand the 1 - 5 star system. I’ve seen glowing reviews in the past accompanied by a 1* because the reviewer has the mistaken belief that it’s the highest ranking and not the lowest. And, once again, the author's rating on Amazon suffers.

I'm not sure whether it’s an urban myth or not but apparently Amazon like to see at least 20 reviews for a book before they start to feature it in various threads like ‘Recommended for you’ and ‘Customers who bought this item also bought’. What definitely isn’t an urban myth is the fact that Amazon will delete a 5* review if they believe there is a connection between the author and the reviewer - whilst leaving the '1* didn’t read' in place.

And in truth the majority of buyers/readers of books will never leave a review. Not because they didn’t love/hate the book but because it simply doesn’t occur to them, nor do they realise how important a review on Amazon has become for authors. Years ago popular fiction was rarely mentioned in the book review pages of newspapers, it was literary fiction all the way. Amazon has certainly changed that with their review system - even if it is a bit like the curate's egg!

Word of mouth has been proved time and time again to be the way to sell books but that is as difficult to kick start as getting people to leave reviews. So personally I'm going to stop worrying about the reviews, try to always write the best book I can, and carry on dreaming that one day one of my books will be the next big thing.

Do you look at the reviews before you buy a book? Or do you prefer to take recommendations from friends? Do you look at book blogs? Or simply buy if the blurb appeals? How do you decide?