Why are newer authors always asking for the reader to review their books after they read them? What’s the big deal about putting reviews on GoodReads or Amazon and/or your social media account? (But, especially GoodReads and Amazon!) Read on and find out.

1. Book reviews help authors get more visibility. I don’t know how Amazon’s algorithm works. I don’t know how GoodReads does either. But I do know that a book with more book reviews - especially positive book reviews - rank higher on both websites than books without book reviews or with poor book reviews. The higher a book ranks, either overall or in its genre, the more people that will see it, the more people who will possibly buy it. If people don’t know that a book is out there, they won’t buy it. Professional publicity can only take you so far. We count on readers to post reviews - even if it’s just how many stars - to boost sales.

2. Books with a lot of book reviews peak interest in readers. Similar to above, but a little different. Everyone wants to be part of the popular group, and in the reading world that means that everyone wants to read what others are reading. Book clubs, readers of a particular genre, everyone in general wants to read a book that everyone else is reading, and the only way to tell if everyone else is reading it is to either see it splashed across the top of every page of every website in expensive ads or to see that the book has 100, 200, 1,000+ book reviews. Debut novelists need this boost, and it’s hard to break into the popular group if readers don’t leave reviews to peak other readers’ interest.

3. Book reviews help readers too! Book reviews don’t only help the author; they help the reader too! If you’re looking to buy a book, you want to know if other people have enjoyed it. You’re not likely to buy a book without any reviews - especially if you haven’t heard of the author. But, if the book has a lot of positive reviews, you might give it a try. Buying a book is an “investment” of sorts, and book reviews can help you decide if the book is for you or not.

Please leave reviews for books that you buy, even from well-known authors. The review doesn’t have to be long - just give it a star rating - but reviews matter more than most people know, so go on Amazon, GoodReads, BookBub, your social media accounts, take a minute, and let others know if you enjoyed it or not.