The Importance of Reviews...
The Importance of Writing Reviews...
Many of us depend on reviews for our writing. Here are 12 reasons why you should help us out. Thank you
If you are a reader, then you’ve probably used book reviews. Whether it’s word of mouth, blogs or review sites like
Amazon.com
this honest feedback is the readers ticket to a sure-thing-read. So
why are these reviews important and more importantly, why should YOU
write reviews?
1. Friends don’t let friends read bad books.
Writing and sharing book reviews is a community service to all of your
reading buddies. Everyone wants to know about the next best book and NO
ONE wants to waste their time with a terrible one. Help a book brother
and sister out and write that review!
2. Aspiring authors
should write reviews. Read, Read, Read, says Stephen King. I agree!
But let’s take a step further, lets read critically, and figure out what
makes the book great or terrible and write thoughtful reviews. Your
writing will benefit from this process and so will author. Win. Win.
3. Don’t be a review troll! If the book isn’t good enough to give
it a 3 star rating stop reading it. Mark it as DNF (Did Not Finish) and
give an explanation. Negative reviews are important and they should be
written especially if it the book was poorly edited. HOWEVER. Most bad
reads just come down to personal preference, not bad books. Writing
unfounded nasty reviews hurts the author’s livelihood (They are people
too!) and makes the reviewer look like a tool.
4. Writing and
sharing a book review is a benefit for the writing and reading
community. You help like-minded readers discover a great book and you
help the author by providing valuable feedback.
5. Over 85% of
all Amazon Kindle readers rely heavily on book reviews before making an
online order to have the copy of the book. A good book review helps
other readers determine if the book is for them.
7. An articulate review points out other aspects of the book that the marketing blurb might not have.
8. One review begets another. It’s a snowball effect.
9. Positive ranking plays into the booksellers algorithm. More
sales, more review, equals higher ranking and exposure to more book
buyers.
10. Read the book, wrote the review, but have you
“liked” similar reviews to yours? You should. Clicking that like
button gives like-minded reviewers more influence on the books they
review and boosts that particular review up the list of reviews.
Also, part of the algorithm is the “If you liked this, then you might
like that” book recommendation. This is particularly helpful for the
debut novel or authors with a smaller following. Example: If you
“like” GAME OF THRONES, you might try this smaller publication book.
11. More reviews get authors exposure to other book review sites, blogging communities, and book clubs.
12. Bottom line: More reviews equal more sales for authors and
more informed readers. It doesn’t take much to write a few lines about a
book you read and even less time to “like” a review.
You can leave reviews on
Amazon.com
without verification of purchase. This is important for those of us
who check-out books at the library or book swap with friends. Leaving
reviews or liking a review doesn’t cost you anything and it makes a huge
difference to the reading and writing community.
