The Thing About Online Book Reviews: Tips for Readers and Authors
Question. How often do you receive this request: If you liked this book, please leave an online review.
Answer: Every time you finish reading a book, and sometimes, simply because you bought it, and sometimes, because the author bumps into you or emails you or sends you their newsletter and not so subtly makes the request for an online review.
Personally, I’m guilty as charged, but I understand that as a reader, the invitations to review an author’s book–which can feel more like solicitations–can become wearying. So why do it? We know what’s in it for the author: more reviews of their book. But what’s in it for the reader?
Why and how readers should review books
Let’s start with the bedrock American principle known as freedom of speech. By reviewing books, readers can offer their unfettered opinions about something they’ve invested hours reading. Why not take two minutes to tell the world what you thought about the book you read?
Reviewing books also helps other readers find good books and avoid bad ones. When readers add their voices to the pile of reviews, it offers you, me and anyone else who takes a peek at the reviews an opportunity to decide whether to invest time in the book.
Reviewing books is a bit like writing a thank you note to the author. Writing thank you notes is an old tradition that has trended away from paper and into the electronic world, but it’s effect has not lost its luster. Think about how you feel when someone writes you a thank you note. Authors spend years writing their novels. Small notes mean a lot to them.
A good tip for readers is to rate and review the book honestly and with good intentions. That does not mean rating the book a 1 or a 2 because you prefer literary fiction over thrillers and this book was a thriller. That is unfair. Rather, it means rating and reviewing the book for what it was, not for what it wasn’t. Was it well-written? Was it well-edited? If it was genre fiction, did it fit the genre? Were the characters likeable and relatable? Did the plot keep you engaged? Did the prose excite you? How about the themes? Was it a page-turner? Was it a fun escape? Or, you can keep it simple: did you enjoy the experience?
Why authors should write online book reviews
All request and no give-back is no way for authors to live their lives. Authors who request or hope for reviews of their books but rarely write them for other authors are traveling on a one-way street. They should not expect what they don’t do themselves.
In the other lane, authors who practice what they pray for tend to take two minutes to review the books they’ve read. It’s the kind of practice that is good for the author soul and it builds connections and community.
As a podcaster who interviews authors, I spend at least twelve hours creating and promoting each author episode as a way to help other authors give voice to their written words. It’s a lot more intense and time-consuming than leaving a book review online and it’s not for everyone, but I enjoy the conversations and I enjoy helping others. Leaving book reviews online takes a fraction of that time but can be just as meaningful to the author. I’m grateful to readers who have read and reviewed my books, and they include authors I’ve interviewed on the podcast who have returned the favor.
Authors Should Seek Honest Reviews
Authors should not ask for 5-star reviews. That’s like asking your significant other to say out loud that your recent intimate encounter was perfect. It’s awkward and puts them on the spot. And it’s unnecessary, because the encounter might have been pretty good–just not a 5–and that’s fine.
Authors should seek honest reviews. 5-star reviews are great, but it doesn’t help the author’s credibility to have only 5-star reviews. Readers won’t believe it. A mix of 4-star and 5-star reviews is much more plausible that the book is worth the read. An author with all 5-star reviews suggests they have a lot of relatives and close friends, or worse, that they offered something of value in return for the reviews.
A three-star or four-star review with positive written feedback can sometimes be better than a 5-star rating without a written review. A positive three-star review is good press too.
Here are two tips for authors seeking reviews. One, ask for honest reviews. Two, offer nothing of value in return for doing so. A free book for an honest review is not a violation of this rule.
Authors Should Not Fear the One-Star Review
Have you seen the scene in “The Christmas Story,” where the young boy who wants a BB gun with a compass in the stock for Christmas learns that his elementary school teacher has assigned his class the task of writing a Christmas theme? Dejected at first, he lights up when he learns that the prompt for the theme is “What I want for Christmas?” He writes what he believes is the perfect theme and daydreams that the teacher has given him an A++++. His dream is shattered when the teacher returns his theme with the grade of C, saying “you will shoot your eye out.”
Like the young boy in “The Christmas Story,” authors daydream of 5 star reviews but soon learn that their books are not for everyone, or that a three or four-star review by one reviewer is like a four or five-star review to another. Or worse yet, that some people don’t like your book at all.
