Part of being an author seems to be asking, if not begging, for reviews. I think the current number of readers to reviews is something like 1%. Why do so few readers leave reviews? My guess is that the biggest reason is that it takes time, and the reader doesn’t get any benefit themselves from penning a review, other than the feeling of satisfaction that they’ve shared their opinion. Some of the most popular books out there already have thousands, even tens of thousands of reviews – so who will ever read yours anyway?
What most readers don’t know is that leaving a review, especially a verified one (means you purchased the book), has a bigger impact than they realize.
Why You Should Share Your Opinion
- Giving an author feedback on what you liked or didn’t like about a story helps the author to become a better writer. If you liked a book, encourage the person who wrote it to keep writing. Imagine how awesome their story skills will be in five more years!
- Readers are more likely to purchase a well-reviewed book. Lots of other people say it’s good, so the risk of not liking it and wasting their money is low. You can have a direct impact on the sale of that book (for better or worse) by writing a review.
- Search engine algorithms are affected by the number of reviews, well-reviewed books are more visible than poorly reviewed or not reviewed books. Imagine blowing a feather to keep it in the air – every good review is a breath that elevates the book to where more readers can find it.
- Readers need and want to hear from you, they rely on honest reviews to help set an expectation and choose stories that will give them the best experience.
- There be trolls in thar hills, and leaving a review helps put a protective barrier of bubble wrap around your favourite author. Unfortunately, there are people who leave disproportionately nasty reviews. Sometimes, the reviewer hasn’t even read the book. Why do people do this? Your guess is as good as mine. People are weird sometimes. These unfair reviews drag down the overall star rating with no good reason to do so, and is a slap in the face to both authors and readers. Often, readers looking for their next book will look at the overall rating and make a decision based on that, rather than reading every individual review. Every author is going to get hit by a disproportionately unfair review at some point, if you genuinely love an author’s work, you can help insulate them from these trolls. It’s sort of like standing up in front of the author with a shield and saying ‘You shall not pass,’ Gandalf style. Okay, not exactly, but you get the picture.
How to Rate a Book
This is my own personal criteria when choosing a star rating for my reviews. Maybe it’ll help you develop your own rating system.
⭐️ What a mess. Riddled with mistakes. Story didn’t make sense. My eyes were bleeding.
⭐️⭐️ Problem child. Might have been a good story in there somewhere, but I had a hard time finding it for all the issues.
⭐️⭐️⭐️ I finished it, and might consider reading more by this author.
⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️ Well written, well conceived. Held my attention. Will definitely read more by this author.
⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️ Couldn’t put it down. Grabbed me by the collar and didn’t let go. I’m still thinking about this story. Highly recommended.
I know reviews take time, but it doesn’t have to be much. Just 1 or 2 sentences is enough to have an effect. Next time you read a book, consider leaving a thumbprint for that author and for other readers in the form of a review. It matters!
Recent Comments