Jane > Status Update

I don't think so, because when I finish a book I write my review straight away, post it, and only then check out the book's page to see what other reviews said. I do it deliberately this way to avoid what I write in my reviews being influenced by others, so the content is as much as possible my own original creative thoughts.

I agree with Iset. I used to only review books I really enjoyed, but since being persuaded to sign up to this site a few weeks ago I've started reviewing everything I read, whether I've enjoyed it or not. I always write my review straight away though, without reading what others have said.

That's what I used to do, back in the days when I was a good girl and reviewed books after I read them. I just wonder sometimes when I look at the reviews for my own books--mostly because of a certain criticism that runs in about 3% of my Amazon reviews. It looks as if, when people are about to launch that criticism, they first read (and upvote) other reviews with that complaint.

That said, deliberately avoiding reviews until after I'd posted my own was only a resolution I made after a while, to try and review more professionally. I totally get that natural instinct to see if anyone else 'felt the same way as me' (it is pretty hard to resist!) and I imagine that if someone had not deliberately told themselves to wait, they'd have no reason not to go ahead and read other reviews and maybe echo their sentiment in their own review.

That confirms my suspicion, then. I'd noticed that the criticism tends to come in little clusters. Fortunately they are quickly pushed down the feed by the more positive reviews!

I read reviews when:

1. I've finished reading a book. By then, I already have my own opinion about the book. Hard to sway me after that, so no.
2. I'm halfway through or very near the end. I do this when the story is lagging or when I want to know something specifically and see if reviewers have commented on that particular thing. It could be possible to sway me here, but rather than steer me towards a more negative or more positive rating, it's on specific thing. For example, if the book has a very slow start and I'm so bored that I'm considering to drop it or shelf it as a rejected sample read, and I go to see reviews and they say the book is amazing later ahead, then yes, you can sway me to complete it. But if, after finishing, I still think the story wasn't good despite it getting better later, then it won't matter that reviews said it was Woohooo, so good, but do read till the end. It will still stink to me.
3. Before I read the book. Reviews can definitely sway me here, making me want to read the book, to shelf it as one to avoid, to spend my pennies buying it or to wait and borrow from the library, etc.

I would say reviews do influence me before I read the book, but about choosing to read it or not, and creating expectations as it's unavoidable. But influence me on rating them? Definitely not.

The whole point of reviews should be to help readers decide whether or not they want to read the book. Especially if you're on a budget and you're deciding whether to buy Book A or Book B...there's nothing more annoying than paying for a book and then realizing you hate it.

I'm really pleased I decided to put my latest title on NetGalley (quite an expensive undertaking) because, even though not all the reviews are glowing, they're helping the book find the right audience. That makes sense in financial terms but also in terms of reader happiness, which is essential to a good writing career.