Write a Book Review

Book reviews are important to both readers and authors alike. Readers like them for obvious reasons. Authors need them, particularly in this digital age, as they help drive the ranking of books on stores like Amazon and Barnes and Nobles. The higher the rank, the more readers see the book. For that reason and more, Dale and Dorothy would love for you to write reviews on their books.

In order to help you with that, here are a few considerations that will make your book review matter:

1. You don’t have to have purchased the book from Amazon to leave a review on their website. Amazon allows readers to leave a review as long as you have “spent at least $50 on Amazon.com using a valid credit or debit card in the past 12 months”
 (from Amazon’s website).

2. Give more than just star ratings - Written reviews are much more effective.

3. If you received a free copy of the book, it’s essential to make that disclaimer from the beginning, stating that even though you were given a free book, you have chosen to give an honest book review of your own free will.

4. Give the rating/review you think the book really deserves—no matter what you think of the author. Readers deserve to know the truth, and authors need the feedback to improve their future works.

5. Be specific about what you liked and/or didn’t like. Specificity proves to readers that you actually read the book.

6. If you happen to know the author, in person or through social media, it’s best not to mention that, as bookstores and readers will think your review is biased. In other words, it won’t help the author.

7. Things to consider including (in any order you like):

   • Give a brief overview of the novel, without giving any spoilers.

   • Say what you thought of one or more aspects of the novel - character(s), setting, plot, theme, etc.

   • Critique something you thought could have been better - this shows you are unbiased and will also help the author improve their next book.

   • Compare the novel to one or two other novels you have read in the same genre.

   • Upload a picture or video of the book or of you holding it - this can improve the chance of your review being seen by more people.

8. Three no-nos:

   • No more than one person from a household should post a review of the same book. Somehow, online bookstores know who is related to who.

   • Don’t include URLs to other web pages in the review.

   • Don’t include any of your personal information in the review.

9. Proofread your review and perhaps even run it through Grammarly.com or ProWritingAid.com.

Click on the book below that you want to review, and you’ll be taken to the Amazon page where you can make a review.