Love's Valiant Struggle - Why write a review?

Loves Valiant Struggle - Why write a review?

Apologies for being late with this blog, but I’ve had a few health problems that had me fighting to stay awake and thinking. Drat.

Ok, so the subject is reviews, an author’s joy, and a curse. Truly. When I’m writing a book, reviews are the last thing on my mind. When I’ve published a book, it’s all I think about after sales. Why? Reviews play a more important role than most people imagine. Reviews affect how the book sells, and how it can be marketed. Just giving a rating, even if it’s 5 stars doesn’t help. Very rarely are they seen, if at all. Sadly, before being published, I mostly did the rating thing, and to those authors, I apologize profusely. Mia Culpa.

Oh, I wrote reviews as well, but I have NEVER written a mean review. That’s just not in me, I respect the creative courage too much. That’s me, not everyone thinks that way, nor do they need to. Sadly, I get few reviews. So, I can take that 2 ways, well, actually, 3.

1.     My books really suck big-time.

2.     Readers don’t write a review because their mother taught them the old adage “If you can’t say something nice, don’t say anything at all.”

3.     Readers don’t think it’s important.

4.     Some readers don’t know how to write a review.

5.     Readers don’t know what to say.

6.     Ok, I lied about how many reasons.

 

I’m going to ignore the first 2 reasons because they’re self-explanatory. The importance is not stroking the author’s ego, (oh, I do love it!) it is helping readers decide to buy the book. Reviews are just as, if not more important than the description I write for the book. Seeing several good reviews often makes it easier to take a chance. I know that’s true for me.

Our digital libraries lose the advantage of holding a book in our hands, reading the back blurb and thumbing through it. Instead, we rely on other signposts to guide us to a good read. And, that’s not all. Many readers find books through email campaigns like Bookbub. Open the email, check out the books listed and buy what you want with one click and you’re done. There are several other services as well.

This is a wonderful way to spread the word to readers, offering the books for low prices to attract readers and entice them to seek out your other books. Brilliant! Not so fast there, Red Rider, there’s a hitch!

Before you can enter a book into Mr. Librarus’ Glorious Word Emporium, book peddling services require a certain number of reviews before they accept a book. The number of reviews varies, but the lowest I’ve seen is 12 per book submitted.

Next is the issue of knowing how to write a review. In most cases this is relatively simple because companies do not want to discourage reviews, they make money for companies, too. Check it out, and you’ll find it’s not that difficult after all.

Now we come to what to write. If writing comes easily, the reviews can be lengthy and give a good description of what they have read. Ah, that’s a delight if it’s a positive review, but a simple and short one can be just as effective.

Sample: Loved the book, the author did a great job, she didn't just write the book, she painted it. I’m going to read all her books now!

Or, Excellent, can’t wait for the next one.

What isn’t necessary are the really nasty ones. It’s obvious by the way they’re written that the purpose is to tout the pseudo-intelligence of the writer and to keep others from purchasing the book. I had one review that raked me over the coals because I wrote boys instead of boy’s. Evidently, leaving out an apostrophe is a capital offense. These paragons of perfection allow such silliness to distract them from the story. Sad.

One must ask, did you recognize the word? Or, did it sound differently in your head? Either way, you’re not going to find perfection in an indie book.

The majority of indie writers don’t have the money to pay for professional editing services. We’re a one-stop shop, we do it all, often with the help of generous friends who read and then help with the editing. These are our better angels.

So, in conclusion, don’t take your power as a reviewer lightly. If you enjoy a book and would like to have more books in the future from that author, write a review.

Next blog - The Golden Thread.

Happy reading!