A phrase I've seen oft repeated across bookish social media is "reviews are for readers." They are! Usually, this phrase is used when readers feel that an author has overstepped his or her boundaries and replied directly to negative reviews of their books. But it's also a reflection of the fact that reviews are indeed written by readers for other readers, so they know what they're getting into before they purchase a book.
Why, then, do authors always ask readers to leave a review? Let's get into it.
Sometimes, you come across a review in which it becomes obvious that the reviewer is addressing the author directly. Some readers think the point of a review is to educate the author on how to write a "better" book in the future. Some are gentler than others, but still issue suggestions or requests.
I hate to be blunt, and I don't like to speak for all authors, but I think it's safe to generalize when I say that authors, myself included, do not look at reviews as inspiration, or reprimands. I do love to talk about my books with readers on social media, via Instagram posts, or blog posts like our Fearless Read-Along. Nothing makes my day like having a reader quote a favorite passage to me, or share personal stories with me about how a scene in one of my books reminded them of a loved one, or a special memory. That sort of thing is crack to an author.
But reviews serve a different purpose. By the time an author publishes a book, it's been edited, and re-edited. It's been proofread. We've bugged our editors and loved ones about plot points and word choice until they're sick of us. What we put out (this is at least true for me) is what we mean to put out, for good or for ill, knowing that some readers will love it, and some will hate it. I reserve the right to respond to direct messages, emails, or comments on my blog or social media, but I don't ever respond to reviews left on review sites. Occasionally, I'll deal with someone who's a bad actor: a person who leaves a string of disparaging reviews and then reaches out offering to be my editor. They think all those poor reviews will convince me I need to hire them. It never works. I vague blog about them until they crawl back under the rock from whence they came, and move on. Long story short: reviews don't tell the author what to do/not do; they help other readers decide if they want to read a book.
That's why authors ask for reviews. The more reviews a book has, the more attention it gets: both organic, and through the algorithm. Unfortunately, popularity still matters, even after you leave high school, and books with a high number of reviews tend to draw larger numbers of new readers. On Amazon, the more reviews a book has, the higher the book's ranking, and the higher its visibility. Books that receive lots of ratings and reviews get bumped up in the Amazon algorithm, and casual Amazon scrollers are likelier to see it. This is exactly why some authors buy reviews. The higher the visibility, the higher the sales, the higher the probability that it's worth an author's time to write a sequel.
Basically, it's all a numbers game, which is a little bit soul-crushing when you're an artist who wants to think hard work, dedication, attention to detail, and artistry will carry you forward. Instead, it's all about rank, and views, and clicks, and the cha-ching, baby.
I do so love reading comments; I'm trying to be better about responding to all of them. And having chats online about our favorite characters. But reviews really are for readers, in more ways than one.
As a book reviewer and content creator, I agree with all of this! I think there’s also another discussion to be had about social media etiquette and when it’s appropriate to tag an author, but I could talk for days about that.
ReplyDeleteI am trying to get better about writing reviews. This actually helps me understand why reviews on sites like Amazon help authors. I really appreciate you taking the time to right this blog post.
ReplyDelete