A great post at Ramblings of a Wannabe Scribe talks about supporting other authors and got me thinking (always a dangerous thing).
Lately, I’ve made an effort to retweet reviews and such for authors that I know and love and want to succeed. It’s not enough to simply write a good book, people need to know about it, so I’m all on board with spreading the word. This is part of Ink Spells mission, as well, at least for middle grade novels.
One of the things everyone can do to help their favorite authors succeed (and Shannon mentions in her post) is posting Amazon reviews. I cannot believe this never occurred to me! I know Amazon reviews are important in propelling a book on an upward spiral that will get it noticed. I know that a positive review makes a huge difference to an author, personally as well as in terms of book sales. But I’ve never written a single review for all the books I have read and purchased.
That needs to change!
So I went to Amazon and got busy.
The first book, How to Talk to Girls, had 31 reviews. Thirty-one! That means my lowly review was one-thirtysecond of the total reviews for this lovely little tome. Oh, the power! Also, I was surprised to see the negative reviews – a lot of people had a very different experience of this book than I did. It was nice to add some balance to the mix for this young author.
My second review, Leviathan, had only 92 reviews. I was shocked! I figured a huge author like Westerfeld would have hundreds, if not thousands, of reviews. Being wildly enamored of this book, I was pleased to see many more positive reviews. I still added mine to the pile. Considering I had already written a review, it was pretty easy to do.
In perusing the books I’ve already reviewed for Ink Spells, I realized two things: not many were for debut novels (and thus new writers that I could support with my Amazon review), and most had already hit the best-seller list.
As I work on transfering my reviews to Amazon, I will also critically examine my TBR pile for authors that have NEW books, recently published, that could be gems for advanced readers, ages 8-12. Finding good books for kids AND helping new authors? Gives me all kinds of warm fuzzies.
UPDATE: Thanks to Vicki below for reminding me that Amazon is not the only review outlet in the world. B&N also sells books online (duh!). Goodreads is also an excellent way to spread the word about books you read, even if it doesn’t directly tie into boosting sales for said author.
I'm listening to Leviathan right now (about 1/8th in) — definitely a fun "read," though my favorite part was when Alan Cummings (the narrator) pronounce geyser as "geezer" (as in "a geezer of dirt exploded up" π
What a good idea. I've only written a few Amazon reviews, but not for a long time.
My son enjoyed Leviathan.
@Bane But do you get the illustrations in your audio book?? Those are half the beauty of it!
@Theresa I should add that I seldom pay attention to Amazon review when buying a book, but I'm sure that many people do. I wonder how much sway they really hold. π
Aw, I'm glad my post could inspire you. You're doing better than me. I've been so swamped I still have yet to get over to amazon and post some reviews. But that is coming soon!
Happy Friday!
A stitch in time saves nine...................................................
This is something I need to do more of. I don't know about going back and doing the books I've already read, (ugh, that's daunting), but I think I can make a habit of doing it moving forward.
Is it bad form, do you think to copy/paste the review from Amazon to B&N, etc?
Excellent mission, Susan! I think I'll join your bandwaggon π
What a great idea! I only ever wrote one review, very negative. (I took it down as I learned more about the subjectiveness of this business, and the fact that I don't want to be snarky/arrogant online…no more than normal, I mean).
I should be reviewing all the books I've been reading lately. The new books anyway.
@Shannon Thanks so much for bringing this idea to my attention. It has changed the way I think about reading/reviewing.
@Sherrie There's plenty of room on the wagon! π
@Adam I stay away from negative reviews on Ink Spells too, primarily because I think it's bad form for writers to savage other writers – there are surely enough other people in the world willing to step up to that job, and I like creating a supportive writing community for all writers. Besides, Ink Spells mission is to find good books, not ward people off from the bad one.
Plus, yanno, the whole Karma thing. π
@Vicki I have no idea what the "accepted practice" is for reviews – I would think copying and pasting would be fine. After all, your opinion of the book hasn't changed, just because you're posting on Amazon vs. B&N.
AND, you've just expanded my mind again! Why didn't I think of reviewing on B&N? Sometimes I wonder if the brain is starting to malfunction in my wizened years. π
I haven't decided to stay away from negative reviews. Not yet. But I do try to word them to emphasize that it's my opinion — that whatever it was didn't work for me.
@Adam I think that's a good option too, one that other authors will understand (usually). Note: I should have caveated the above with "in public" – I'm always give both positive and negative (coated with love) in my personal critiques. π
I think we all need to support authors any way we can! Writing reviews is one of the best!
@KarenG Second only to buying books! π I've been much more intentional (and guilt free) with the book buying, since getting serious about the writing. π
Oh yes it is so important to support new authors esp. if we hope to be one someday too. Does the number of reviews on Amazon actually help an author's sales or boost his/her rating? Just curious. I have written a couple of reviews, but not lately… thanks for the reminder! Discovered a wonderful YA book by a relatively new author – Voices of Dragons by Carrie Vaughn so I'll go give her a review.
@Margo The mysteries of Amazon! I have just enough information to be dangerous. I think I'll do a follow up post on that! π
Hi Susan,
I've been loving your blog so much, I gave it an award! Check it out:
http://joannebrothwell.blogspot.com
@Joanne Thanks!! π I'm glad you're enjoying Ink Spells!
Also: I'll be doing a follow-up post to the one above tomorrow, all about whether online reviews matter.
Thanks again!