{Coming In Time For Valentine's}
Why do authors want you to review their books so badly?
Think Lightning Rod
Over and over you hear that success in book sales is elusive. It comes when it will ... like lightning.
With Amazon Kindle books, you can draw the lightning with reviews.
These figures are what the conventional wisdom say is true about reviews and Amazon:
1.) Around
20-25 reviews
Amazon starts including the book in “also bought” and “you might
like” lists.
This increases your chances of someone finding your
title.
2.) Around
50-70 reviews
Amazon looks at your book for spotlight positions and their
newsletter.
This is HUGE.
This is my personal goal. Of course another personal goal is to get a date with Cate Blanchett, too.
3.) Number
of reviews may affect Amazon sales ranking.
(I have no
actual proof of it.)
Amazon Sales Ranking is so arcane that killing a butterfly in South America could affect it!
4.) Some
websites will not consider or promote your book unless you have a number of
reviews on the page
Interested in writing a review for a friend's book?
Here's how you can do it painlessly:
A.) JUST 20 WORDS!
That's all you have to write.
You highlight the number of stars you want to tag the book with and write a mere 20 words.
Think TV GUIDE summary.
Think what you would want to hear about you were considering to buy and write that.
B.) SAY SOMETHING YOU LIKED ABOUT IT:
Say
something you liked about it.
Things that you could focus on could include
the
plot, a particular scene, characters, how things changed during the course of
the story, etc.
If a bit of dialogue tickled you, say so.
Do not give away all the punchlines.
But one is allowable and give the prospective reader an idea of what to expect.
If the short chapters helped you in reading the novel, say that.
If the humor was just your cup of tea, say so as well.
If
there was a moment or character that personally impacted you in some way, don’t
be afraid to say so.
Put yourself in the review.
Authors love to know their
readers and I know that I’m always moved when I can tell someone made a
personal connection with something I wrote.
C.) DON'T GIVE AWAY THE ENDING:
If you're reviewing the book, SIXTH SENSE, do NOT write:
"I couldn't believe at the end when you saw the psychologist was really a ghost!"
You're not being graded for this review.
Have fun with it.
Relate how you felt during the read and afterwards as well.
D.) I HATE THIS BOOK. SHOULD I WRITE A REVIEW?
That is up to you.
I file such a book under the heading, LIFE IS TOO SHORT.
You know when your mother told you:
"If you can't say something nice, don't say anything at all?"
There is wisdom to those words for reviews.
What I find to be negative, others do not.
If I cannot find enough merit in a book to recommend it,
I remain silent, reluctant to harm another's dream.
Pinpointing areas needing improvement is for critique partners.
Life truly is too short for me to spend valuable time being negative.
If an error is glaring enough but the majority of the writing sound,
I write the author a polite, hopefully helpful, email that does not blare to the entire internet community what I believe to need fixing.
Ever stand in a store and witness a child being publicly chastised in front of the whole place?
Negative reviews to me are like that. They call it the WORLD WIDE net for a reason.
You may think differently. Many believe in negative reviews.
E.) BE SPECIFIC ...
AND READ THE BOOK BEFORE YOU WRITE THE REVIEW
If you decide to write a negative review, be specific and give a way to improve the flaw in the writing.
Being specific will help the author know where to start.
Being specific helps the prospective reader decide if those details that bothered you would bother him/her.
Not reading the book but slamming it because of the genre, the title, the cover, or the sex of the author
while making it plain that the novel was not read is sure to get your review disregarded.
Nice post.Keep sharing. Thanks
ReplyDeleteThanks, Charlie. :-) Keep visiting.
Delete"Being specific helps the prospective reader decide if those details that bothered you would bother him/her." Excellent. I like to add that to balance my review -- I've started to disregard reviews that just go on and on about how awesome the author/book/concept is, because those are usually the books I read and end up disappointed in for various reasons (usually POV issues that didn't seem to bother anyone else -- so I say so in my review just to forewarn the next reader who is like me).
ReplyDeleteGreat post!
Ronel visiting on IWSG day 2019 Goals, Resolutions and Questions
I ask myself why some reviews are so negative without a counterbalancing mention of something positive, don't you?
DeleteExcellent post. A great way to promote authors and reading.
ReplyDeleteMary at Play off the Page
I tried to think of a subject that would help my fellow writers. :-)
DeleteI always struggle to write reviews but I think the idea of keeping it short helps. We're not writing analytical essays here.
ReplyDeleteIt need only be 20 words. Not an impossibility, right? :-)
DeleteThank you for these great tips Roland. I need to write a couple of reviews and your post was timely for me. Thank you. Happy New Year, my friend :)
ReplyDeleteHappy New Year to you, too, Beebe! Thanks for taking time to comment, It means a lot.
DeleteSome interesting info here. I didn't realize the number of reviews plays such a big role in how Amazon promotes people's books.
ReplyDeleteIt is truly important. We can help struggling writers we like by honestly reviewing their work. :-)
DeleteIf I don't like a book, I don't finish - and I don't review. I am behind on reviews though, so I'll be working on that this month.
ReplyDeleteI am behind in so much it is daunting! Happy New Year, Alex!
