Getting ebook reviews

[Lazybones]

As an independent author I appreciate the importance of reviews for books that don't have a big publishing house behind them, so I try to review every indie book that I finish reading, especially those that only have a handful of reviews posted. That sort of culls out some of the more critical reviews that I would have otherwise given out, since I only tend to push through a book that has engaged my interest in some way. I don't feel that I can give a fair review if I didn't bother to finish the book. I admit that some of the more mean-spirited comments can be demoralizing, but that's just a part of getting your work out there.

Even short reviews are valued and valuable. I try to keep my online reviews focused and send more detailed comments with specific citations, etc. directly to the author. It's very frustrating to get comments that are vague enough that I can't remedy them in the next edition of the book (or in future writing). It's time consuming but I've taken to highlighting typos and minor errors I find as I'm reading; my Kindle compiles them all into a single list in the "My Clippings" file. I've forwarded a few of those to authors and have gotten gracious thanks in each case.

[Ciaran West]

A good review is the same as a good Best Man's speech or a good book in general: speak from the heart, don't try and impress people, say only what needs to be said.

That's how I do/did all of the above when I write/wrote them.

When you speak from the heart, no one wants to reject what you've said.

[anamardoll]

Originally Posted by GeckoFriend

The quote above is one reason I don't write reviews, but not the primary reason. Basically, I don't know how to write a review.

I have reviewed on Amazon for years and am currently listed as reviewer #81 in their ranking system.

Believe me when I say there is no "right" way to review. Some people want spoilers, some people emphatically do not. I've seen "spotlight" (i.e., deemed enormously helpful) reviews that were only two or three sentences long. Some people just really want to hear "I liked this book", believe it or not.

I would say, as a good rule of thumb, write a short paragraph sayinghow much you liked the book (a lot, a little, or not at all) and why (the romance really gripped me; there were too many sparkly vampires; the pacing was slow but got moving near the middle; whatever). A short, honest review is better than a long, rambling review any day.

[apbschmitz]

Originally Posted by anamardoll

A short, honest review is better than a long, rambling review any day.

Couldn't agree more. Often on Amazon someone has already done the heavy lifting with a description of the characters and plot. No need to redo that a dozen times. A succinct description of what did (or didn't) speak to you in the book is enough in my view.

[eskimo49]

Originally Posted by M.P. Jones

Does anyone have any ideas how to get good reviews (well, any reviews!) on ebook selling sites such as Amazon?

You cannot force people who buy, or download for free, your book to leave a review - asking people you know is a no-no. Is it just sheer volume of downloads that does the trick with one in a thousand leaving a comment?

M.P. Jones

Be careful what you wish for! I've had one review so far and it was a bad review. It was also negative about my book (which doesn't bother me at all), however the way it was written was totally unhelpful. see https://www.smashwords.com/profile/view/Soldim and you will see what I mean.

My book is about Climate Change and Global Warming, so I would expect there to be people who are so enthusiastic about Climate Change that their minds are made up that CO2 may destroy the world, so they cannot accept anyone having a different ideas to them (which I have), and will automatically be negative about my book, so I am accused of not grasping the basic of chemistry, physics and biology, but doesn’t say why. I assume it is because I dared to mention that CO2 is heavier than air (and isn’t as bad a climate change gas than originally thought).

Obviously I could go on more about this, but this isn’t the correct place for it. All I am really trying to do is point out that reviews can be destructive to your work, without any relevant details being pronounced.

[Elfwreck]

I'm nervous about leaving reviews on books by unknown (to me) authors, because I've seen the kind of drama that some indie authors get into over them.

There's also problems with "review farms"--I've no idea how this gets arranged, but 43 5-star reviews with no more than 26 words each, none of which mentions a single detail about the plot or story itself, are not useful to me as a reader. (Too long? Look at Meg Sharp's reviews--scroll down.) And knowing that those exist, makes me uncomfortable saying things like "I enjoyed this; the dialogue was particularly good and the action scenes were hilarious." And I'm not always up for leaving a longer review.

[Tome Keeper]

Have a look around for review sites run by bloggers for your genre, most will happily post a review to Amazon.

[Lloyd Tackitt]

Originally Posted by GeckoFriend

@ATDrake

Thanks for the advice; I'll continue reading reviews and someday I'll actually write one.

A good way to practice writing reviews is to join writing.com, read the postings and review them. It's a nice safe environment for both writing and reviewing.

[Elfwreck]

Originally Posted by Lloyd Tackitt

A good way to practice writing reviews is to join writing.com, read the postings and review them. It's a nice safe environment for both writing and reviewing.

I wouldn't suggest a site for amateur writers as a good place to start learning to review. A site that tells reviewers to "be honest, encouraging, and respectful" means that the reviews are for the *authors*, not for other *readers.* (While those are good traits for reviewers to keep in mind, not all authors should be encouraged--and even though most of them arguably should, encouraging the author is a very different focus from telling other readers whether or not they'll enjoy the work.)

I looked at a few entries. Writing quality was mostly mediocre. Most could use a good SPAG check, and more could use an editor to say "there is nothing remotely interesting about this story." They work nicely as writing exercises--here's some snappy dialogue; there's some nice scenery descriptions--but both quality and focus are all over the place.

Something like that's not a good way to learn how to review. The site doesn't want reviews; it wants editorial feedback. And that's fine--I'm all for croudsourced beta reading for beginning authors--but no amount of giving direct-to-author feedback on 1800-word snippets is going to teach someone how to leave a useful review on a novel.