Book Reviews,Are hard to write,
Even for authors,
But...
Most Indie Authors count on reviews, the good reviews with lots of stars, to help them get out of bed in the morning and get to that laptop to write. Without validation, we are simpering, insecure, highly-imaginative slaves to the written word. We need lots of love and that means reviews. Also, Amazon rewards books with high reviews with advertising.
Not everyone is prolific on the page and that's why I often write blogs to help readers review.
If you like a book, write something nice for the author. Simple as that.
Here's some examples of perfectly fine reviews.
1. I just finished reading _____ and really enjoyed the book. The story was ______ and the characters were _______. I recommend this book to readers who like _________.
(Insert words like compelling, fun, interesting, very good, easy to identify with, well-written, Mysteries, Romance, Suspense, Supernatural, Y/A, Humor, Memoir)
2. This book is about _________ . I found the story _______ and would recommend it to other readers who like ___________
3. I was given a copy of this book to read in exchange for a fair review. ____________ is about a person who________ and needs_______. I found it a _______ book and enjoyed _______.
That's all you need to write and remember that 3 stars is a bad review to a writer. You might as well not review at all because a lack of reviews says something too.
ALSO, do not spoil the ending for anyone reading reviews to decide if they'd like the book. Spoilers in reviews are not nice.
After you write your review, copy and paste on:
Amazon
Goodreads
Nook
Bookbub
KOBO
and anywhere else you might have seen the book, if you feel generous.
And THANK YOU from all the authors who write for you.
KIM HORNSBY is an Amazon Bestselling Author best known for The Dream Jumper Series, which is optioned for film, with over 400 reviews on Amazon at 4.5 stars.
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Kim, nice idea of providing some suggestions for wording. The one other important thing to note is PLEASE don't give away spoilers. It's not fair to the person who may want to buy the book. If you're comfortable adding more wording, it is also appreciated but not required. I review for one major blog tour company. My goal is to always say what I liked about the book and suggest it to readers of that particular genre. If there's something that bugged me about the book (maybe over-use of a phrase) I may also add that to make the author aware. Sometimes we don't realize we're doing it. If I find I can't give at least a 3 star, I bow out of the review part of the tour and just do a promo piece.
ReplyDeleteThat is so true. I'm going to add that, Nancy!
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