Authors are no strangers to the rollercoaster ride of book reviews. In today’s digital age, social proof holds tremendous weight. Potential readers often rely on reviews to make purchasing decisions. Positive reviews act as social proof, assuring readers that your book is worth their time and investment. Embrace the power of these testimonials and recognize their potential to attract new readers. In this blog post, we’ll explore how to navigate the world of book reviews, both the ups and the downs.
Utilize Review-Based Marketing Strategies
When you receive glowing reviews, don’t let them go unnoticed, especially editorial reviews. Incorporate them into your marketing strategy. Consider creating visually appealing graphics featuring snippets of positive reviews to catch the eye of potential readers. These endorsements can be powerful marketing tools to attract new fans. Highlight them on your product page in the book’s description or other places provided by retailer (e.g., Editorial Reviews, A+ content on Amazon, etc.). Share them on social media. Include them on your website. If you a review from a well-known publication or author in your genre, you may even want to put it on your book’s cover.
Encourage Honest Reviews
Authenticity is key when it comes to reviews. Encourage readers to share their honest opinions. This can be done through your author website, social media posts, or the inclusion of a call-to-action in the book itself. Emphasize the importance of leaving reviews on popular platforms like Amazon or Goodreads. Remind them their feedback is invaluable and can help other readers discover your work.
Providing advanced reader copies (ARCs) to potential reviewers before the book’s official release can help generate early reviews. Additionally, authors can collaborate with other authors in their niche for review swaps. This involves exchanging books and reviewing each other’s work, helping to boost the number of reviews and garnering cross-promotion.
Don’t Take Book Reviews Personally
Remember, not every reader will connect with your story in the same way. Each person brings their unique experiences and preferences to the table. So, when you receive a less-than-glowing review, take a step back and remember that it’s just one person’s opinion. Don’t let it overshadow the positive feedback you’ve received.
Receiving criticism, no matter how well-intentioned, can be tough. But it’s important to keep in mind that a negative review doesn’t define you as an author or invalidate your work. Separate yourself from your book and view it as a separate entity. Focus on the bigger picture and the overall impact of your storytelling.
Also, remember that book reviews are for other readers, not for the author. What one reader complains about in their review might be exactly what another reader will love. Even the most beloved and popular books have 1-star reviews, so don’t forget that there’s not a single book out there that is loved or even liked by every reader.
Celebrate the Praise
When you receive positive reviews, relish the moment, express gratitude, and celebrate the milestones. Positive feedback not only boosts your morale but also validates that your hard work has resonated with readers. Take pride in your accomplishments and use the positive energy to fuel your future writing endeavors.
Learn From Book Reviews
Beyond using glowing reviews in your marketing, the best way to navigate the world of book reviews is to remain objective and learn from them. As authors, we can get lost in identifying ourselves and our talent in both great reviews and terrible ones. If we get too caught up in all the positive reviews, we may fool ourselves into thinking that we don’t need to learn and grow in our writing and storytelling craft. On the other end of the spectrum, we can let negative reviews convince us to quit writing altogether. Neither of these serve us or our readers. Also, taking reviews too seriously might have us adjusting our writing in an attempt to satisfy every reader, which is absolutely impossible.
To truly learn from your book’s reviews, read them as though they’re not about your book but one written by a stranger. Discern which points made are constructive and helpful and which might be just that reader having a bad day, interpreting something incorrectly, mixing your book up with another, simply being rude, or a number of other issues with the reader, not you or your book. For good reviews, focus on real feedback that helps you improve your craft, not on fluff. For example, “This book was awesome! I loved every page!” is not helpful, while, “The characters felt so real, like my best friends. I wish I could go live with them.” tells you that you do well with character development – and that you might want to write more stories about these characters.
More importantly, rather than considering every piece of praise and each complaint for ways to improve your writing, look for the common threads. These tell you what your audience as a whole may want more or less of, rather than trying to cater to every demand and expectation. If several reviews say the book is full of mistakes and needs better editing, you know it’s not just one persnickety reader but that you should hone your writing and self-editing skills and/or find a new editor or proofreader. If many readers comment that they were drawn into the world so deeply, they forgot where they were when they closed the book, then you know that world-building and description are strengths (and you can ignore the one or two people who say otherwise).
And above all else? Write for you first. Trying to meet everyone else’s needs, demands, and expectations will suck all the joy out of writing for you and block your creativity. If you find yourself falling into this trap and staring at your screen because you’re analyzing every word and plot point to the point of paralysis, consider avoiding all reviews for a while. Let someone you trust read them for you and share with you only those that help with your marketing efforts.
Reviews hold incredible power in the realm of book marketing. Embrace them as a way to establish social proof and attract new fans to your work. Remember, reviews are just one aspect of your author career. Focus on the bigger picture, keep honing your craft, and never lose sight of the joy that comes from sharing your stories with the world. Let reviews serve as stepping stones in your writing journey, propelling you toward greater success and fulfillment as an author.
