Authors love book reviews. Not because we want to hear how great we are but because review numbers help us (and others) see how many people are reading our books. They let us know if (and how) we’re connecting with our readers. In some cases, they even help us promote our books by tipping the algorithms in our favor. If every person who bought a book left a review, it could possibly change the course of an author’s career!
But a lot of people don’t leave reviews for a lot of reasons:
- They don’t know what to say.
- They want the review to be perfect.
- They’re afraid of saying something wrong or hurtful.
- They’re not great writers and the thought of writing even a few words for a review terrifies them.
If you fall into any of these categories, can I offer some comfort?
- A book review is an opinion, and you’re entitled to your opinion regardless of whether or not anyone else agrees with it.
- All book reviews help.
- You’re not responsible for the author’s feelings. If you didn’t like the book, be honest. If the author can’t take criticism, he/she shouldn’t be publishing books.
- Reviews don’t have to be long or perfect. Two words (loved it/hated it) work.
And now, the reason for this post—I want to help readers stop worrying so much about reviews and actually post them! Here’s how this works: below are reviews divided into three categories (loved it, liked it, hated it). Feel free to copy and paste as your book review anytime you want to help an author out but you don’t want to worry about what to write:
Loved It
Great story—couldn’t put it down! Can’t wait for the next book.
Loved it!
Loved the characters. Loved the plot. Love this author.
Another great book by a great author. I can’t wait to read the next book.
So good I’ll probably read it again!
Liked It
A fun read.
Good story.
Not my favorite book by this author, but I still enjoyed it.
Not my favorite type of story, but I still enjoyed it.
A little unbelievable in some places, but I still liked it.
A fun way to spend the weekend.
Hated It
I really wanted to like this book, but I didn’t. It’s just not my style.
I tried to like this book, but I couldn’t get into it.
I know a lot of people liked this book, but it’s not for me.
Owner of Write Now Editing, Karin Beery is an active member of American Christian Fiction Writers and the Christian Editor Network, where she teaches several editing classes through the PEN Institute and serves as the coordinator for the Christian Editor Connection. She is the Managing Editor of Guiding Light Women’s Fiction, an imprint of Lighthouse Publishing of the Carolinas. Her sophomore novel, Practically Married, is a 2020 Serious Writer Book of the Year finalist.
