Welcome back, my fellow creatives!
Ah, book reviews. We yearn for them, yet we also dread them.
Publishers love getting plugs from other authors to help build buzz for their latest debuts. Indie authors are always on the lookout for help from ARC readers to spread the word about our latest releases. Some authors will go so far as to create fake accounts for Goodreads and/or Amazon so they can heap on five-star reviews to their own books while throwing 1-star shade at others.
But seriously, why? Why should we go through all this rigamarole with book reviews when we want to sit and, you know, write the books we want others to review?
This month, I’d like to highlight Story Empire’s three-part series by Audrey Driscoll on book reviews for authors. First, she does a splendid job breaking down why reviews matter.
In Part 2, Audrey explores the ins and outs of writing a review.
In her final post, she covers some of the stickier situations that can arise with book reviews, such as handling ARCs. Enjoy!
Coming up, I’ve got more music, an author interview, a writing resource highlight, another podcast, and a story trend I’m eager to buck.
Read on, share on, and write on, my friends!
Jean Lee's World 
Another outstanding blog. Well done my friend. Regards, Mike
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Many thanks, my friend! Hope you’re well. xxxxx
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What a great idea to share all three of Audrey’s posts together, Jean. Reviews and reviewing are topics that most authors should care about. I’m often surprised when I meet authors who don’t review books, but expect to get reviewed. Seems odd to me. Thanks again for supporting SE!
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I agree! It’s one thing to dig getting reviews from readers or book reviewers, but amongst authors, one’s got to be prepared to give and take.
I’m always happy to share a sojourn through the SE! xxxxx
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I remember the scandal about fake reviews. Tsk, tsk!
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Yes! Using bots for reviews is bad enough, but targeting other authors is downright nasty.
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I remember reading a letter from one of the great authors which basically said that to be a great writer you had to be both a great listener, and someone who tried to help other writers, the main way being reviewing work and giving feedback. xxxxxxx
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Yes, that letter is bang-on! If we’re not open to sharing input, how can we receive input from others?
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Hmm, interesting. I still review books, in fact I have just done one in IG, FB, BookBub, Good Books and Amazon (I bought it from Amazon on Kindle). I only do very short reviews, but that seems enough.
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Every review counts, my friend! xxxx
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Interesting post. I understand that reviews are important for marketing, etc. But of course, all book reviews are subjective. I have read more than one book based on reviews, and thought, OMG, did the reviewer actually read the book. However, it must be hard to be honest sometimes. I know I would find it hard to trash another writer.
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Oooooh I know that’s happened too, Diana. I don’t want to trash anyone ever, but one shouldn’t take the nice reviews to the point of misleading people.
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