I was talking to a writer friend and the discussion of book reviews came up and if they had any real effect on book sales. For those of you who don’t know how book reviews work, authors, or their publisher, will send an authors book to a review site. Everyone does it this way. Occasionally, a review site will request a book for review and they’ll get put into the sites database that way but that’s neither here nor there.
My friend has always been leery of reviews for her books. I have to, to a certain extent. They make me queasy. LOL The thought of purposely handing one of my books over for someone to tell me what they think is scary. What if they hate it and tell the whole world? But on the up side, what if they love it and then tell the whole world?
I think all of my books have been reviewed, some books by several review sites. I’ve almost always gotten decent reviews, some very good actually. A Touch of Heaven, my very first published book with Linden Bay Romance won the 2005 Reviewers Choice Award from eCataRomance.Com. Not bad for a newbie, huh?
But back to my point. I promise I have one! The impact reviews have. I’m not entirely sure they ‘produce’ sales but I’d love to be proven wrong. Getting ‘reviewed’ is something every author does, whether they enjoy the process or not. I’ll admit there are times I break out into a cold sweat waiting for a review of a brand new book. Waiting to see how the ‘public’ will view it.
So, dear readers...do you read book reviews? Do they influence your decision to buy certain books? Do you frequent book review ‘websites’ actively looking for new books to read or do you rely on word-of mouth (friends, co-workers, family) to find new authors/books? Do the little ‘review quotes’ on books/websites help you make a decision to buy? Your input is greatly appreciated!
My friend has always been leery of reviews for her books. I have to, to a certain extent. They make me queasy. LOL The thought of purposely handing one of my books over for someone to tell me what they think is scary. What if they hate it and tell the whole world? But on the up side, what if they love it and then tell the whole world?
I think all of my books have been reviewed, some books by several review sites. I’ve almost always gotten decent reviews, some very good actually. A Touch of Heaven, my very first published book with Linden Bay Romance won the 2005 Reviewers Choice Award from eCataRomance.Com. Not bad for a newbie, huh?
But back to my point. I promise I have one! The impact reviews have. I’m not entirely sure they ‘produce’ sales but I’d love to be proven wrong. Getting ‘reviewed’ is something every author does, whether they enjoy the process or not. I’ll admit there are times I break out into a cold sweat waiting for a review of a brand new book. Waiting to see how the ‘public’ will view it.
So, dear readers...do you read book reviews? Do they influence your decision to buy certain books? Do you frequent book review ‘websites’ actively looking for new books to read or do you rely on word-of mouth (friends, co-workers, family) to find new authors/books? Do the little ‘review quotes’ on books/websites help you make a decision to buy? Your input is greatly appreciated!
