On Book
Reviews
By Micki
Peluso
Do we, as
writers, need a slew of five star reviews to sell books? Some readers claim they
never read them, others say they do, and many claim not to be swayed by reviews
to buy the book. Personally, as a high-ranking Amazon reviewer, I can attest to
over 200 potential buyers telling Amazon my review helped in their decision to
buy – or not.
As an
author I feel that my own 60+ 5 star reviews couldn't hurt but truthfully don't
see much increase in sales. Sales seem to be controlled by a book’s ranking on
Amazon, raising it to a level where it can be more readily seen by purchasers.
Basically, there are two types of reviews; the ‘all my gosh, I was up all night
reading this,’ style and the formula type professional review, which is used
more for pre-marketing, press releases and promotion. Both are necessary and
needed in the ongoing battle with selling
books.
The first
one is actually a customer comment more than a review. Even bad ones like ‘you
won't believe the garbage in this book’ will help sales as readers rush to see
what could be so bad. Amazon stars mean little, and are simplistic in their
rating which makes it hard for reviewers to use them. For instance, one star
means ‘hated it,’ two stars, ‘like did a little,’ three stars, ‘liked it a
little more,’ four stars, ‘really liked it,’ and five stars, ‘loved it.’
Seriously? The reviews that are important to writers are from review sites like
The New York Journal of Books, Kirkus, Midwest Review, and various newspapers
and magazines reviews.
Amazon
sets the criteria for review formats now, but it is obviously ignored. They
request honesty, prefer a summary, ask for a bestseller the book is similar to,
etc., much like the professional review. I believe Amazon prefers the gushy
customer reviews because they're likely to sell more
books.
A
professional review demands the criteria required by the review sites,
publishers and publicists, and have specific guidelines. I am required to follow
these when reviewing bestsellers like Nora Roberts, James Patterson, Stephen
King, and others. The number one rule is to avoid the use of the word ‘I’ in the
review. Instead, I might say, ‘This well-written romance will keep the reader
turning pages.’
A
professional review site expects a summary of the first 30-60 pages of the book,
explaining the theme or premise, introducing characters and giving a general
story line but with no spoilers. Next comes a description of the writer’s style,
talent, if any, character development, general grammar and syntax, as well as
outstanding errors and format. The New York Journal of Books prefers the
reviewer find one thing wrong with the book, since according to them, no book is
perfect. I tend to disagree an often ignore this rule, unless it's a bestseller
who should know better. I also refuse to slam a fellow writer and my criticism
is constructive to the point of almost sounding like a compliment. It's a gift.
Lol Next comes a teaser regarding the
ending, followed by the mention of other books by the author that the reader
might enjoy as well. Then my byline and that's it. I do get pleasure from
finding fault with bestsellers, but only because I see such talent among
independent writers whose books cannot find their way to the top. I get the
books mailed from the publisher along with press releases, synopses and other
helpful information. It's a treat to find a short segment of review that I wrote
in the back of a bestseller. Still, I mostly freelance because I love to promote
my fellow writers.
With them
I am gentler and when I do point out a flaw I generally take the author aside in
an e-mail and mention it to them, suggesting that they make changes in their
next printing. If a book is so poorly written that to give it a fair review
would reflect upon my integrity as a reviewer, I simply won't review it. It's
not the reviewer's job to critique, edit or suggest changes in a writer's style.
It's my job to let readers know what the book is about and why I, personally,
liked it – or not.
For me at
least, my professional reviews which I use for all reviews are carefully crafted
and as well written as if it were an article or essay. I believe that the better
my own writing is in reviewing the book can only reflect well upon the
author.
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