Top Ten Writing Tips for Book Reviews

by Tammy Karasek @TickledPinkTam

For authors, book reviews are important to the success of a book more than you can imagine. Whether you’re a reader, writer or an author, I believe you should make it a habit to go leave a review once you’ve finished a book. There are many places to leave them—Amazon, Barnes and Noble, BooksAMillion, BookBub, ChristianBook, Goodreads, Powells, Target, and more. It depends on where the book has been uploaded by a publisher or an independent published author. 

Since 2012 I have served on or managed almost 400 launch teams. As of this writing, I haven’t had a review rejected. From that experience and following the ever-changing review rules for a large book-seller {grin}, I’ve created this helpful list for you to use in your book review process. Don’t let the long list scare you, it’s my hope to answer questions you may have in writing those reviews for an author as well as a reader trying to decide to buy the book or not! This list has been used in my Launch Team business and has kept rejected reviews to a minimum. 

Best 10 Tips for Writing Book Reviews

1. Once you’ve read the book, write your review and save it in a Word document or somewhere you can easily copy and paste it when it’s time to post. This will set you up for success for your Amazon post during launch week, too! You can use the same review on all sites. If the site asks for a title, change the title up a bit if you’d like. My recommendation: is the book on Goodreads? Then write it there first, they usually accept reviews before a launch date. Then copy and paste from there. 

2. If book retailers have the book already uploaded onto their site, you can post reviews as soon as they accept them. You cannot post a review on Amazon until launch day, but by having the review already written – you’re ready. The importance to do it on Launch Day, or at the very least is to push the sales rankings for the book and get the attention of Amazon to possibly share your book in other ads of books like yours. Not a guarantee, and there is no magic number of reviews. 

3. A review only needs to be a few sentences, but can be longer if you chose. Not too long, though. Most people will not read a long review.

4. Do not write a summary of the book, copy and paste the back cover blurb, or copy and paste the book description at the top of the listing. By the time readers make it to the reviews, they already know what the book is about. They need a review of what the reader thought of the book. 

5. THIS IS IMPORTANT! DO NOT REVEAL in any way that you know the author: don’t say author is my friend, neighbor, relative, etc. Your review WILL NOT be published. Also, Amazon will reject a review if you gush about the author, like: “this author always delivers in his/her writing.” The review needs to be about the book and the story, not the author in any way.

6. If you post a review on your blog, and you know the author, it’s fine to say you know the author or served on their Launch Team. Actually, doing so adds value to the review on your blog because of your personal connection. BUT only on a blog post.

7. What should the review say? Rate the book (not the author) honestly. If you loved it and think it’s worth reading then put lots of stars and tell readers what you liked about the book. Did you learn from it? Was there a quote or line you keep thinking about? You can add that into your review. Readers want to know if the book is worth a purchase and if you would recommend it to them. 

8. If you’d like to add a photo on a review site that allows it, do so. But, DO NOT USE a photo or graphic from the author’s Launch Team. You can share a photo of the book that you take holding it, but not one from Launch Team graphics.

9. If you did NOT purchase a book, or not from that book seller, please include at the end of your review, a statement like this, in your own words: “I received this book from the publisher and was not required to leave a review. The honest opinion is my own.” And, it is not true that Amazon will reject reviews from people who didn’t purchase the book through them. It’s stated in their review guidelines they will accept. Don’t let people tell you to buy the book so you can leave a review. Only Walmart as of this writing has that rule and it is new as of fall 2024. 

10. Not sure what to write? Read through other book reviews. Don’t be intimidated by the long reviews – these are not necessary. Less is best! Most people will not read through long reviews. 

Bottom line, PLEASE post your reviews. The review works in many ways: it lets the publisher know what people think about this author’s writing, it allows readers to learn what other readers of that genre think of the book—and maybe a new to them author, and it helps with sales. 

For those of you who are faithful book reviewers, thank you! 

What about you? Do you leave reviews for books that you’ve read? 

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Top 10 Writing Tips for Book Reviews from @TickledPinkTam on @EdieMelson (Click to Tweet)

Tammy Karasek uses humor and wit to bring joy and hope to every aspect in life. Her past, filled with bullying and criticism from family, drives her passion to encourage and inspire others and give them The Reason to smile. She’s gone from down and defeated to living a “Tickled Pink” life as she believes there’s always a giggle wanting to come out! A writer of Romance—with a splash of sass. She’s also The Launch Team Geek helping authors launch their books and also a Virtual Assistant for several best-selling authors. Don't miss her recent book, LAUNCH THAT BOOK, just released in November. 

Her work was also published in a Divine Moments Compilation Book—Cool-inary Moments. She’s also the Social Media Manager for the Blue Ridge Mountains Christian Writers Conference, Founding President and current Vice-President of ACFW Upstate SC, and Founding President of Word Weavers Upstate SC. She’s a writing team member for The Write Conversation Blog, Novel Academy, MBT Monday Devotions, The Write Editing and more. Connect with Tammy at HTTPS://WWW.TAMMYKARASEK.COM.