I, Barbara Edwards, am an author and a reader, not a
reviewer. Writing a review is a separate skill and I don’t have time to learn
one more thing. At least that’s what I said last month.
Reviews are a part of the writing business. I like to get a
great review. It warms my heart to read that another person liked my work
enough to write and publish it.
When I like a book my response is to say ‘wow’ and add the
author to my mental list of books to look for.
So why do I hesitate to actually write a review?
- It’s hard to condense a book into a few sentences.
- I want to say nice things, and some books, give me a little space here, are not worth reading. Sigh.
- The review should mean something to the person reading it. Does she like cowboys or vampires? Chicago or Egypt? Sweet romance or spicy sex?
- The best reviews are about three paragraphs long. A brief description and a brief summary without revealing the end. And why the reviewer thinks the work is worth reading.
- Writing a review takes time from writing my next book.
So here I am. I wrote a review last week. I read a nice book
and wanted to share it. If you follow my personal blog, then you read the
review.
I was surprised at the response. People are hungry to hear
about a good book. I had a ton of likes and several comments, plus a very nice
thanks from the author.
Posting the review to Amazon, Goodreads, Shelfari and
LibraryThing takes time but it’s a learning curve. My name might not be on that book, but it’s
out there with a tiny note to check my work. Maybe if enough people respect my
review, they’ll read my books.
I plan to do a couple more reviews because I like the books.
I just need to add several hours to the twenty-four already in my day.
On my website are tidbits and urls to reviews for my books.
Author Website: http://barbaraedwards.net
Blog Site: http://barbaraedwardscomments.wordpress.com
Facebook: http://facebook.com/BarbaraEdwards
Ancient Blood http://on.fb.me/naHRY5
Twitter: http://twitter.com/barb_ed
Authors Den: http://authorsden.com/barbaraedwards
Amazon Author Page: http://www.amazon.com/author/barbaraedwards
5 comments:
Great points, Barbara. I've downloaded books that have 5 star reviews, and I did not like them at all. Instead, I've found reviewers who give honest reviews and who have the same taste in books as I do.
After I was contracted for my first book, but before it was published, I wrote regular reviews for an online site. Interestingly, I used the format you suggested - three short paragraphs. I'm surprised by some of the reviews my books receive. They're so long and reveal so much plot detail I'm surprised anyone would take the time to read the whole thing.
Barbara,
Reviews I think are subjective. Interesting post. I could write a post under this comment about what I just experienced on Amazon. I got a Review Stalker.
I write reviews on Amazon for books I've enjoyed. I never post a review for ones I don't. Why? I guess I hate to hurt feelings. No doubt this writer loved her story just as I love mine. Great post, Barb. I have a feeling you'd write a terrific review.
I've written a few reviews for books I've liked. Short and succinct, giving my overall opinion without the recap is my style. I figure people can read the blurb to find out what the book is about. And it's nice to throw in a quotable line for the author to use if they're so inclined.
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