The Hows and Whys of Writing a Helpful Book Review

Why should you leave a book review on Amazon and how to do it

How to leave a Helpful Book Review on Amazon or Any Online Retailer

If you buy a book on Amazon by someone who is not a famous writer, they would appreciate it beyond words if you would take a couple of minutes to leave a review on Amazon and any other online retailer that sells their books. If the author allows you to download a book for free, a review would be a great way to say thank you.

Why? Potential readers look for reviews before they buy a book. Your review doesn’t have to be lengthy. Even a couple of sentences are gold to an author.

Authors aren’t asking for reviews just to have their ego stroked. They are looking for reviews that will help others decide if they should buy the book. In today’s electronic age, people simply will not buy a book unless there is are a few good reviews posted about that book.

Did you know?


You don’t need to buy the book on Amazon or Kindle to write a review on Amazon about that book. All you need is an Amazon account and the ability to look for the title of the book on Amazon. Scroll down to ‘Reviews’ on the book’s description page and then leave your review there. 


What to Keep in Mind When Writing a Book Review

You want your review to be helpful to potential readers.  It doesn’t need to be lengthy.  A sentence or two is great! Your grammar doesn’t need to be perfect. However, here are a few tips:

1. READ THE BOOK FIRST.   At the very least, read enough of the book so you can discuss the book with integrity.


2. Talk more about the book than you talk about the author. 


3. Be specific. What did you like about the book? What did you find helpful? If the book is a novel, what captivated you about the story? Was it the characters? The plot? (Don’t give away spoilers!) What did you enjoy about the author’s writing style?


4. What didn’t you like about the book? Be specific. Just don’t leave a one star. Explain exactly what about the book bothered you.  Were there so many spelling errors and grammatical flaws that you had a hard time following the author’s train of thought?  If you don’t agree with the theology expressed in the book, give an example.  Step up to the plate and prove you read the book and that you just aren’t going on hearsay. Perhaps you don’t like the book cover. Perhaps you consider the characters in the novel to be stiff or stereotypical. Perhaps the plot had too many holes in it for it to be believable.

In case you are interested, yes,  I am an author of three devotionals and one quick-read Kindle book at the time of writing this article in March of 2018.

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Until Next Week

©2018 Katherine Walden

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