So here’s the thing about reading: writing a review of the book you’ve just finished is vital. And I’ll tell you why by asking you a question.
When you go out for a special dinner at one of the nicest restaurants in your town, or maybe two towns over because you really want to do it up right, and the meal is fabulous, and the waitstaff was extraordinarily helpful and polite and you will always remember this night, what do you do?
You leave a tip. And if you really, really loved the service and the food and the ambiance, you leave a really big tip. That’s what a book review is to an author. A tip. And the more you loved the book, the nicer the review should be. Reviews to authors are an acknowledgment of what they did and how they made you feel.
But if just my suggestion that you write a book review reminds you of your eighth grade book report on To Kill A Mockingbird where you had to stand up in front of the entire class and discuss Harper Lee’s use of symbolism when all you’d done was read a synopsis rather than the story itself—that’s not what I’m talking about.
A book review is as simple as this:
· Read the book
· Write a sentence or two about why you liked the book on either Goodreads or Amazon (both is even better). Did it make you happy? Did it have you sitting on the edge of your seat afraid to go to bed or turn the light out and you absolutely love to be scared by something that couldn’t possibly be real…or could it???
· Don’t give away the ending or other relevant story hooks. Let the reader find out for himself that the butler didn’t do it because the butler never does it.
Here are a couple of sites to consider if you want to know more about writing a book review:
For myself, I never review a book if I can’t give it at least 3 stars. Just because I might not like the story or the characters or the ending doesn’t mean that you won’t, and I don’t want to discourage you from reading the book.
And also, because there’s always an also: if you buy a book on Amazon and you review it positively it receives a ranking. Each review increases the book’s ranking, meaning people will see the book more frequently. The more the book is seen, the better the chance the book will be purchased. And that’s the best way to say Thanks to the author.