I once interviewed Phillip Lewis, a lawyer by day and author by night (or whenever in the day he can steal time to write) who wrote a well-received and interesting literary fiction novel called “The Barrowfields.” He laughed when I asked him how he handled the occasional bad reviews, admitting that he didn’t like them. He said he would call his agent to talk about them and his agent’s advice was simple: “Don’t read those reviews, Phillip.”
Authors who haven’t received a one-star review probably haven’t written enough books or received enough reviews, or both. And yet, being on the receiving end of the one-star review can be a shock, a wake-up call that can shake an author’s confidence and raise questions in the author’s mind. Like: Why didn’t they love my book? Or: What could I have done better?
When I received a one-star review on Amazon for the first book in The Christmas Courtroom Trilogy, I was taken aback, but then I saw the bright side. It was the 100th review of the book and without that review, I wouldn’t have gotten to that milestone. I also chose to look at it for what it was, a review that said: “Nothing about it appealed to me.” In other words, it wasn’t the kind of book that reader liked to read.
With this experience, I was prepared for the day when the one star review would visit me again. It happened recently after we put the trilogy in an eBook box set online at a discount. This time I smiled at the review. It said:
“If you are looking for a book that equates people who believe in Santa Claus with people who believe in global warming, then volume 3 of this trilogy is the book for you! You no longer have to imagine what Al Gore would like to read to his grandchildren on Christmas Eve, author Landis Wade has brought the Inconvenient Truth to the holiday season. For True Believers only!”
It wasn’t bad writing, or a bad story, or uninteresting characters that earned me a 1-star review. It was belief in global warming. What’s not to smile about?
Where, When, and How Readers Can Submit Online Reviews
Online retailers like Amazon, Barnes & Noble, Apple Books, and Kobo allow readers to leave online reviews.
Popular sites like BookBub and Goodreads also allow readers to leave reviews, but unlike the sites that sell the books, these sites allow readers to leave reviews of the books in advance of their release dates. This is helpful to authors who like to obtain online reviews before their book is released and it’s fun for book influencers and advance readers who get to read books in advance in exchange for their honest pre-release reviews.
If you buy your book at an independent book store, you can still leave an online review. Authors appreciate reviewers who leave their reviews at an online site like Amazon or Barnes & Noble and then copy and paste their review to BookBub and Goodreads. Below are details about how to do that.
Amazon
Amazon being Amazon, they require you to have spent at least $50 on Amazon.com using a valid credit or debit card in the past 12 months. If you meet this requirement, you can go HERE, for example (this is a shameless link to my legal and historical mystery Deadly Declarations), scroll down below “Customer Reviews” where you can find and click on “Write a Review,” where you can then give your star rating, put a headline, and write a short written review.
If you take a chance on my novel Deadly Declarations and are kind enough to order, read, and post an honest review of the book on Amazon, you can order the eBook anytime on Amazon Kindle and review it on Amazon after the March 1, 2022 eBook release date. If you prefer reading the print book, you can order it on Amazon after April 5th or you can order it anytime wherever else books are sold, like Bookshop.org or your favorite independent book store.
BookBub
If you are not a member of BookBub, you can join BookBub for free HERE and after joining (or logging in if you are already a member), you can see existing reviews of my novel Deadly Declarations at my BookBub page HERE and if you are inclined to purchase and review the novel, you can review it on BookBub by clicking on “Review” in the box on the top right side of that page and following the prompts to give your star rating and write a short written review.
A few perks of joining Bookbub include access to free and discounted eBooks, the ability to follow authors you like and the ability to learn about new releases and book recommendations in categories you prefer. You can set up your preferences for such notifications.
If you are an author who is not a member of BookBub, I recommend joining BookBub because it can help you network with other authors and expand your readership. HERE is link to an article explaining how BookBub can help authors reach more readers.
Goodreads
Goodreads is also free to join. If you like or want to give Goodreads a try, you can go HERE to see reviews about Deadly Declarations and leave your own review of the novel. Like Amazon, just scroll down until you see “Write a Review” where you can leave your star rating and a short written review. Like BookBub, you can set your notification preferences.
Enjoy Your Reading and Reviewing
At the end of the reading day, it’s all about your reading experience. If you enjoyed the experience, take a few minutes and let other readers know about it by leaving your online review. And don’t forget be honest and fair when you do.