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✮ (¸.•´✶ (¸.♡ Why Book Reviews are
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What’s great about reviews is that it helps an author you like in so many ways. New readers can discover new authors they love, the author him or herself can attract new readers who might not otherwise have found them, the list goes on and on. But in today’s marketplace where there are so many books, the wonderful thing about great reviews of a book is that they can go viral, and help the author succeed based on word of mouth alone.
Chances are most people reading this have bought at least one book this year and read that book plus others you already had. Did you enjoy any of those books? And if so, did you leave review for the books anywhere? I’d say nine times out of ten, the answer to this last question is no. And I’d have to answer “no” as well. I’m just like everyone else in that my time is limited or I simply forget to write a review for a book I enjoyed. But I need to be better about leaving those important reviews at sites such as Amazon.com or Barnes & Noble and via social media such as Facebook, Twitter and Goodreads.
Why are reviews important, particularly if you enjoyed a book? There are several reasons. Here are a few.
1. We live in a world where people are much more likely to vent online if they hate something than to post something nice if they enjoyed it. Sad but true. So if you have 100 people read a book and 98 love it but only the two who thought it was garbage post a review, guess what. People who come across that book on a retailer’s site are going to think it’s garbage. They won’t know about the 98 people who thought it was a wonderful story with engaging characters. Those negative reviews could keep people who might enjoy the book from buying it, depriving the author of sales that are necessary to help pay his or her bills.
2. In an increasingly competitive marketplace, authors look for good opportunities to get the word out about their books. Sometimes online advertising venues have requirements such as a certain number of positive reviews on retailer sites before they will even consider selling you an ad. The same is often true of book review sites, especially if those sites are popular and have a lot of clout among readers.
3. A larger number of reviews, especially positive ones, helps books get seen on sites such as Amazon.com. We all have heard about the mysterious algorithms that determine which books pop up on things such as the “you might also enjoy this” suggestions. Visibility is important in a marketplace flooded with books, so every little bit helps. Its been said that it takes 10 reviews on Amazon before a book can be added to those “also bought” and “you might also like” lists. But the more, the merrier.
4. Again and maybe most important Word of mouth. If someone sees a positive review of a book and decides to give it a try, he or she might also enjoy it enough to not only leave a review but also tell their friends about it. We’ve all heard stories about how word of mouth sent a book from obscurity to the bestseller list. Look what happened with 50 Shades of Grey. From a tiny publisher with very little promotion, this book was a huge international bestselling phenomenon, all because people were talking about it.
Sure, it’s a long shot, but it’s better than no shot.
A good review is to an author what oxygen is to other people. They live for them, they love them, Authors truly do appreciate the time and effort it takes readers to write and post reviews. They know our time is every bit as valuable as theirs.
It means so much to them when a reader takes the time to share their opinion and support their work.
So if you read a book, write a review. It doesn't have to be 5 paragraphs. Just let others know how the book made you feel. How it might have touched you. Or how you connected with something or someone in the story.
On behalf of Authors everywhere and those of us that love them. Thank you in advance for your gift of reviews. <3
