There are so many ways that people write reviews, and it differs from product to product. Since I’m a book influencer/reviewer, 95% of the reviews I write are about books. So of course, this post will be geared towards that.
The way you write a review changes the more you do it. The more practice you get, the easier it becomes. For example, when I first began writing my reviews, I made what I now feel is the biggest mistake. I pretty much wrote what the book was all about. So anyone who read my review was left thinking: that sounds like a great book, but Kris already told us everything. Now tell me, why should they buy the book and enjoy the actual story? I took all the fun out of reading the twists and turns, the ups and downs. They already know what happens. I didn’t realize this for a while when I was first blogging. Mind you, my blog isn’t huge, so who even knows how many people read my earlier blog posts.
Now when I review, I am more mindful of what I put into my posts. I no longer talk much about what the book is about. Why? I put the synopsis for each book in my post. This tells the reader everything about the book that they need to know–what the author wanted them to know. I don’t need to give spoilers or retell the whole book for them.
What I make sure to do though is explain how the book affected me. When writing my reviews, I put in the emotions it evoked in me, my overall impressions. I can hear y’all asking, “What do you do when you dislike a book?” For me, that’s simple. I go technical. How is the world building? Did it flow well? Did it make sense?
When it comes to saying a book sucks, well, you just won’t find that on this blog. There are many reasons for this. What I may not enjoy, maybe someone else loves and adores. I don’t want people thinking I am slamming their taste in reading material. It just is not my cup of tea. I try to put it that way too.
How about those books where I can’t even find the good technical bits? I am going to be honest on this. I have yet to come across a book where I couldn’t find any good at all in it. I do have a system in place though, just in case. If I’m signed up for the review, I would contact the author or tour company. Tell them what my problem is and see how they would like me to continue. If it’s not for a review tour, I honestly wouldn’t write the review.
Being a reviewer comes with some responsibility. We have a platform and a voice that can help build a following or tear one apart. I personally remind myself of that. How would I feel if someone decided they didn’t like MBB and gave it a bad review without commenting anything good? I, more than likely, would start wondering why I even attempt to do what I love. No one should ever crush someone else’s passion just because they don’t care for it. It takes so much courage to put your words, your voice, your heart and soul out for the world to see.
While there are so many reasons why how you write a review matters, those are mine. Tell me yours in the comments.
