D.G. Kaye's books reviewed

What do we get from #Writing #Book #Reviews?

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book review by DG

We’ve all come across many blogs posting reviews of books read. And as writers, we all know that receiving a great review inspires us and helps keep us motivated in knowing our words were inspiring and/or enjoyable to readers. There are many benefits to writing a book review for a book we enjoyed and sharing it on our blogs.

  • We are sharing valuable information for other readers to learn about that book. Perhaps they aren’t familiar with the book and our review has piqued their curiosity.

  • We are validating ourselves by sharing our interest in a subject someone else may be interested in, thus forming a common bond with a new reader.

  • We attract more book readers to our blogs.

  • We may attract those authors to our blogs, who may in turn review one of our books on their pages.

All these factors go back to the old adage” ‘Sharing is caring’. I know the value of a good review as a published author. That’s why I always make it a point to write a review on Amazon and copy and paste it to Goodreads so my followers there can see it and decide to read that same book based on my review. On Goodreads many book lovers read our reviews. And consequently, I’ve noticed many authors sending me messages from there, suggesting another book they’ve read that I may enjoy on the same topic.

 

Let’s be honest, how many of you book lovers go to Amazon to purchase a book and feel compelled to read a few reviews on the book while you’re there to help decide if you want to download it?

 

I’m no different. I love feedback. I even read some of the crappy reviews. Why? Because if I see a book has mostly 4 and 5 stars, I’m compelled to read a 1 or 2 star review (there’s always one) to see what one person out of so many didn’t like. Does that deter me from buying the book? No. But curiosity gets the best of me, and usually the bad review is ridiculous and doesn’t say much more than, “I don’t like this genre or the author” or something of the like. Those kind of reviews aren’t helpful and certainly the majority of people that read didn’t feel the same way. (Which brings to mind my first crappy review I ever received on my first book, a memoir, saying the book was all about me, well, no shit Sherlocke, it’s a memoir) But I digress.

 

What I want to say is, I never realized the power of sharing some of my many reviews of books here on my own blog. You may have noticed I’ve been pulling a few reviews out of the Amazon archives and have been posting at least one a week here. I realized that by sharing my written reviews on book sites on my own blog, the value I’m adding to a book I’ve enjoyed by helping that author get some added exposure for a worthy book.

I can say with the utmost enthusiasm that there is nothing more rewarding for an author than to find their own book posted on somebody else’s page with a five star review, why wouldn’t I want to do the same with the books I’ve enjoyed.

 

Here’s what I’ve noticed lately by posting reviews of books on my blog:

  • The book has attracted comments from readers who enjoy the genre.

  • In turn, the author of the book usually pops by and interacts with the commenters.

  • Subsequently, by attracting more readers, that book gets more people interested in purchasing it.

 

Sharing is all about giving back. And for those who know me well, know that I’m all about the universe – the law of attraction, and we must give to receive, not ask. I’ve noticed my own books being posted on quite a few blogs lately – some quite by surprise, and some where I’ve been invited to post as a guest. From the posts, I’ve met many new authors and bloggers through their comments, and subsequently have formed friendships with, some even telling me they’ve just purchased my book.

 

All of these components help build our blogging/writing/reader community. And who wouldn’t want that? For what other reason do we write and blog other than to share our thoughts, ideas and work and hope to engage like-minded readers and potential new friends. So please, consider writing reviews and sharing them for the authors whose books you’ve enjoyed, and to let others know you found a book interesting to read and why.

 

Tips for writing a review:

 

It’s easy to write a review. You can copy and paste your review from Amazon to your blog. You can also copy and paste the book image to your blog and add the link to the purchase page. Copy and paste the book’s blurb so the reader can get a sense of the premise of the book before reading your review. And if you’re feeling a bit more ambitious, you can write a few sentences as an intro to the review. How easy is that?

37 thoughts on “What do we get from #Writing #Book #Reviews?”

  1. I agree with all your points, Debby. I guess as authors (perhaps more for fiction writers) we also can learn from other’s writing. It might be about the way they describe things, the characters, or themes they talk about. If I’m reading a series and it’s been a while since I read the first book, the review usually reminds me of what I thought about the first book (and normally works better than the description for me). It’s great when readers and authors interact thanks to a review and I’m always happy when readers of my blog tell me they are interested in one of the books and intend to buy it (and even more if they in turn post a review and they’ve enjoyed it too). Even adding the Twitter handle of the author in the title of the review (in the blog) can help connect. Yes, it’s all about sharing, and when one loves books it’s great to spread the love around. Thanks, Debby!

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    1. Good point Sally. Just one more of the many benefits of book reviewing. And your books never disappoint Sal. From the knowledge you share in your health books to your heartwarming stories, I can always relate. xoxo ❤

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  4. This is something I must do a lot more of, Debby. I’ve got one book, on my desk, that I read over two months ago and I’ve still not written a review. Somebody (it may have been you) said getting a book review is like getting a Christmas present. Something I certainly need to keep telling myself.

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    1. Yes Hugh. You need to write that review. Once your book is published you will fully understand the importance of having reviews for your book. Besides the joy and insights you can get from those reviews, you will find as you begin to place ads for book promos that ‘x’ amount of reviews and stars will be required by many ad sites before they’ll promote your book. So much involved. Writing is the joy, publishing and ongoing marketing is ongoing and sometimes overwhelming. 🙂

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      1. I’ve just written that review and am about to publish it, Debby. It will be on Lit World Interviews but I’m also going to mention it in an upcoming blog post about books on the weekend. Thanks for pushing me. From now on I’ll review all books I read (unless it’s a really really bad book).

