what happened to you book review

what happened to you book review

The Importance of Book Reviews

1. The Power of Book Reviews

The mere fact that a book has a review shows that somebody has taken the time to consider the book, and that gives it credibility. A review is for the most part objective. Reviews will weigh the positive and negative aspects of the book while not letting personal bias affect the critique of the book. After reading a book there is always the question of whether or not you liked it. The truth is, people will like a book that is good, and it is typically easy to differentiate a good book from a bad one today. This is not always the case, and depends solely on the author, book, and genre in question. More often than not one can find whether or not a book is good for what it is, and book reviews help readers decide what is good and what is not.

It has been said that one in four books published have a review written about them. This is a large amount of feedback on books. Even considering those numbers, people will not be satisfied, and demand will continue to be high and steadily growing. Society today finds it more difficult and frustrating to find the necessary information on the book they are interested in reading. New books are being published all the time, and with the release of a new electronic reader the demand to learn about the books available is even more prevalent. So what makes book reviews so important to the reader and the author?

Book reviews are like a first impression. People use them when they are deciding whether or not to read a book. They are what people read when they are trying to decide whether or not the book is worth investing their time and money into. Book reviews are often given by fellow readers that can make the book sound appealing. Readers are more likely to purchase and read a book that is reviewed by people they know.

2. The Benefits of Writing Book Reviews

Being an author is a dream for many people. Wishing their ideas and thoughts on a piece of paper. A large number of people have brilliant ideas for writing a book, but the majority of those books will never be published. Many of these unpublished books are excellent, and are far better than published books, but if the book is not published, the public will never know about it. Getting a book published is very hard to do, and many great writers will never be able to get their book published. A great writing an unimaginable amount of time and effort is put into a book, thus it is a great feeling for an author when they finally get their book published. Unfortunately, the hard part is over and the frustrating part comes in. After a book is published it is very hard to become noticed, it can be very difficult for a new author to get their book reviewed by a large audience, and it is even harder to convince readers to buy the book. The competition being so great amongst writers, many books will never even be able to get to a book store. With so many books out on the market, and lack of time to read them all, people often use book reviews to decide which books to buy. An author usually takes news of his book not being bought very seriously. With books having copyrights for 75 years and printed for so long, an author’s book not being bought takes almost seems as a failure of having proven his book to be worth reading. There are many types of book reviews available. The most common, professional book reviews, are usually written by professional writers and are published in newspapers and magazines. These are the most effective reviews, but they are also extremely hard to get. Getting a professional book review can be hard and costly. They can cost an author an average of $4000, and the review may not get published or be on a closed magazine or newspaper with a small audience. An author would usually know that his book has good potential to sell, but has a hard time getting those potential buyers to know about the book. There are other types of helpful book reviews. There are general reviews posted by individuals on forums and websites, and private reviews sent by person to person. All reviews are helpful for an author and each review helps a book become more noticed. With the importance of book reviews being so high, the job of a book reviewer is of great value and should not be taken lightly. An author will always be thankful to a person who has reviewed his book.

3. How to Write an Effective Book Review

Organize Reviewing can be a daunting task. Where to start? Well, even though all book reviews are a different under the surface, when writing, it’s best to begin with a general summary of the book so that those reading the review will have a basic understanding of what the book is about. Then, I like to take a look at the characters. Explain what makes this set of characters, if there was one, so engaging and unique. Then I like to look at the seemingly trivial ideas that make the book so deep and meaningful. Not every book has a deeper meaning, but it is quite often the books that do that stick with you the longest. Plot, no matter what the genre, is the most crucial part of the reading experience. Were there any twists and turns that were particularly enjoyable or crafty? Ending the review with an overall opinion, also to the effect of whether the book is recommendable, is the cherry on top. This method also applies when writing an essay on book as a review should really just be an elongated essay.

Follow a plan Before you write, plan. If possible, read the book multiple times, as repeat reads tend to lead a reader (or reviewer) to focus on different aspects of the book. In the first reading you want to get the general notion of the book. Subsequent readings should focus on the first few chapters then skimming through the book to refresh your memory in your mind what the main concepts are or the best scenes that the author portrays. The author will be grateful for your diligence, and it will reflect in your writing.

4. The Impact of Book Reviews on Authors and Readers

Conversely, should the book get a poor review, the author will definitely be disheartened. It is said that the pen is a mighty weapon. However, this can be interpreted in two ways. The pen may be a tool used to create great works, but the pen that writes bad reviews can deal a crippling blow. The author of the book may cease to pursue his career as a writer. In a worst-case scenario, he may end up trashing his own book.

As mentioned earlier, a review can greatly influence a person’s decision whether to purchase a particular book. On the reader’s end, it may not seem like such a big deal, but looking at the bigger picture, the fate of the authors and the books themselves lay in the balance of the reader’s decision. An author will be greatly affected when his book has a high rating and it is given a glowing review. He will definitely have higher morale and enthusiasm in writing his next book, and it will also increase his chances of getting published again. This cycle of events will enable the author to continue writing and making a decent living.

Let’s think about it. What is the first thing that comes to your mind when you read a very positive or a very negative review about a book that you plan to read? It is most likely that you will not read the bad review again, but you will definitely remember what the reviewer said. You may even tell other people who are fans of the author or who may have read the book about the review if it was exciting enough to share. You will think twice about reading the book if the review was negative. This, my friends, is the sole purpose of this essay. To show how book reviews can change the opinions of those reading the review, and what an impact that is.

Table of Contents: 4. The Impact of Book Reviews on Authors and Readers

5. Encouraging a Culture of Book Reviews

But encouragement does not amount to a revival of patronage. Book reviewing has nothing to gain from returning to the days when a good or bad mention in the right place could secure a writer the favor of king or courtier, and while writers, editors, and reviewers should be conscious of the role that reviews play in determining literary trends, a judicious amount of independence ought to be preserved. As to what might encourage readers themselves to write more, there is no simple answer. Those who have the basic skills are no less likely to employ them for the current absence of external determinants. An increase in reviewing, of itself, might be sufficient to stimulate their interest. An awareness of the various community of book bloggers who can be seen to have already been successful in fomenting interest in neglected genres or titles indicates that a more lively and less centralized reviewing culture might be able to offer more scope for readers’ expression.

We need to encourage a culture of book reviews if we are to realize the full potential of book reviewing. This has a role for all involved in the book trade. Review editors should bear in mind that it is a key part of their job to discover and encourage new talent. In pursuing this aim, they should be more ready to ignore books by established writers and to give a hearing to comparative unknowns. Self-evidently, publishers and publicists can help by not concentrating their efforts exclusively on the better-known names. But probably the prime responsibility lies with established writers. It is rare for anyone to become a first-rate book reviewer without some prior encouragement from an experienced practitioner. This normally takes place under the private aegis of an editor, so it would be asking too much to expect established writers to take an active part in the mentoring of new reviewers. But they can create an ethos in which reviewing is valued by speaking and writing in support of the activity.