Two Places to Toot Your Horn

Have you ever finished a book just bubbling over with enthusiasm for it? And did you want to tell everyone just why you loved the book?

Today’s post is about just that. Of course you can tell your friends and the guy you meet on the subway but to reach a wider audience, you might try posting a review on Amazon and on Goodreads. (Caveat: Some of you have written many reviews and need no help from me. Feel free to add your suggestions in the Comments section.)

First we’ll do Amazon: Go to Amazon.com or .ca and search for the book you want to review by title. When you get it up to its own page, scroll down past the book’s description and the product details to Customer Reviews. You can click on the number of stars you want to award and then go to the box entitled Write a Customer Review. (It might be down a bit after other reviews that have been posted.)

Then follow the prompts to fill in your review. Remember to preview your review in case some little word or spelling gremlin has sabotaged your work and then hit publish. It’s as simple as that.

For Goodreads, go to your Goodreads account and pull up the book you wish to review. I recently read Chicken Soup for the Writer’s Soul and gave it 5 stars on Goodreads.

I haven’t written a review yet which means there is still a button to press to do that, add a review. Clicking on that will take you to a simple template to fill in. Ignore the things you don’t want to do, such as html or who you would recommend the book to, unless you want to fill those in.

What Goes in a Review?

1.  Why you liked the book.

2. A little bit about the book with no ‘spoilers’ added. (Remember others may not have finished it yet.)

3. Maybe something about the structure, such as rotating stories of more than one character, or judicious use of description that enhances your experience rather than taking you away from the action, or you may love a particular character because you identify with her in some way. Maybe the suspense keeps you reading long after your usual bedtime. Each book will dictate exactly what you wish to discuss.

4. Anything else? Is there something this book said to you, did you learn something, or was the book a joy to read? This is the place to wrap up your review.

Now go right to Amazon and Goodreads and write a review. And, if you are so inclined, (here’s the shameless part!) write it for The Loyalist’s Wife or The Loyalist’s Luck, both available on Amazon and Kobo.