Why Book Reviews are for Readers
The first two ARC reviews for Oil and Dust hit Goodreads this week! Here’s the link. Luckily, they were positive, but they got me thinking about the controversial topic of book reviews.
Reviews are essential for authors because they create a buzz around a book (How to Write a Book Review). They provide social proof (aka informational social influence). This is critical because peer recommendations are how many of us select our next reads. They also help us find books we didn’t know about. When scanning reader feedback, I’m often directed to other, similar books, and hunt those books down too.
Not only are readers more likely to try out a book which has been reviewed, but the algorithms behind the online retail sites use customer feedback to measure a product’s relevance. Thus, the more reviews, the higher the book will appear in searches for the book’s genre, subject, or theme.
Books without reviews, with too few reviews, or with primarily negative reviews sink into search-result oblivion.
If reviews are so important, why does the prevailing wisdom suggest authors shouldn’t read them?
Writers are creatives. We pour our time, energy, enthusiasm, imagination, and money into our projects, so when we release our writing into the world, we’re laying our art (and heart) before the world.
If the first two ARC reviews of Oil and Dust had been overwhelmingly negative, would I still be excited to share my book with the world?
Maybe… or maybe I would have decided I should give up the dream, trash the book, and take up a new hobby.
Reviews are Reader Signposts
First, remember the point of a review is to recommend or dissuade the book.
This is a good thing.
If you’ve marketed your book as science fiction, but the readers review it poorly because it’s really romance, reader feedback will steer away readers who are only looking for science fiction.
This helps you, because the science fiction readers who don’t want scifi-romance won’t experience a similar disappointment.
In contrast, readers who are looking for romance in a science fiction-like world will be more interested in reading your story.
Opinions Are Not Truth
We all know opinions are subjective and not universal, so why use reviews to justify or validate our work? Take this to heart:
No book is universally loved.
Negative feedback does not mean your story is worthless.
Today, the top selling novel on Amazon is It Ends With Us by Colleen Hoover. The book has 21,026 ratings, of which 212 (1%) are one star reviews. Check out the top positive and critical reviews:
Anyone can write a review, for any reason. I’ve seen writers rail on about negative reviews in which the reviewer clearly states they don’t like the subject matter… or didn’t read the book… or dislike the author’s political leanings… and so forth.
These writers ask why the reader bothered to read the story or write the review in the first place, and that’s a fair question. I’m not sure there’s an answer, but I also don’t think feedback like this will matter in the long run.
Ratings are Also Subjective
When I review a book, here’s my breakdown:
⭐ = Don’t bother.
⭐⭐ = The story was fine, but not for me.
⭐⭐⭐ = I enjoyed the story.
⭐⭐⭐⭐ = I found the book very good/interesting/thought provoking.
⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐ = I adored the book, it changed how I view the world, I’ll definitely reread it, and I’ll shout it’s a must-read whenever someone hands me a soapbox.
From me, a 3 star review is positive and a 4 is high praise, but for another, a three star review might mean they thought the story was trash.
About a year ago, I set up a poll on Twitter asking authors if they’d rather have no reviews, or a negative, honest review. Two out of three respondents said yes to the negative review, but a full third said they’d rather have no review.
I find this idea crazy, and it gets worse. Many writers don’t even want to see 3 star reviews.
As a reader, when I see a book with only 5 star reviews, I assume a writer has asked their writing buddies or friends/family to review their book. To evaluate if I might like a story, I routinely read the 1, 2, and 3 star reviews. For fiction, low reviews rarely dissuade me outright from purchasing a book, unless the reviews all focus on the same shortcomings.
Reacting to Reviews Is a Bad Idea
When I see a problem, my first inclination is to solve it, so I understand the motivation behind the authors who try to argue their perspective in the Review-O-Sphere. They respond to feedback to explain or justify their choices. The problem is, they’ve forgotten the reviews are for other readers, not feedback to the writer.
If you receive a negative review, please don’t respond. No matter what.
Responding to a review is like pouring gasoline on a grease fire. Unless you don’t need your eyebrows, don’t do it. The reader backlash is swift and sharp, and you may even end up in the news like this or this.
Separate reviews of your work from reviews of yourself. You have value, your book has value, but you are not your book, and feedback on your book is not feedback on you.
How to Make Book Reviews Helpful To You
Even though we know reading our book’s reviews can hurt our feelings or harm our creativity—let’s be real—we’re still going to read them.
Now, if you’re the person who is crushed by negative reviews, don’t read them. But if you can’t keep your peepers off of the review sites, here’s how to make the most of the reader feedback on your story.
Marketing: You can use great reviews in your marketing efforts. I’ve seen authors use positive feedback in their promotional materials or after their book description.
Target Reader Identification: Reviews are great for identifying who your target readers are, and aren’t. You can use this information to dial in your promotional materials and paid advertisements.
Genre Clarification: Your book’s reviews may give you a better idea of where readers think you should shelve your book. This is gold because it’s very easy to change our categories and key words, so if your reviewers suggest your book was mis-categorized, consider adjusting your book’s metadata accordingly.
Quality Improvement: I’ve seen writers advise we read reviews to improve our stories, but the idea makes me squint. Unless the reviews are coming from qualified editorial staff, how much stock do I want to take in what readers say about my writing style? However, if multiple reviewers comment on poor grammar or typos, I might want to reevaluate the text I’ve submitted for publication.
I welcome All Reader Feedback
I welcome feedback, but also feel as if I’m tempting the fates by writing it here….! Although I haven’t yet experienced a poor review, I know one is coming. Will it bum me out?
Probably, but I’d still rather see negative feedback than no feedback.
Readers, if you want to support authors, leave feedback on the books you read. Writers, if negative feedback is giving you the hives, ask a friend to screen them for you, sending you only the best ones.
Regardless of whether your book is garnering good, neutral, or negative reviews, reframe your experience by remembering reviews are for readers. What has been your experience regarding reviews?
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