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      2. So glad I got you to write a review Hugh. And I look forward to reading it too. And you have the same thinking as me when it comes to a book I couldn’t enjoy, I just won’t review it. I just wouldn’t feel good about myself tearing someone’s work apart. ❤

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  8. Hello Debby! What a wonderful post. You’re always thinking of what benefits others. You’re so kind. Like Hugh, I need to read more books and write more reviews. I used to do this a lot but since I began writing/editing my own books I’ve been lacking time. I’ll make more of an effort. Thanks for the inspiration. ❤ xx

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    1. Hi Vashti. Thanks for popping by and leaving your lovely compliment. I do hear you about our shortage of time. I do my reading only at night for an hour (if I last that long) before going to sleep. That’s the only time to sneak in reading, other than while waiting at appointments in doctor’s offices, lol. 🙂 xo

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  9. Hi Debby. You have great point in this post.I have been wanting to do a review of the books that I have read but due to time constraint I really find it hard.I am relatively new in this writing career and in this world wide tangle web! I almost always get lost in the process and don’t know if I am on the priorities I should be focusing into. Anyway, I am learning so much from your posts. Thanks 🙂
    Aui

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    1. Hi Aui. I’m so glad you’re finding my posts helpful. I know it can be overwhelming as a self publishing author. We have so much to do and keep going besides our writing. But all writers must read right? And reviews are like gold for us all. I’m from the school of ‘Do onto others’. I know when someone reads my book, I’m grateful they took the time to review. And so I review every book I’ve read since I began publishing. And if I ever run out of reviews, I’m sure I could go through my library and find a ton of books I’ve read and neglected to review. 🙂

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  11. Great blog – will repost in a couple of days 🙂
    When I started my blog I sat down and wrote a mission statement for it (it’s there, on the blog), in which I declared I would be writing mostly for readers, rather than writers. After all, it’s readers we are trying to attract, for the most part, and there are so many excellent blogs about writing, I didn’t feel qualified to add much.
    That has meant plenty of book reviews, though I am finding it hard to squeeze in the reading time at the moment. However, I shall persevere!
    I always, always check out the reviews on Amazon before I buy – I don’t want to read a book that has a cliff hanger ending, and someone will have put that in their review. Same for poorly edited books – I can take a few mistakes (we all have them), but sloppy writing and editing just annoys me these days.
    So in the spirit of helping out other readers, I post to Goodreads, Amazon US & UK, and my own blog, and find it well worth the time.

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    1. Well Deb, it sounds like we’re on the ‘same page’, lol. In reviewing we’re helping other readers out, as well as the authors, so it’s a great twofer. 🙂

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  12. So with you here. I mean, I don’t have any reviews of my books to share to add value LOL (yet) but I do value reading reviews of others books – social validation I think they call it – its super powerful and I for one, ALWAYS review an indie book and I do the same copy and paste my review on both platforms but I don’t always leave reviews for trad books. Soz. :s

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    1. Glad to hear you do reviews. And when your book comes out, you’ll realize the value even more. I personally review both Indie and trad books, again, to help others get some insight about the book, especially if they’re books on writing. 🙂

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  13. Reviews are part of my selection of a book, along with recommendations from friends, and book covers (I know, that’s a shallow reason for choosing to read a book). When I read a good book, I love to share it on my blog.

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    1. I know you do Michelle. And your reviews are always lovely. We need more people like you. And getting lured in by book covers is not shallow, it’s something all of us get captivated with. 🙂

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  14. Thanks for the insight into book reviews and their importance. A couple of months ago a blogging friend invited me to join her book launch team, it was so interesting to see the process and again the importance of reviews.

    My husband and I have written book reviews on my blog, I have never thought of posting them on Amazon. That is a good idea as I always read reviews before I buy a book.

    Thanks for sharing your post for our readers on The Blogger’ Pit Stop. I am very much looking forward to the privilege of doing an interview with you next month.

    Kathleen
    Blogger’s Pit Stop

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    1. Thank you so much Kathleen for popping over and sharing your thoughts here. This is why I wrote that post, as many writers do, because, just like you said, you post on your blog but not on Amazon. This is where they count for us. The more stars and reviews the more Amazon will help our books with the visibility.
      I’m also looking forward to guest appearing on your blog Kathleen! Happy week! 🙂

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  15. Hi Deb,

    First time to your blog, and I absolutely agree with the pointers with regards to reviews.
    Being an author of fiction-drama books I treasure reviews from my readers since it helps me grow as an writer. Needless to say reviews bump up the ranking of the book on Amazon too 🙂

    A request for you 🙂
    Could I tag you and repost this on my blog?

    Such valid pointers and you said it beautifully.

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    1. Hi Ruchira, sorry for the delay, I just fished this out from spam. Thanks for commenting, and feel free to reblog, please link back to this original post. 🙂

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  16. You make very good points, Deb. Good reviews are like chocolate and champagne! Bad reviews are learning experiences ~ either how to improve our writing or learning to disregard ignorance. Either way, authors win 🙂 ♥

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