SWNOVELS Chapter Getting Book Reviews
Getting book reviews is a bugger. Nobody wants to do them. Ok, you enjoyed the book (or you really hated it), but do you really want to spend time logging onto Amazon (or wherever) and start explaining how you feel about it. You might tell your friends (over coffee or a beer) . . . especially if you hated it . . . if just to warn them not to waste the three hours that you spent (and will never get back again). But who really has the time / enthusiasm / inclination to try to explain why you hold the view you have?
Sadly, with that in mind, it is maybe worth mentioning that reviews are important to authors. They might fear them (nobody wants to see the “this book is an utter pile of poo” review comment), but unfortunately, they are important. For indie authors (like myself) who can’t necessarily afford to pay for expensive professional editing services, good constructive reviews are particularly important. Authors can often be too close to their books to spot the glaring issues. Good criticism lets an author know where the problems lie. They learn from that sort of feedback. They might even write better books ongoing.
Anyway, if you can be bothered to write a review of my books, I would be deeply grateful.