I saw an interesting post the other day. You've probably seen authors everywhere saying they'd really appreciate it if you leave a review after reading their book. In response to that, the post I read was a survey of reasons why people don't leave reviews, and it was very enlightening.
Why should you leave a review? Every author wants to present the best possible book, and knowing where they connect or disconnect with readers helps them either a) correct what they did wrong, b) do better next time, c) identify where they might be reaching the wrong audience.
"But I don't know what to say." It's simple, really. For example, when you buy the book at Amazon, they send out reminders asking what you thought. I've had some of those reminders ask me a series of questions, which I found very cumbersome and discouraged me from leaving a review, but here's the thing. You don't have to answer all those questions (and I'm not sure they still go that route). When you get that email saying "what did you think?" follow the link. Rate it according to their stars system (with five being "this is the most outstanding book I've ever read" and one being "I'm giving this to the skunk under my porch to read"). Except now they want you to say something! Wait. Don't get scared. All you have to do is say, "I liked this book." This isn't like those second grade book reports, you don't have to tell people the main characters and the plot and the theme and all of that. You just have to offer an opinion. If you feel really brave, you can add why you liked it. "I like this book because I could really relate to that one thing that happened that one time." or "The hero was swoon-worthy." or "The author took me on an African safari, and I could really feel like I was there." On the other side of the coin, you might not like the story. That's okay. Everyone is entitled to their opinion. Maybe the author marketed it to the wrong audience. That happens sometimes. Or the heroine was unlikeable. I had an unlikeable secondary character in one of my books, and I heard about it. I knew she was unlikeable, but I underestimated just how much. So I ended up writing a story with her as the main character so readers could see why she was the way she was. Those reviews helped me take the next step - showing you what you couldn't see in the first book when she showed up.
One thing you should NOT do in a review is say "this story sucked" without telling people why.
I just read an old book - I think it was initially published 20 years ago - by a well-known author. I loved the story! When I finished, I did my review, and out of curiosity, I went to read what other people thought of it. Twenty years ago, society was in a very different place, and those people who read it today had some very strong opinions on the societal norms from back then. One in particular that stuck out to me was how one reviewer felt the main character shouldn't have let a man threaten her with his unsolicited, unappreciated sexual advances. She stayed silent and tried to avoid the guy rather than speaking out. Today, women are standing up to these predators, but back then? We've learned our lessons. That part of the story hit a nerve for that reviewer, and I'm sure the author has adapted to the changing times (but that's fodder for another post).
Authors do take reviews to heart. Some reviews fall into the "it just wasn't my cup of tea" category, and we get that. Some reviews we can act on. Like unlikeable characters. Or "I found a whole bunch of misspelled words" (those can be corrected). (By the way, Amazon won't let indie authors publish with a certain threshold of misspellings anymore.) Or "This novel had too much sexual content." Did the author market it as something other than a romance? We can fix which readers we target. Different audiences have different expectations.
To sum up, you don't have to write a book report, but it helps authors if you add a line after you've read a book. Even if it's as simple as "I'd recommend this book to my friends," or "Didn't find it worth the time I spent reading it." You never know when you'll make an author's day with a simple pat on the back, or get them working harder to make it better for next time.
In fact, I think a lot of readers who use reviews to help them decide whether they want to buy a book, or at least download a sample, DON'T like the book report. The book's blurb should tell them enough about the story, and too many details in a review, to me, make me think I've already got the gist of the book.
ReplyDeleteI prefer your examples of things people liked about the story, the characters, the writing. And anyone who looks at reviews can tell different things push different buttons for different readers.
Exactly, Terry. Those book report type of reviews don't tell a reader anything they don't already know by reading the blurb. When I was a book reviewer, we had a standard format to use. Summarize the hero, the heroine, and then the plot. Then offer your opinion. As a "formal" book reviewer, yes, we are expected to write "book reports." But the bottom line is the "what did you think" part, and unless someone wants to be a formal book reviewer, that's really all that matters.
DeleteI completely agree with Terry. A reviewer doesn't need to rehash the plot of the story, and I skim through most of those reviews to get to the "Did I enjoy this book?" part. As a reader, I want to know what worked about the book so I can decide if it's for me. If it's an historical novel, was the setting and the atmosphere described well enough to transport the reader? If it's a whodunit, will I be kept guessing until close to the end, or will I figure it out by the third chapter? Those are the types of things that tell me if the book is worth my time.
DeleteAnd as an author, that's the most important thing a reviewer can tell me as well. What did I do that worked really well, and what did I do wrong.
Great post, Karla!
Thanks, Dawn, and thanks for stopping by!
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