Encouraging readers to leave book reviews:
Today’s reblog is an important post written by Sally Cronin. Sally wrote this post as a great window for readers to look into the importance of writing reviews on books they read as feedback for authors and future readers. For authors, Sally’s post offers various ways we can incorporate requesting readers to review our work after they’ve read our books.
Before I share Sally’s post, I’d just like to add that when this topic comes up, some readers say they don’t have the time to post, or perhaps they’ve waited too long to review and may have forgotten much of what they’ve read. I’d like to share my formula here for how I go about writing reviews.
While I’m reading a book and come across significant points that intrigue me I jot down little notes to keep for when I’m ready to write the review so I can refer to those points. After I finish reading a book, within a day, I hand write my review to prepare what I want to write as a review. I may also not get a moment right away to edit or post my review, both on Amazon and Goodreads, but I make it a point to do so within a week after finishing, and all I have to do is type in what I’ve already written. It doesn’t always have to be a long review, nor should it be a synopsis of the book, but a telling about how the book struck me and what I took from it. I hope this helps some readers who feel they don’t know what they should write and who sometimes feel intimidated to do so.
Now, let’s continue reading Sally’s great ideas for gaining more reviews:
How can we encourage more readers to leave reviews for our books?
I am very keen to make reviews a prominent feature of the book promotions and encourage readers to review the books that they buy and enjoy, or not as the case may be.
Word of mouth is still the most powerful marketing tool that anyone who is selling a product benefits from. Authors are no different, and our books tend to be judged by the number and quality that they have received.
Part of the problem is that those who are not writers of books or blogs are uncomfortable in offering reviews and feel that what they have to say is not important. Many who do review a book, leave just one line after their star rating, simply saying that the reader enjoyed or disliked a book, but they do not elaborate.
That is obviously very welcome. But whilst a potential reader does not want to read three pages filled with spoilers in a review, they do usually want a little more about what they are going to find before paying good money for a book.
In future any books that I publish are going to include a page immediately following the end.
And it is going to be a request for a review – good or bad, and I will lay out some basic questions that might help develop a review that is constructive. . . Continue Reading
Note: My Friday Guest author posts will resume next Friday and from then on there will be guest features every other Friday instead of once a week. As we can all well appreciate, putting together questions and material to make up these interviews are quite time consuming, but because I enjoy doing them, I will continue to do so but only twice a month while I am juggling my time to finish writing and publishing my next book. When breathing room returns, I will fit more interviews into my schedule. Thanks for reading. 🙂
DGKayewriter.com 
Thank you so much Debby for reblogging this post.. there were some great discussions going on and I am sure your post will prompt many more..thank you lovely friend ♥
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My pleasure Sal. This was a stellar article by you. And certainly a topic of interest for all of us writers. 🙂 xx ❤
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It’s a difficult one, alright. x
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Lol Judith. 🙂 xx
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Great tips. Very few readers want to post a review, and we need to know that. A link after THE END helps a lot – make it as easy as possible for them!
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Thanks for chiming in Dan. It’s up to us to be creative to find ways to insert reminders. Sally’s post offers some great ideas. 🙂
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It really did. I’ve always gone with a much shorter request, but why not go with a longer one? You don’t have anything to lose!
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So true. One day I’ll get around to adjusting my current books, lol. But the next one will be different 🙂
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Many thanks for sharing Sallys post Debby.. I would think Reviews are the icing upon the cake for any author.. 🙂 I hope you have a relaxing weekend Debby.. xx ❤
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Thanks so much Sue. Happy weekend to you too. Yes, it’s important that our readers get something from our books and by reviewing it gives us insight to how our writing is received as well as letting other potential readers know how they felt. 🙂 ❤
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🙂 ❤ Yes feedback is important to all of us. 🙂 ❤
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I am scared to death of reviews. I think it’s that old lack of confidence thing. I didn’t encourage (or discourage) reviews on my first fiction book, but they roll in. I think being part of KDP Select seems to encourage people to share their thoughts.
As for my review writing: I too take notes as I read. I want that authentic feeling I got as I went through it. Since I read so often digitally now, I use the Kindle notetaking option to jot down ideas and then email to myself. As well as parts I want to quote.
Great article–by both of you!
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Yes, reviews can be scary Jacqui, but important to hear how our work resonated with readers. And thanks for sharing that great idea I wasn’t aware of about sending Kindle notes to yourself. 🙂
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A great post and thank you for your advice. I will keep a notebook beside me now when reading. xx
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Glad you found it helpful Adele. ❤
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Nice reblog Debbie, this post ought to reach all book readers! Though I have never tried to request reviews but they do help as people judge a book by the number of reviews these days! Sometimes it appears to be just the same as they say – ‘never judge a book by its cover.’ Recently I have read a book with negative reviews yet found it book good. Your own interest and perspective also matters.
I realised the value of reviews after I published my books and ever since, I make it a point to write a review. Thanks dear friend, have a wonderful weekend!
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Thank you for your input Balroop. It’s true we sometimes don’t realize the importance of reviews until we need them, lol. But yes, quality reviews are important to let another reader know what we’ve learnt or experienced from the book, not a synopsis of the book, that’s what the blurb is for. 🙂 Happy weekend to you too my friend. 🙂 ❤
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Great reblog, Deb. Spreading the word on all my pages ?
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Thanks again T, such an important post for us writers. 🙂 ❤
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I think those reviews are very important, Debby. They do help me choose my reading material (we do need to find out about a book somewhere!). I must make more of a point of leaving reviews on Amazon too.
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Absolutely Norah, I rely on reviews a lot too. And a few bad ones always make me curious as to why when most are outstanding. Curiosity is a strange thing. So yes, if we find reviews important to read from others, we should definitely be reviewing the books we read for others. 🙂
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So true!
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Wonderful reblog!…
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