HOW TO WRITE BOOK REVIEWS
[©2024 Terri Branson • All Rights Reserved]

A proper book review is a critical analysis of story telling, writing technique, and adherence to genre. The title, rendered in capital letters for internet use and underlined for print use, should appear in either the first or second sentence. Never give away critical plot points, especially the ending. A book review should relay what the reader liked, what story aspects were intriguing, how well a book was crafted, and how it fits the intended genre.

AVOID NEGATIVITY:
Never make negative comments in a book review, as that only appears crass and always results in the review being relegated to social media banter.

CREATE AN EXCERPT:
Create one medium-length sentence that includes the book title (preferably in ALL CAPS), so the author can extract that sentence for promotional purposes.

AVOID TMI (too much information):
Never say a copy was received free or for payment. It is understood that editorial reviews come from free copies and also may include a reading fee. This is standard practice. Therefore, never include any statement that reveals how the book came to you. Readers just want honest reviews of the books in question. Nothing more should be disclosed.

UNDERSTAND RATINGS:
Because of the abuse of reviews and comments on retail and social media sites, never offer a review rating of less than 4-STARS. If you want to say something nice about a book but you are unsure how to rate it, then do not give a rating. If the site in question requires a rating, then never give a book deemed good enough to recommend to others less than 4-STARS.

WAIT 5-7 DAYS:
Reviewers are often asked to post reviews on multiple retail sites. Books are read either from copies given in private or from copies received from a bookstore. Reviews are usually posted to that first bookstore in about a week.

Most bookstore websites post the number of days between the date of purchase to the posting of the review. For example, if you buy a book on Monday and post a review the following Sunday, a tag may appear near the review that says: "posted 7 days after purchase."

Never post reviews on the same day of purchase. Always wait 5-7 days before posting a review.

ESTABLISH TRUST:
Authors and publishers are hungry to find honest book reviewers, but you must first establish trust. The best way to do that is to build a reputation as an honest reviewer, one who posts only positive reviews and sends all negative comments in private back to the author or publisher in question.

Trusted book reviewers get to read books for free, mostly in ebook these days but often in paperback. Don’t cater to the whims of publishers and authors. Be honest about your reviews and always be kind.