Ever wonder, “What will a book review do for me?” Well, authors know that book reviews are a good thing. Sure, occasionally, you’ll get one that says your work stinks, but that one-star review helps balance the four and five-star reviews and gives a more balanced look. It makes the whole group of reviews look fair and honest. So don’t worry.

Those of you who sell books know that book sites like Amazon gather reviews, and they can help readers decide whether to purchase a specific book. Strangely, according to several sources, the number of reviews can be even more important than the ranking. In other words, many readers browsing a book would prefer to see 25 mixed reviews than ten five-star reviews.

There are two reasons for this phenomenon. The first is that people like to make up their own minds. They like that many people have read the book and taken the time to review it. Second, there is some mixed fear that reviews are somehow rigged and that a series of top numbers is actually a warning sign. Studies show this to be accurate, correct, or wrong. Get more reviews, get more sales.

Maximizing Your Book Review

If you are a reader, you can maximize the impact of your review by citing specific examples in a book to explain why you rate it the way you do. Saying, “It sucks,” just makes people skip to the following review. Be specific, and people will consider your rating fair and honest.

If you are an author who has just received a review, you need to maximize its impact by getting it to your readers. If you have a blog, you need to link to that review! Even if it isn’t exactly what you hoped for, it is verification that people are reading your work. And it can be a link that sells a book for you this week, next month, or next year! Articles have a life of their own, and it’s a long life on the Internet.

I’m sure you did the other things necessary to maximize your articles, too, like tweeting, getting the link to your Facebook page, covering the cover on Pinterest, and so on, but did you comment on the review yourself? Did you “Like” the review? Did you thank the person who took the time to read, digest, and pass on the good points of your work? If you didn’t, shame on you. You missed opportunity and bad manners.

Not only do reviews help book sales, but the discussion does, too. A review with no “likes” and no comments is standard because people forget to take advantage of the great possibilities. However, if your book review gets several comments, new readers want to know what’s being said about the review and, ultimately, the book!

Help yourself and your career long-term by following your book review blogs, liking and joining their social media, and making sure there is at least one comment for your review, even if it is “Thank you.”

You’re Welcome. You know the comment will have a link to your website, right?