Today’s dear author is a little different it covers reviewing, the good, the bad and the ugly.
In recent months I have seen several posts and comments about reviewing. Some good advice, some not so good advice and then some that borders on unethical. Today I am talking about some of this advice.
The bad advice
What I found to be bad advice was authors asking authors to review each other’s books as a way of encouragement. Yes, it would encourage but as many of the authors write the same genre it isn’t a good idea. Sites like Amazon discourage authors reviewing books in the same genre and often the same publisher. It has led to many losing their Amazon accounts. Writing the review at Goodreads doesn’t have the same restrictions but be aware readers are well aware of what a reviewing circle is.
Another complaint was readers receiving ARC (Advance Reader Copy) but not reviewing the book. I know this happens and is discouraging however posting the frustration where readers are active can be perceived as sour grapes. Having received many ARC and being on launch teams there are ways an author can control this situation. I will tackle a few different scenarios.
Readers who receive an ARC
One comment was from authors looking for readers to read ARC. They may use their newsletters or a Facebook group. These are normally new authors who haven’t got an established list of reviewers. They send out the books and wait for reviews but only a few are posted. A few readers will probably contact you to say they either can’t read the book in time due to something happening. I personally have contacted an author due to sickness or other reasons. Some may contact you to say are you ok with me putting up a 3 star review which hopefully your agreed to as 3 stars is still a good read. The number adds up to around 50%. What about the other 50%? Even with contacting the reviewers they don’t contact or review. You are learning the hard lesson that many reviewers want a free book but don’t always follow through. No method is 100% but there are ways to improve your odds.
Launch teams or ARC sign up sheets
These are similar, launch teams often requires sharing on social media. This is where the smart author can be in control. They provide a sign-up form. Here it should mention what is required so both you and the reviewer know upfront. Can you read by a certain date. Will you post a review at Goodreads and at least one retail site. There is often a line saying if you are unable to post a review or read the book please contact me. With a further note, if you do not post a review or contact me you may be excluded from future tours. This doesn’t guarantee a reader will post a review, but it does give you more control.
Authors talk among themselves and if a reviewer is notorious for requesting books but not reviewing, they will be known. They will also know when there are reviewers who request a book and put a low rating. This does happen but with communication and guidelines you can weed these people out.
One other item is giving those signing up an idea of when they will receive the book. This helps readers who participate on several review teams to know if they can fit the book in. It helps especially if you are only sending a ARC out a couple weeks before the launch date.
But I don’t know what to write.
This is a common reaction. Many readers feel this way and the first review can be scary. I recently read a template to write 4 sentences however I totally disagreed with this formula. Instead, I have a few suggestions. I was taught only review the first 3 – 5 chapters or some will say 10% of the book. This way you avoid giving out spoilers or hidden gems. Mention how the book made you feel, what you liked about the book. Would you read more by this author and who you think may like the book. You can give a brief summary of the blurb. Also, if the book was an ARC you need to disclose you received the book. I normally will put Thanks to the publisher for my review copy. Make sure you don’t say for an honest opinion cos it sounds like you were paid for your review.
Some say all you need is a sentence or two, but it needs to say more than another great book by the author. An example would be.
I enjoyed this book. The main characters Jack and Jill were believable, and I loved how their story progressed. The themes were forgiveness and healing, and I loved how the author showed this in her characters. I eagerly await book two in the series. If you like a story with a redemption arc give this book a try.
This is a simple but effective review. It says you enjoyed the book, the characters were believable and it tells me what the themes are and that you would read more books by the author. As your continue writing reviews it will come easier and you will want to write more.
Star ratings
Personally, I don’t give every book I read 5 stars. Normally I don’t go below 4 stars as lower I probably have not finished the book. You should never feel pressured to give a 5-star rating or be told anything less is unacceptable. This is bullying pure and simple and inexcusable. I do understand not wanting to upset an author, but you need to be true to yourself. Once I have had an author unhappy with a 4-star review. Due to their behaviour and reader blaming they don’t need to worry about not getting a 5-star review from me. They won’t get any more reviews from me.
Reviews and how they are read.
Think of when you are buying a new purchase how many of us look at reviews? When I am researching an item, I will normally check the reviews starting with the 1-star reviews. Normally I will ignore ratings without reviews but will check the reviews to see if the issues are valid then go to the 3-stars etc. Quite often the 3 and 4 star reviews will tell you more than a glowing 5 star review.
A truer indicator of how a book is doing is having a range of ratings. Everyone will have a different reaction to a book. What one person loves another won’t. In saying this reviewers should never be rude when reviewing. If you don’t like a book be constructive, say what you didn’t like or why it didn’t connect. Also remember if you don’t like a book you don’t have to finish the book. There are so many books to read so give yourself permission to DNF a book and read one you like.
