I wanted to take time out from editing my latest novel to talk about something very important - book reviews, and just how important they are to Indie Authors.
As an Indie Author, I can attest that I look forward to readers taking the time to review my work, and I'm sure every author, traditionally published and Indie Author alike, feels the same way. Certainly we love to see book sales, but a review of the books that we write means just as much to us.
When we see book sales, it's really nothing more than a number to us. That number represents a copy of our book that was sold, but that's all it does. But there's a reader behind there as well, someone who is more than just a number. It's a person who lives and breathes and has thoughts and opinions about the book. We want to know what those thoughts and opinions are.
Book reviews are the absolute best way for the reader to let both the author and other readers know what they thought of the book. However, like books that can be both good and bad, reviews walk that same path as well.
Now, I'm not talking about the rating that the reader puts on the review. I'm talking about the content of the review itself. Certainly no one expects a review to be its own book, and it shouldn't by any means give
anything away (it's a review after all, not a book report), but it
should convey the thoughts and opinions the reader had about the book.
To show what I mean, here are a few examples:
'This was a good book, I loved it! 5 stars!'
Or on the flip side:
'Didn't finish it. I got bored after the first two chapters.'
Two reviews (and those were merely examples), one good, one bad. But they lack depth, and in general are not taken seriously by anyone, reader or author alike. Now here's two other examples to compare the first two against:
'This book captured my attention from the first page. The story is filled with twists and turns that kept me guessing until the very end. (Author) brought the town and the people to life, and the characters' struggles were so believable that I felt as if I were right there, feeling every emotion along with them. Though I felt the book ended sooner than I wanted it to, it was a wonderful book nonetheless, and I'm looking forward to the next one! 4 Stars!'
And the second one:
'I struggled with this book. Though the characters are described pretty good, they felt bland - like they were just going through the motions without feeling. The story bounced between time periods so often that it became confusing, making it difficult to understand most of the time. There were some interesting moments in the book, but they seemed to be over quickly, while other parts that I thought were kind of dull and pointless seemed to drag on forever. 1 1/2 Stars.'
See the difference? The first two examples simply say 'I liked it' and 'I didn't like it', but nothing else. No explanations or reasoning why. They don't give enough of an opinion to help either other readers or the author.
The second set of examples are what other readers in general take more seriously, and what we authors hope to see in every review. The examples not only say that the reader enjoyed the book or didn't, but they expand on those feelings by giving some of the reasons why they did or didn't enjoy the book they reviewed. In addition, whether they enjoyed the book or not, they point out both strong and weak points in their review.
The second set of examples are the kind of reviews that I personally pay more attention to when I'm curious about a book. While ultimately the decision to read a book lies in my hands, I like to know what others thought about the book as well. And they do play a part in my decision. 10,000 people that give a book a 5 star informative review tends to raise an eyebrow, after all. And truthfully, as a reader, reviews like those first examples I typically scroll past without any consideration, because there's simply nothing TO consider.
Switching back to the author's viewpoint, sure we love to see glowing reviews painted in gold, but no book is perfect, and we know that. WE'RE not perfect. We want to get better, and that takes practice, just like everything else. We use reviews as a tool to see what we may need to work on.
And by that I mean the technical aspects of the story, such as descriptions, depth, etc. Saying that Jack should have ended up with Tara instead of Susan at the end of the book isn't what I mean. In fact, a review should
never have something like that in them. Little things that give away the story make it less enjoyable for other readers. That's why they're called book reviews instead of book reports, after all.
I realize I mentioned that earlier, but I wanted to stress the point again because one of the things that make books so special is finding out what happens for yourself. It's like the first time I watched The Usual Suspects. Now, if someone had told me how good it was and then what happened, versus how good it was and why they thought so, I wouldn't have enjoyed the movie nearly as much. The same thing applies to book reviews.
Now I'm sure some of you may have that thought running through your head, or have had it at one time or another. You know the one: '(Author) already got money from the sale, what does it matter if I liked the book or not?'
It matters. It matters, it matters,
it matters. It matters as much as that sale does, perhaps more. Why? Remember at the beginning when I said book sales are just a number, but authors know there's a person behind that number? Writing an honest, insightful book review brings that person, with their thoughts and opinions, out from behind that number and gives that number a voice.
But it's not just allowing other readers to read your thoughts and opinions on the book. Authors want to know as well. We depend on it, in fact, because like everything else, if we don't know there's a problem we can't work on strengthening our weaknesses in order to become better writers. At the same time, we also like to hear what we've done right.
Think of writing a review like being a coach. Every good coach understands that letting a player know what they need to practice on should be coupled with praising them on what the player's strengths are. It's yin and yang, hot and cold, sun and moon. It's balance.
Balance. A coach who focuses on
just the negatives will make a player lose confidence in him or herself and whether it's intended or not, the player will get in the mindset that no matter how hard they work, it won't make a difference. Eventually they'll give up, and the potential that was within them will never have a chance to come out.
At the same time, focusing on
only the positives may make that player over-confident and cocky, to the point that eventually constructive criticism goes in one ear and out the other, and the things they need to work on never improve. Once again, the potential that is within them is never fully realized.
So when you grab a book, whether you enjoy it or not, if you're considering writing a review on it after you've finished reading it, keep these things in mind. Make a list of what you honestly liked and what you didn't and go from there.
And remember this: We authors appreciate those reviews more than you may realize. Good, bad, and everything in between, we are grateful for every honest, insightful review.
Scott A. Borgman
