Do you know the best way to sell books? Word of mouth recommendations. Book reviews are one way to love your favourite authors.

I’ve been a fan of certain author’s book since I was in primary school and devoured Enid Blyton and Narnia. In those days I simply told my friends about the books and pushed the book their direction. Nowadays things are done differently.

Many authors struggle to continue writing because writing can be a lonely task. Many times I’ve wanted to give up. Your encouragement can make a huge difference. In these two posts I’m going to share some practical ways you can love your favourite authors.

Practical ways to love your favourite authors

I am going to share one way in the this post and two ways in the next.

1. Reviews

In the past, people looked at covers and the blurb on the back cover. Now I notice that when I am selling books, people immediately check out the reviews on Amazon or Goodreads. People rely on this mysterious thing called ‘social proof’ which is a kind of popularity rating. The more people are reading something the more they want to read it too. A new kind of peer pressure.

But I don’t know how to write a review

It’s as simple as as a few do’s and don’t’s.

DO

• Tell us what you liked about the book – writing style, setting, description …
• Recommend what kind of people might like this book e.g. those who love  X book might love this … or who like X genre/theme/setting
• Let us know the book impacted your life. This could include your emotional response to it and what you will change in your life because of the book. As a writer of Christian books this is my favourite part of any book review. I write to make an impact on you and it delights me to hear about it. Often these comments will keep me going when I feel like giving up.
• Feel free to copy and paste the same review to multiple sites (remembering your own Facebook … page
• Let people know it wasn’t your style – if that is the main reason for a low rating.

DON’T

• Summarise the story – people want to read it for themselves
• Talk about the author and how you met them somewhere – a review is about the book.
• Give spoilers – the author goes to a great deal of trouble to keep the suspense in a book, they don’t want you spoiling it for other readers.

Where to post your review

It depends a little on where you live.

1. Amazon is first priority BUT you have to be a regular customer to leave a review. Try and see if you can.
2. Goodreads – this is free to join and allows you to keep track of your reading. It is easy to leave a rating BUT a review is much better. This 1 minute video shows you how, as many people have found it tricky.
3. BookBub – free to join and this is the place that I put my 4-5 star (best) recommendations. You can follow authors and if you do so BB will alert you if there is a new release or sale/free book from that author.
4. Koorong books – Australians it would be helpful if you could review here. Koorong rewards reviews by giving you points (4 written reviews or 2 video reviews = $10 voucher)
5. Kobo books, Nook … anywhere you buy books.

And if you still doubt the importance of your review, please read this article.