Guide to Leaving a Review

Reviewing a book, a step by step guide

Why are ratings reviews so essential for authors

• Our books need to find an audience that will love the stories as much as we do. Which means our books needs to be read and discussed by readers beyond our own social media reach. Other than literally buying the book for someone else, or word of mouth, the best way to support authors you love is to leave a rating and review.
• Everyone either loves or hates Amazon, but there is no way around it. Amazon is by far the most critical marketplace for books. Amazon wants to sell more books, so they promote books that their algorithm suggests will be the most successful. The algorithm is determined by the number of ratings and reviews, which impacts whether or not a book is listed in the “if you love this book, you might also love …” section. To find all our books on Amazon go to Ross’ author page.

What kind of review do you want to write? In descending order of time/difficulty

• A “plot synopsis/book report” review: Some reviewers (particularly those who are part of the “reviewer” communities on Goodreads, BookBub, etc.) write multi-paragraph reviews that include a plot synopsis. Feel free to do this, but the plot is usually covered in the book description, and may already be included in other reviews. You can read already posted reviews to see if you how much of the plot you want to add to your review.
  
  
• A “why read this book” review: this review can be as short as three sentences and can be just as effective.
  • First comment – “loved this book”, “what a breezy read:”, “really enjoyed this thriller/fantasy/romance”. Consider at least one adjective that describes the reading experience – “thrilling”, “quirky”, “gripping”, “captivating”. There is a section in Amazon that lists words used in other reviews of the book, which can help. This is also a good place to note the book genre (the product details include the top three categories for this book).
  • Next comment – a quick description of the main characters and plot and why it worked for you. “Loved the character XXX and XXX as they navigate the XXX of this engaging tale”.
  • Next comment –other books it reminded you of, what about this book is unique and/or why you kept reading. “The world reminds me of my favorite author XXX’s work, but this author’s take on XXX added a unique twist to the XXX genre, and the author’s XXX writing style (pacing, word choice, dialog, descriptions, plot structure) kept me reading”. 
  • Final comment – what kind of reader would love this book. “Highly recommend to readers who love XXX.”
    
    
• A “keyword” review:
  • This doesn’t even need to be complete sentences – “gripping tale”, “wonderful addition to the XXX genre”, “perfect beach read”. You can probably find some of the keywords that describe the book in the description provided by the author/publisher.
    
    
    
•  JUST LEAVE A RATING! That counts as support too! If the book is available on Kindle unlimited, download it to your library so that the rating is listed as a verified purchase.

Where to leave reviews
Ross’ author page on Amazon
Ross’ author page on Goodreads
Ross’ author page on BookBub