DeleteI find it a catch 22. Most authors prefer positive reviews ONLY. This can't always be true, then... Well, I'm afraid of the wrath of a writer scorned. The stories are too numerous to count. :-(
ReplyDeleteAnna from elements of emaginette
Sometimes bad breath is better than no breath at all! :-) Besides, why go to the bother of writing a negative review? You are not compelled to write a review in the first place. If we cannot say anything nice, perhaps we should refrain from writing a review? :-)
DeleteAwesome as always. I'm going to share this with my readers and may even put a link at the end of my books. LOL.
ReplyDeleteIt couldn't hurt. I have an image of my cat, Midnight, at the end of my last books shamelessly asking for a review! :-)
DeleteSuch great advice and tips! I only write positive reviews and I've found that there's generally something positive that can be said about most things.
ReplyDeleteThere is, isn't there? :-)
DeleteThanks for this. I didn't know most of that about Amazon reviews. And I hate when an entire review is "This is the worst book I've ever read". Really?
ReplyDeleteI think the same thing, Jacqui. :-)
DeleteThese are great tips. I definitely need to be more regular with reviews. Need to remember it's fine to be brief.
ReplyDeleteWriting brief reviews means you have more time to write more. :-)
DeleteWhat a helpful post, Roland. I'm Evernoting it!
ReplyDeleteI used to review most of what I read on my Dear Reader blog, but nobody was reading it. Btw, I followed your advice about 'If you can't write anything nice, don't write anything at all.' I'm not the final arbiter. Someone else might find in that book jewels that I've missed.
Rosemary, I've found few visit blogs with book reviews or book cover reveals anymore. :-(
DeleteGreat post! Reviews are so important, and I think some people don't leave them because they don't know what to say, so its great that you wrote this!
ReplyDeleteThanks, Sara. I think we all can come with 20 positive words, right? :-)
DeleteNice suggestions for potential reviewers. Maybe some will take those to heart and boost your review numbers. If you do get a date with Cate Blanchett, let us know.
ReplyDeleteI've given up on receiving reviews on my books. It is what it is. :-) I think Cate's husband might object to her dating me! But I can fantasize.
DeleteI also try not to do negative reviews unless it's on my blog, and about a well established book (the ones I'm doing for the Top 100 Horror Novels.)
ReplyDeleteLife is too short for us to go out of our way to diminish another's dream,right? Thanks for visiting and staying to chat. It means a lot. :-)
Delete
ReplyDeleteclipping path service
Photo Retouching Services
Background Removal Service
clipping path service
Photo Editing Services
raster to vector conversion service
Useful blog shared post . I liked and appreciate your published , thanks . Clipping Path | Remove White Background | Product Photo Editing
ReplyDeleteNice article. This is quite informative.
ReplyDelete
ReplyDeleteThis is incredible, I feel really happy to have seen your webpage.
I gained much unknown information, the way you have clearly explained is really fantastic.
ReplyDeleteHi there, I enjoy reading all of your article.
ReplyDelete
ReplyDeletevery interesting information and i really glad to getting this information
ReplyDeleteThis article is very helpful and interesting too. Keep doing this in future.
excellent publish, very informative. I ponder why the other specialists of this sector don’t notice this.
ReplyDeleteit is typical to encounter difficulties when using assignment writing services.
ReplyDeleteYou are truly a just right webmaster.
ReplyDeleteThe site loading speed is incredible. It seems that you are doing any unique trick.
ReplyDeleteReally thank you! Really Cool.
ReplyDeleteGreetings! Very helpful advice within this article!
ReplyDeleteYou make so many great post here. I read your article twice. Its good!
ReplyDeleteYour blog is wonderful. I love this small presentation.
ReplyDeleteKeep up the great work, its hard to find good ones.
ReplyDeleteI stumbled onto your blog and read a few post.I m very pleased to read this article
ReplyDeleteGood job.. Awesome blog post, I really appreciate if you continue this in future
ReplyDeleteThe article you shared, it was very interesting and meaningful.
ReplyDeleteThis article is really contains lot more information about This Topic.
ReplyDeleteI think that you're always doing an excellent job!!
ReplyDeleteI spend a lot of time on this blog to learn a lot of good information.
ReplyDeleteI feel so good read to your blog.
ReplyDeleteI found great interest in reading it and I would like to share it as well.
ReplyDeleteHey, I am so thrilled I found this blog, Just like to say thanks
ReplyDeleteI absolutely loved every little bit of it.
ReplyDeleteGreat article I enjoy reading your thoughts.
ReplyDeleteThanks for sharing this awesome content, it would be helpful.
ReplyDelete
ReplyDeleteThis site really good
ReplyDeleteI hope you will be adding more in future.
ReplyDeleteYour blog got me to learn a lot, thanks for sharing.
ReplyDeleteThanks very much for helping me
ReplyDeleteWow, awesome blog layout!
ReplyDeleteWhat a nice post! I'm so happy to read this
ReplyDeleteVery good article. I’m facing many of these issues as well
ReplyDeleteThanks for some other wonderful article
ReplyDeleteIt's really pleasure to read your post. Thank you so much for writing such a nice post
ReplyDeleteI am glad to be a visitor of this complete site! , thanks for this rare info!
ReplyDeletePerfect just what I was looking for!
ReplyDeleteExcellent article!
ReplyDeleteThank you , this is really useful information towards my assessment
ReplyDeleteYou make so many great points here that I read your article a couple of times
ReplyDeletethanks for sharing great blog article thanks again