Over all Authors and Readers need to respect each other. There are appropriate places to ask questions or vent with other authors where reader’s do not see these posts. The major take out is if you want readers to review books then you have to accept that each reader will react differently to your book. They will also review differently.
Lots of good advice. It is getting harder and harder to get reviews. I am grateful for every one.
Thanks Christine most authors are good. I was on a forum where you could request books but if it wasn’t a 5 star review you were not allowed to post. Only ever got one book which I won and ironically never read cos I won it and didn’t know it was a requirement of winning to read asap and give 5 stars. At the time I didn’t have time and when told the rules I left.
I have even had an author grateful for a 3 star review. It was a book by the members of the writing group many their first time published so some were great some needed a little more to make them better but the author said please put the review up. In the review I mentioned the stories that were 5 star worthy and in most novella or short story collections they vary.
It was a couple of posts that happened around the same time that had me start writing the article.
Having been on several launch teams this year there have been some that did it really well others that demanded too much.
I always try to do a review of an ARC book, but there have been a couple of times when I didn’t really like the book and didn’t want to give a bad review. So I figured it was better to not review than give them a bad one. I know people differ on this, and you’ve given a good idea about letting the person know you don’t feel you can give a good review to see what they say. I got a few books from NetGalley, but then decided it wasn’t my thing. I would get swamped with the number of reviews I had to do which then caused stress. So it’s also good to think about what you can realistically do.
Thanks for commenting Nola, On Netgalley there are some I just didn’t review cos I didn’t get to read them. a few I couldn’t read them cos they format didn’t work or it downloaded strange and those I did say I will not be reviewing (there is the option to tick that) and said why.
I feel if I am on the launch team or been given a book to review and something happens I need to let them know. When I moved here with all the stress and Henry (the biggest stress him going missing etc) I had a few books to read. I tried but I couldn’t read and then I felt bad and the cycle starts for me but I did reach out to the authors and they were fine. I still shared all the info. (I actually bought the books so I didn’t feel I was letting them down).
Just recently cos books arrived late and with some medical issues I have been letting an author know I am running very late but have now borrowed from KU. I normally only agree to books I think I will like. while it doesn’t guarentee I will like the book I am getting much better. When offered say a regency I know I don’t like the genre so I will refuse. (except the fantasy set in regency times that had sea captains and sirens in it.) I also know I am not a huge fan of women’s fiction except by a few authors I would read anything by so tend to avoid also.
But the bigger things is readers need to not be reading posts in a public forum blaming them for not understanding a book or for not loving an authors book and that its their problem they don’t get it. (actually been told when there was no romance in a book labelled romance that it was a me issue cos it was never meant to be a romance book.)
I used to write reviews for Semper Floreat, the UQ newspaper. We were encouraged to mention the good points, what we actually liked, and the weak points so readers of the reviews get a genuine idea what they will get with the book. So this is what I do on Goodreads etc. I try to be encouraging by pointing out good points – but I think it actually helps the author if you point out areas where they could have done something better.
true I had to cut so much out of the post but thats one I should have mentioned. In Business Admin were we taught when writing a letter of complaint to start with a positive then the complaint or negative and end on a positive note. For reviews where its a lower than 5 rating this strategy works well. For someone like me who rarely leaves below a 4 star its not always needed.
But it also applies when leaving reviews for other things. If I had read the 3 star reviews for an online item I bought years back I never would have bought it. I was disappointed but it was exactly what it said it was. I expected it to be better. But when I read the reviews many of the 3 star ones told me what I needed to know and would have saved me buying the item. They didn’t trash it they just mentioned the same thing that disappointed me. (Ironically the description actually said the same thing). Again just recently I bought some amazon C batteries had I read the reviews I wouldn’t bought them. Out of the pack 2 were flat, and the 4 I used went flat in less than 3 weeks in a item most last 18 months. reading the reviews there were no 5 stars but lots of 1 star all saying the same thing.
So honest reviews are really helpful and as I mentions many people do read the 3 star reviews that have reasons for the review.
Thanks for your comment.
Melissa’s Bookshelf on IG (she’s also on Facebook too) writes great reviews. She’s convinced me to read a few books 😂. She includes graphics that are like mood boards and quotes from the book. Her points let me know if I’d want to read more.
She can mention things in the latter part of the book but she doesn’t spoil anything.
I have seen her reviews on Insta shes actually very creative and it works good for Insta. (I am not creative enough for that). I have been seeing that Instagram is a really good place to find new books.