So you want to write book reviews? Nice! Book reviews by independents and, crucially, other writers, are a vital part of a writer’s career and a great way to get involved in the writing community, build bridges and support other writers. Reviewing is a wonderful way to get into blogging if traditional genres and forms of writing is not for you, and it lets you promote and share your favourite books with others.
I love reviewing, it lets me be creative but also has structure and a solid starting point and it gives me a reason to read more. I love reading but I sometimes find it hard to motivate myself but a review schedule forces me into reading more and reading faster
I’ve been writing reviews on and off since I was a teenager and I’m going to give you some advice on writing reviews, where to share them and ways to be careful!
Finding Books to Review
- Off the shelf: the most common way that beginning reviewers (particularly those that are not also fiction writers/not involved with online community) find books to review. Most avid readers will have a wide selection of books on their shelf or e-book and this is a great place to start. Reviewing a back-log of books you have read provides a wealth of material. You might also consider, if you have a lot of genre fiction or books on one topic, starting a themed blog, for example, a fantasy blog.
- Online: another way of finding indie books or very recently published books is through Twitter or Instagram. Particularly Twitter has a wealth of indie writers looking to promote their work and one of the ways they do this is by asking bloggers and other writers to review their work on Amazon, Goodreads, etc. (I’ll write another post about being reviewed this way.) If you are part of the online community of writers, either as a blogger or a fiction writer, searching for writers looking to have their work reviewed is a good way of finding a unique piece to put on their blog.
I use a mixture of these two ways.
Platforms
There are a few different platforms to write and post reviews that all have their benefits and drawbacks.
- Blog: the majority of people who review either professionally or on the side of their work have an independent blog. It allows you full control over what goes on there and provides room for an expansive and detailed review of each work. It is convenient for showcasing your writing all in one place and lets you write a long piece. I prefer working with a blog because of all of these reasons, I can expand on what I think about a book, be more nuanced about the pros and cons of something and there is a specific site I can direct people to, rather than an Instagram account that needs scrolling through to find the right thing. The only downside that I find with a blog is that there are a lot out there and blogging platforms, unlike other social media, are hard to gain large numbers of followers on the platform itself, although mailing lists can help here.
- Instagram: Another great platform if you prefer to write snappier pieces. Find a photo (if you use a book cover then try your best to credit it to the artists, although cover artists, even for popular books can be hard to find) and write a short piece on what you liked, didn’t like and what it’s about. Follow any related hashtags like #writersofinstagram or #review
- Goodreads/Amazon: This is highly beneficial for writers to have their work reviewed on these websites, because they are specifically where prospective readers go to find their next book. I use Goodreads to find out whether I want to read a book, what others think of it and roughly what it’s about and Amazon reviews have a similar use. These should be roughly halfway in length between Instagram and blog reviews. People need to know the rough plot (warn spoilers, obviously!) and what you liked about it – try and include content/trigger warnings if you can here – but not a detailed analysis of the book.
- Websites: some websites put out calls for reviews ranging from products, films, TV shows and, of course, books. If you decide to freelance, then try searching Twitter or Google (‘blank’ blog + write for us’) and see what you can find. See specific site requirements for length and level of detail.
Content
What you actually write is largely up to you, but here are a few tips on what can make a good and thorough book review.
- Plot: always include a short plot description, try to avoid spoilers unless you tag them first and go above and beyond what is listed in the blurb. Put emphasis on what you enjoyed about the story. Don’t worry if it isn’t a plot heavy book or the plot is non-linear (out of order), make sure your readers know this when you talk about plot.
- Pros and cons: Make a short list of pros and cons and, depending on the platform, either just post like this or expand on them a little. Why didn’t you like this bit? What is wrong/problematic about this character? Is it just your taste or something you think might be universal? Try and be objective and come up with at least one of each, even if you loved or hated the book.
- Characters: What characters did you like? Why? Did they remind you of someone?
- Genre: Comment on the genre – does it blend genres? Does it do something new with the genre conventions?
- Comparisons: Be careful here. Genre fiction and contemporary novels can really benefit from being compared to an older or contemporary novel that is popular and that lots of people have read, for example drawing comparison between a fantasy novel and Harry Potter or Lord of the Rings. However, some comparisons can feel forced and be totally different from what the author was going for. You should also be careful to avoid using buzzwords like ‘Orwellian’ or ‘Lovecraftian’ without knowing what they mean or being sure that they are appropriate to the text. You should also be aware that some comparisons may draw offence. For example, Lovecraft was a brilliant horror fantasy writer but also deeply racist, so a comparison to him on a book that tackles racism may be highly inappropriate.
Pitfalls
- Being rude: Reviewing is all about speaking your mind, but stay respectful when you talk about someone’s work. Even if it is not to your taste, it is clearly to a certain standard to have been published and the person will have put a lot of effort into it. For example, the average novel is 80,000 words long and that takes a very long time, not to mention weeks to months of editing, proof-reading and second-guessing yourself. I know that not every reviewer will like every novel and it is perfectly within your right as a reviewer to offer your honest opinion. However, there is little need for brutal honesty that insults the writer, especially if it is a personal insult or involves something in the narrative that affects the writer personally. Try and be objective when reviewing – if you don’t like the book, if you think it’s not great, say so, but be tactful and mindful that others may disagree. Above all, be prepared to be challenged and defend your opinion.
- Caught in a lie: We’ve all written things and not actually read the thing that we’re writing about. School essays and the like – it is virtually a rite of passage to do one without reading the book. But do not make this mistake with reviewing. It is obvious when you haven’t read it or skim-read it (as skim-reading often bypasses a deeper meaning or an event that might only take a few lines) and it shows a lack of respect for the author and can make your opinion on the text less creditable. Think about it: would you trust an Amazon review from someone who hasn’t bought the product? Make sure you have read the book with some degree of depth and understanding before attempting a review.
- Getting things wrong: if you’re going to make factual claims in your reviews, either about the books or the author themselves, then make sure you research it. It can be difficult to distinguish fact from fiction 100% of the time when writing about fiction, as we often claim our interpretation of the text as fact. There is nothing necessarily wrong with that, it is the way in which we explore how we feel about a text and form opinions about it, but be careful when you claim the author has done something they haven’t. Also watch out for using poorly researched facts and inaccurate information.
Final Thoughts
Reviewing is a great tool for both reviewers and writers that gets work out there, exposes indie writers and bloggers to a wider audience and builds bridges between writers and their reviewers. It brings the community closer and widens your reading list to include more indie writers and things you wouldn’t normally read. I whole-heartedly recommend reviewing other writers’ books/poems/collections if you are wanting to be a writer yourself or are interested in freelancing alongside other employment, as a way of understanding the publishing scene and getting used to writing for public consumption.
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