How to Write a Book Review

(Updated April, 2024.)

Over one million new titles are released each year in the US alone. Authors strive to make their books stand out by attending book launches, book clubs, book readings and other events. They also aim to get book reviews on sites such as Amazon and Goodreads, as that improves the visibility of their books. Here’s how to help your favorite authors.

What should you write in a book review?

If you want to be scholarly, there are guidelines for writing formal book reviews, but you don’t need to go to this length to be useful to the author and potential readers. A succinct sentence or two is enough. Even three words: “A great read.” or “Highly recommended.”

If you want a bit more, try:

“This sweet romance kept me reading until past midnight. I was cheering for Kate and Sam to get together.”

OR
“I love mysteries, and this one didn’t disappoint. Kept me guessing until the last chapters.”

OR

“This novel offered great insight into the life of a doctor. I wouldn’t want the protagonist operating on me.”

If you even more detail, here’s a proforma to use:

[Book Title] by [Author Name] is about [list key themes.] [Protagonist name] is a [describe key character] protagonist who shows that [key outcome].

eg. Past Tense by Lee Child is about history, courage and good versus evil. Jack Reacher is a tough, yet righteous protagonist who shows that sometimes you have to stray outside the bounds of the law to achieve justice.

Be honest, but be kind. There’s a lot to be said for the old adage, ‘If you don’t have anything nice to say, don’t say anything at all.’

Where should you post your review?

There are a myriad of online booksellers and most of them invite reviews. So where should you start? Amazon is the most important one for book sales, and you don’t need to have purchased the book there to post a review, although reviews from verified purchasers carry more weight. Goodreads is another valuable site.

How do you do it?

• For ease of editing, I write my reviews in Word first. This also makes it easy to cut and paste to multiple sites.
• If you don’t already have an account with your bookseller of choice, set one up. As for any other account, this requires a username and password.
• Log on to the site, then find the relevant book.
• Follow the link to the review page.
• Cut and paste your review, then upload. Your comment will be verified before it goes live, so be aware that your post might not be visible for a couple of hours.

Each site has a few quirks:

• On Goodreads, the review option only appears after you click a star rating.
• You can only write a review on Amazon if you have spent a minimum of $50 in the past 12 months. This is to prevent spam accounts from generating reviews. I had difficulty to begin with on Amazon, but now it’s smooth sailing.

How much will it cost?

Zero, assuming you have reached the minimum spend on Amazon.

Special Note for Writers

This blog was originally part of a series about creating an online presence for authors, including websites, blogs and social media. But why should an author spend time reviewing other people’s books?

1. To review it, you first have to read it, and whether you view it as research or pleasure, writers need to read, read, read.
2. To construct a review, you have to analyse the book – another great discipline for an author.
3. A review gives you something to post on your blog or social media to keep your readers engaged.
4. You will be helping a fellow author.

Note: Please feel free to share your thoughts in the comments, as I’m sure there is much to add to this discussion. I am happy to update the blog with reader input.

If you’d like to review The Godfather of Dance, here are the links to Goodreads and Amazon AU.

Next time: a bit of fun up at Mansfield with The Case of the Mysterious Rose Saboteur.
Next writing blog: The Book Publishing Flowchart.