Ah reviews! Love them or loathe them – they are important.  

As a self-published author, there is nothing quite like getting reviewed. Nothing so frightening, and nothing so rewarding.

Getting reviewed spontaneously, without asking for it, without paying for it, means someone out there actually took the time to read your work!

And not only that, but they were moved enough to actually write about it.

As an indie author, I can tell you there really is nothing like getting a good review!

(And please, if you are reading an indie author, and you don’t like the book, and the author is not well known, and maybe has sold 50 copies max — please, please, please – don’t write a review!! That is just cruel and unusual punishment. And believe you me, we writers live in our heads enough to punish ourselves just fine, thank you. )

And if you are a writer – which hopefully you are!  -  reviews are a great way to get your name out there too!

Review books you like. Review books which are similar to yours, or books which you’d think readers of that book would be interested in reading books like yours.

On Amazon, for example, you can submit your rating and review directly to the book’s page. And your name will link to your profile page, where you can showcase your books. This way, if someone is interested in the book you just reviewed (and hopefully they are, because you liked it! ), they may just stumble upon your book too, from your review! And so on, and so on.

Put your review on GoodReads too. The GoodReads reviews are great on the site itself, as it helps fellow authors get to know what books you like. And it helps other indie authors be known, with a third party endorsement – you! And not only that, but GoodReads reviews are streamed on to eBookstores such as the Kobo. So, yes, that means your review goes even further.

I know I am so appreciative of the reviews I’ve gotten.  Thank you! Thank you! Thank you!

Reviews are probably the best gift you can give to a fellow writer.

Pay it forward.

Go ahead, write a positive review!

Help out your fellow indie author community!

And, if you want to be a bit more pro-active in getting your book reviewed out there, fellow indie author DL Morrese has wonderfully compiled a list of over 85 indie author review sites! Thank you for sharing your hard work DL!  http://dlmorrese.wordpress.com/2012/03/26/a-list-of-indie-book-reviewers-3/

 Do you have a favourite review site? Do you have a book you’d like others out there to review?

Post it below!